Triple Consciousness: How Nigerian Immigrants Navigate Race and Identity

• In Event: 30809 - Culture and Identity

Abstract

Drawing on Du Bois’ concept of double consciousness, this study introduces the concept of triple consciousness—capturing how Nigerian immigrants reconcile their Nigerian identity, Black racial identities, and aspirations for integration into mainstream American society. Based on 28 semi-structured interviews with first-generation Nigerian immigrants, the findings reveal four key dynamics: (1) confronting Blackness in America, (2) navigating race within American social institutions, (3) gendered social and economic networks, and (4) the role of Nigerian cultural capital in navigating racial dynamics. While acknowledging anti-Black racism, participants adopt strategies such as racial avoidance, cultural distinctiveness, and meritocratic beliefs to navigate racial boundaries. By centering first-generation Nigerian immigrants, this study challenges monolithic understandings of Black identity, illustrating the intersectionality and heterogeneity within the Black diaspora. These findings contribute to Black immigrant studies by reframing racial identity in America as a fluid and contested construct, shaped by transnational identities, cultural and ethnic capital, as well as structural racial dynamics

Author

• Fadilat Olasupo, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor