DCHP-3

Afro-Canadian

DCHP-2 (Jul 2012)
1n.

a person of African-Canadian descent; a black Canadian.

Type: 1. Origin — Afro-Canadian was in use by a mainstream audience (see the 1887 quotation to refer to a rail car porter.

Quotations

1887
The angler can leave Toronto station at 8:45 P. M., tumble into his berth when he feels inclined, and sleep it out until about 4:25 A. M., when the courteous Afro-Canadian in charge will rouse him from dreams of landing 'em in great shape, with the cry of "Kar-ull-ton-Junk-shun!" otherwise Carlton Junction.
1917
In this photo No. 4 are shown in order of reading, upper row first: an Afro-Canadian, a Canadian-Scotch kiltie, an Irishman, a Norwegian, an American, a Canadian 'an Englishman, a Welshman, a 'Scotch kiltie, a Canadian, and an Afro-Canadian.
2012
"When my brother went to the Glenbow, he then discovered that the John Ware cowboy we'd heard of was a black cowboy, which completely changed our lives in a way, because we had abandoned that aspect of our identity, because we didn't see ourselves reflected in it. "You just didn't think black people existed in that world," says the Afro-Canadian, "because we didn't see ourselves reflected in the (western) movies and books we had read so obsessively.
2015
This last aspect is particularly surprising, given that it centres on the indignities that Afro-Canadians have had to endure ever since a number of them escaped from U.S. slave-owning states through Harriet Tubman's Underground Railroad.
2adj.

relating to a Canadian of African descent.

Type: 1. Origin — Both Afro-Canadian and African-Canadian are widely used. The former term is older and continues to be used, but is giving way to the latter term, which is modelled on African-American.
See also ITP Nelson, s.v. "Afro-Canadian", COD-2, s.v. "Afro-Canadian".
See details at African-Canadian, meaning 1.

Quotations

1969
This illustrious gathering in Canada's city with the largest Afro-Canadian population boasted two black men. Both wore white and served the booze.
1985
The trouble broke out when the concert, sponsored by the Afro-Canadian Club of Oakwood Collegiate, ended at 8 p.m.
1990
In Montreal, Frantz Voltaire, director of the Haitian, Caribbean and Afro-Canadian Information and Documentation Centre, said the city's black community is planning to protest against the canonization.
1995
"We are at a crossroads in this country's history, and if we are not careful, the wrong road will be taken," said Howard Dale, president of the city's black business and professional association at a meeting organized by the local chapter of the Afro-Canadian Congress.
2000
He also hints that a sitting Nova Scotia Tory MP may jump to the Alliance before election day. Asked if Messrs. Clark and Fulton might split the conservative vote and let the NDP candidate -- Afro-Canadian race relations activist Kaye Johnson -- come up the middle, Mr. Kenney chuckles: "Joe's concern is splitting the left-wing vote."
2011
Blacks in Canada need to unite, rise up and address the deep racism in this country that keeps them out of positions of power, a Conservative senator says. "What will it take for our collective Afro-Canadian family to unite -- to rise up and claim our rightful place in Canadian society?" Senator Don Oliver asked Monday, Canadian Multiculturalism Day, in a keynote speech to black professionals.

References

  • ITP Nelson
  • COD-2