Response 15: "The Complex Face Of Black Canada"

While I do understand Clarke’s reasoning, issues of gender almost seem to take a backseat in comparison to the issues of race, and one reason I concluded this is because the primary arguments focus on comparing specifically black males against the general population or comparing specifically black males against  white males. However, the drawbacks that black females face are only briefly mentioned throughout the reading (for example, the history of immigration of black females and males). Due to this, Clarke seems to be subconsciously establishing a binary hierarchy where black males are the dominant binary and the black women are the weaker/lesser binary. Another reason could be that he includes a lot of personal experiences in this reading, and because of that, simply focuses on the issue from a male perspective. 

The data he provides on education versus employment/unemployment rates, comparing black males against the rest of the population do strengthen his claims. It also emphasizes the stark reality of his statement: “A constant interrogation of our belonging inculcates within us” (434). Perhaps this wound of not belonging is made even rawer by the grim statistics Clark provides where “Blacks are as well educated as the average Canadian but suffer higher unemployment (15 percent compared to the Canadian average of 10 percent…)” (437).

 It was particularly surprising that “83 per cent of Canadians did not know that slavery had been practiced in pre-Confederation Canada” (434). Perhaps one reason for this is that “The African-Canadian communities, accounting for only 3 percent of the Canadian population, will have a more difficult time achieving solidarity than American Americans, who comprise 13 percent of the American population” (436).