Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think most black Canadians came from Africa and the Caribbean (maybe some from the US) so are fairly recently immigrants, while African Americans have been part of American society since the beginning.
Thank you. I really loved being a black guy in Canada and constantly being told by Canadians how much racist the US is when I felt about 100x more comfortable in the US and seemingly every other black Canadians expressed to me their wish to move to the US....
Location: Moose Jaw, in between the Moose's butt and nose.
5,152 posts, read 8,525,155 times
Reputation: 2038
Quote:
Originally Posted by hobbesdj
Thank you. I really loved being a black guy in Canada and constantly being told by Canadians how much racist the US is when I felt about 100x more comfortable in the US and seemingly every other black Canadians expressed to me their wish to move to the US....
Canada is tougher for any immigrant: Black, White, Asian whatever...There is alot of bereaucracy and alot of new arrivals might find it very very frustrating. Some people never settle and return home, others tolerate and eventually find a niche, alot move south to the US and yet others trive.
Thank you. I really loved being a black guy in Canada and constantly being told by Canadians how much racist the US is when I felt about 100x more comfortable in the US and seemingly every other black Canadians expressed to me their wish to move to the US....
I was on a university trip a while ago that was for a "Native peoples of the pacific northwest" class. There were 12 of us on the trip. Two of the students were african american. The trip began in Seattle, went around the Olympic Peninsula, up to Victoria, Nanaimo and over to Vancouver.
At one point in Vancouver, perhaps the 6th day of the trip, one of the black girls sits up in her seat and excitedly says "holy s***, a black guy!"
My feeling is that's why most black folks (american or canadian) would feel more comfortable in the eastern half of the US. There's more of a community.
That said, most black people in Canada landed there by choice. There isn't a history of bondage, of jim crow or of de facto segregation in the post-WWII era.
The history of the african diaspora in the US is one of slavery and the 110 years of ugliness that followed it. Things have certainly improved in my lifetime but as long as the history of slavery and the civil rights struggle is a living one (There are still people alive in the US who can recall talking to long deceased relatives who were born into slavery) and as long as their is still the perception that things are unequal things are still a mess here.
We get black surges here in Vancouver, such as the Somalians in the late eighties and early nineties. Why didn't they stay? no idea. Calgary has a large number from the Sudan, probably as a result of such things as church sponsorship. Halifax was a slave destination, and a number of my black friends from Halifax trace their arrival in Canada to the underground railroad. Recently we have a very large surge coming from South Africa, both white and black. And then there's my buddy Riley, almost eighty and a Korean War vet. He's been here since the fifties! (ex Globetrotter as well) Remember that moving between members of the Commonwealth is a lot easier because it has its' own immigration Act.
Totally depends on were in Canada you live. Heck i live in a suburb of Toronto and my neighbourhood is like 25% black. And their all wealthy professionals pretty much. I know a black dude from Vancouver who loves it there. He was telling me how the police never bother him, compared to Toronto. Although he did look very "gangster". If i didnt know him, i would think he was up to no good too. LOL. In my opinion, Black Canadians are just there, they dont face any real discrimination or problems in Canada. If anything the Natives are the ones getting screwed.
a completely different breed of cat. You've just cannot compare blacks in the states to blacks here.
Except for my buddy Riley, a Korean vet and former globetrotter. Wait, he's different too!
There's pretty much no black people in Canada unless you consider 1-2% of the population noticeable. You'll find a few around Toronto, Montreal and Nova Scotia.
Yeah Toronto has "a few" black people, that is if you consider 400,000 or so "a few".
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
