Afropolitan Students: Navigating Race through the Search for Cosmopolitan Cities

• In Event: 40821 - Community and Urban Sociology Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 19. Urban Education

Abstract

The current paper examines how African international students navigate a US-racialized society. Research indicates that African migrants are often ill-prepared to navigate their racialized identities in the US. However, the paucity of research on African international students obscures scholarly understanding of how they manage their racial identities and develop strategies to navigate the complexities of America’s racialized society. Through interviews with African students enrolled in US universities and colleges, I found that they understood their racial experiences as shaped by the intersection of race and place. As such, they identify cities with urban cultures and communities where they can be part of cosmopolitan communities unburdened by racial tensions and exclusions.

Author

• Alphonse Ofoe Opoku, University of South Florida