Black and Immigrant: Examining the Complexities and Possibilities of Being Both-And

• In Event: Blackness and Immigration

Abstract

Both Black people and immigrants remain relegated to second-class status in the United States. For people who are both Black and immigrant, their experiences are compounded by anti-black racism and xenophobia, which are both deeply entrenched into US social norms. Using critical race theory and intersectionality theory, we conceptually frame the ways Black immigrants experience intersectional invisibility--historical, cultural, political, and legal invisibility--that undermines their experiences and possibilities in U.S. schools and communities. By highlighting Black immigrants’ invisibility, susceptibility to problematic mainstream discourses, and experiences with educational and immigration policy, this paper conceptually frames the unique social barriers Black immigrants face and calls for more empirical studies documenting Black immigrants’ experiences in. schools and communities.

Authors

• Chonika Coleman King, University of Florida

• Janet T. Awokoya, California Lutheran University