I'm not trying to deny the (until very recently legally enforced) class difference between whites and blacks in South Africa, nor the social issues causing hiring discrepancies in the States.

However, it's not a narrow reading of events. Musk is African. Head a bit out of the way in South Africa and you'll find white kids who spend all day running around with black friends with the whole group speaking fluent Zulu. They've grown up there and their families have been there for generations.

The problem here lies with the imprecise term 'African American', a designation which, according to customary usage, includes many native-born Americans who have never been to Africa, as well as excludes many native-born Africans (like Musk) who are also Americans.

As a thought experiment, if you define Americans as those with natural rights, then every human being on Earth could be considered African American.

Although I've met a surprising number of intelligent people who somehow do not believe we are all descended from Africa. Which I suppose is related to people failing to understand that all individuals have innate inalienable rights, regardless of their citizenship.

Sure, we're all descended from Africa. But we all know that ethnographic definitions are arbitrary, and how long ago you or your ancestors immigrated apply more or less to your demographic label depending on a host of cultural, social or economic factors. The definitions are convenient only in labeling populations in broad strokes anyway; every individual has multiple ethnic, religious, cultural, racial identities that can be sliced/defined/labeled any way that society deems 'normal'...

> Musk is African

Actually, since we're being technical about it, he's American-Canadian-African. How else to define it? One could say African born, certainly.

He has lived in the US longer than he lived in South Africa at this point. He hated South Africa according to his brother, and sought to flee as soon as he could. He considers himself an American and has stated so on numerous occasions.

Silicon Valley employs so few blacks that even our Africans are white.

Why is that depressing? ...

You haven't gotten the memo? Racism is ok if it's against whites.

A lot of Africans are white, especially ones settled and controlled by Brits at some point.

Not to mention North Africans (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya) and Egyptians. I'm a Tunisian-American, but I obviously select "white" in demographic questionnaires. I heard that the U.S. Census Bureau is planning to introduce a Arab/Middle Eastern category in the near future.

oh man, human "race" is such a complicated concept....as an example, Zidane who is Algerian descent by all means would be considered "white" in the USA...but then he is also an African who was born and grew up in Europe.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bc/XI...

In the UK there are lots and lots of people from South Africa, Zimbabwe and other places where things may have been good for their 'baby boomer' parents that got rich in deeply racist times, but for kids today?

If you are in your 20's or 30's or even 40's then having white skin in South Africa has not had the same advantages as before, there has been government legislation to make the place a bit more equal opportunity, which means to the younger people in South Africa that, if you are white, it is time to claim some type of UK passport (maybe based on some grandfather that was Scottish).

I am no defender of Apartheid but the ruling baby boomer white class essentially retired and threw their own children under the bus.

it is even more depressing to read what racists like you have to say everywhere

Agreed, some people need to make everything about color.