Reconciling Multiple Black Identities: The Case of 1.5 and 2.0 Nigerian Immigrants

• In Event: What’s the Difference? Considering the Racialization and Identities of Black Immigrants From Middle School Through College

Abstract

PURPOSE
A significant challenge Black immigrant youth face is identity development (Arthur, 2008).This presentation examines how Nigerian immigrants reconcile their identity construction as they contend with four major identities: African, Nigerian, African American and Black. These youth receive complex and oft-contradictory messages as they attempt to understand their identities and places within various racial, ethnic, and national groups.

PERSPECTIVES/THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Identity is fluid, situational, and socially constructed, and individuals have multiple identities that emerge in different social contexts (Alba, 1985; Waters, 1990). Thus, the situation one is in and with whom one is interacting will determine how one defines oneself. While scholars have examined identity among Black immigrants in this manner, there are a number of factors that have not been taken into consideration. Like Waters’ (1999) work on second generation West Indians, this presentation focuses on the multiple black identities among 1.5 and 2.0 African immigrants. Rather than existing in exclusion to each other, these multiple identities may be held simultaneously, as context largely determines the salience of particular identities. In addition, this inquiry highlights two other factors rarely considered in prior research on the identities of Black immigrants: the media (D’Alisera, 2009) and the co-ethnic community (Portes & Rumbaut, 2001). The study found that media-generated portrayals of immigrants, particularly Africans, and their interactions with co-ethnic community members significantly impacted identity construction and negotiations among participants.

METHODS AND DATA SOURCES
This presentation draws data from a qualitative study conducted in 2008-2009 that explored identity negotiations of African immigrant youth. The participants consisted of a purposeful sampling of 11 undergraduate and graduate students age 18-32 of Nigerian descent. Qualitative data collection (i.e. questionnaires, interviews, and a focus group) were used to explore the participants' discussions about their processes or reconciling multiple identities during adolescence. The interviews and focus group were recorded and transcribed. Data analyses involved using deductive and inductive strategies to identify and explain themes.
Results and/or substantiated conclusions or warrants for arguments/ point of view
Data analyses revealed that participants reconciled and negotiated among four major black identities-- African, Nigerian, African American and Black. These were identities that the participants felt they wanted or needed to embrace, they were expected by others to embrace, or that were simply ascribed to them. In each case, participants had to confront these identities and reconcile them with the way they understood themselves.

SCHOLARLY SIGNIFICANCE
This study broadens the scholarship on immigrant youth in two ways. First, it provides insight into the identity experiences of African immigrant youth in various contexts. The study demonstrates that the nature of interaction that immigrant youth have with different racial and ethnic groups influences their identities. Second, participants in the study expressed concern about their families’, peers’ and teachers’ lack of understanding about the multiple and often conflicting expectations that they negotiated daily. I propose recommendations for families, communities, and schools to sensitively and authentically address African youth’s cultural experiences.

Author

• Janet T. Awokoya, Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute