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

Session Submission Type: Symposium

Abstract

The number of Blacks emigrating from Africa and the Caribbean has increased significantly in recent decades. By documenting and analyzing the experiences of African and Caribbean youth, we will unearth how youth’s immigrant lenses shape their identities, perspectives regarding race and ethnicity, and experience within educational institutions. The first paper will explore how Caribbean American youth negotiate conflicting racial and ethnic socialization messages received at home and school. The second paper will explore how African immigrant youth reconcile their identity construction processes as they contend with four major identities: African, Nigerian, African American and Black. The third paper will address how Black immigrants perceive and experience a predominantly White institution as influenced by their racial and ethnic backgrounds.

Sub Unit

• Division G - Social Context of Education / Section 2: Education in Multicultural Contexts Within and Across Subject Areas

Chair

• Walter R. Allen, University of California - Los Angeles

Papers

• Examining the Racial and Ethnic Socialization of 1.5- and Second-Generation Caribbean American Youth: Negotiating Conflicting Messages Between Home and School - Chonika Coleman-King, The University of Tennessee

• Reconciling Multiple Black Identities: The Case of 1.5 and 2.0 Nigerian Immigrants - Janet T. Awokoya, Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute

• Diverse in Some Ways, But Not in Others: How 1.0-, 1.5-, and 2.0-Generation Black Immigrants Perceive Racial Climate at a Predominantly White University - Kimberly Griffin, University of Maryland

Discussant

• Vivian L. Gadsden, University of Pennsylvania