African-Canadian?

The Coffee Shop
1

I read this in the letters to Sports Illustrated section of this week’s issue. I think it’s both humorous and revealing simultaneously.

***“You describe Ottawa Senators goaltender Ray Emery as ‘the first African-American goaltender in 19 years to lead his team to the finals’ (Players, June 4). But Emery hails from Cayuga, Ontario. Wouldn’t that make him African-Canadian?” ***

I wonder sometimes if we, Americans, don’t think outside our own boundaries. Do we refer to a black guy from Italy as an African-Italian, from France an African-Frenchmen, and so on and so on.

Actually, we probably do what the author of the SI article mistakenly did and refer to all black people regardless of nationality as “African-Americans” … and probably don’t think twice about it.

We sure are silly sometimes.

2

I don’t think it is anymore wrong than working it from the other side of that label. What I mean is that the assumption that because someone has black skin that their lineage can be linked to Africa. And of course there are gobs of white-skinned people who have more right to have the “African-” label than some black-skinned people. Still, it’s pretty funny that someone would catch that and than call them on it.

Bernie

3

‘the first African-American goaltender in 19 years to lead his team to the finals’ (Players, June 4). But Emery hails from Cayuga, Ontario. Wouldn’t that make him African-Canadian.

Actually, by that logic there has never been an African American goalie to lead his team to the finals.

Besides, all of this is moot anyway. Isn’t Canada just the 52nd state (after Mexico)?

4

Two thoughts isn’t Canada part of North America? So he is African-American (Africa is a continent, not a country, so keep it at the same level and it works)

Whats a Brazilian in the US? I have always though African-American was silly. I worked with a white guy from Africa, so technically he was African-American, while the black guy from Brazil was not.

5

Brazilian in the US. Brazil is in South America. So still African-American. Obviously.

Or how about just saying “black”?