Colourasian

Self-chosen Neologism

Definition: Of relating to, or belonging to, or denoting a distinctive racial grouping of the Human species that is characterized by physical traits ranging from light to dark brown skin pigmentation and descending from genetically inherited African ancestry.

Syllabication: Col-our-a-sian

Pronounciation: KûL`r-Âz`hen

Etymology

The designation "Colourasian" is a neologism that I [Alf Lewsey] publicly introduced in 1983 to the newly appointed British Columbia Human Right's Council as the Human Rights Consultant, along with hundreds of other recommendations. The paper was to act as a guide for the Council in promoting and publicizing the new Human Right's Act.

I began to generate additional exposure for the coined designation in 1984 by responding to a column by the Ombudsman/Assistant Managing Editor of the Seattle Times Post-Intelligencer (Washington) where he rhetorically debates a reader on whether the "B" in "Black" in describing the African-American should or should not be capitalized.

Further exposure was attained by meeting with the Vice-President of the Seattle Urban League, an organization of professional African-Americans who served their community by striving towards achieving social equity for minorities, the poor and disadvantaged. A communique was also sent to Professor Mavalwala, University of Toronto in 1984 who was one of the principal speakers at a conference in Winnipeg on visible minorities and the media.

The purpose of the communication was basically to recommend consideration of this neologism that I hoped would replace "Black" the non-descript word... I and others continued to use this designation, however there has not been a direct concerted push over the years. I have the honour of appearing in the AZ Encyclopaedia of Ice Hockey as the First "Colourasian" to have played in the United Kingdom. (See: The A to Z Encyclopaedia of Ice Hockey)

Parts of Speech

Adjective: Of, pertaining to, or denoting a distinctive racial grouping with light to dark brown skin pigmentation and genetically descended from African heritage.

Noun:

  1. Capitalized in it's use to denote persons, in recognizing it's parallel with other ethnic/racial groups and nationalities, ie: Caucasian, Eurasian, Asian, and also encompassing "Cablinasian" a neologism introduced by Tiger Woods.
  2. Member of a racial group that has inherited shades of light to dark brown skin pigmentation and are directly descended from people of African origin via genetics.

Usage Comments

Colourasian is a coined word not found in dictionaries, encyclopaedias or thesauri, around the world to this day. A neologism created in the hope of replacing the non-descript word "Black" that is in current usage to identify persons with brown skin of African origin. The use and capitalization of "Colourasian" will denote and acknowledge it's stature as a major race designation, and finally eliminate any potential ambiguity.

"Many people would probably agree that if they are to be identified by a couple of colours in a child's paintbox, they would prefer the descriptive words 'Colourasian' and 'Caucasian' that are much softer, kinder, and gentler than the 'hot button' opposites of 'Black' and 'White'."

Alf Lewsey (1931-2012). Inquiries?