Opaleye, Jeffrey (2020-07). The Darker The Flesh, The Deeper The Roots: Transnational Identity and Second-Generation Black Immigrants of Continental African Descent. Doctoral Dissertation.
Thesis
Since the inception of the Immigration Act of 1965, Black immigrant groups have formed a historic, yet complex segment of the United States population. While previous research has primarily focused on the 2nd generation of Black immigrants from the Caribbean, there is a lack of research that remains undiscovered on America's fastest-growing Black immigrant group, African immigrants. This dissertation explores the transnational identity of second-generation Black immigrants of continental African descent in the United States. Using a transnational perspective, I argue that the lives of second-generation African immigrants are shaped by multi-layered relationships that seek to maintain multiple ties between their homeland and their parent's homeland of Africa. This transnational perspective brings attention to the struggles of 2nd generation African immigrants. They are replicating their parents' ethnic identities, maintaining transnational connections, and enduring regular interactions with other racial and ethnic groups while adapting to mainstream America. As a result, these experiences cannot be explained by traditional and contemporary assimilation frameworks because of their prescriptive, elite, white dominance framing and methods that were designed to explain the experiences of European immigrants. The current study employs a qualitative approach, using an online questionnaire and semi-structured interviews to explore the experiences of fifteen, 2nd generation Black immigrants of continental African descent, and was guided by the research question: How do second-generation African immigrants subscribe to Black racial group identification and align their own identity? Results from the study revealed three major findings regarding the experiences of second-generation African immigrants. One, respondents believed that was a disconnect or tension between African immigrants and African Americans, which resulted in the perpetuation of negative stereotypes towards one another. Two, respondents did not participate in transnational activities such as sending remittances or keeping up with the political agendas, but actively engaged in traveling and visiting Africa. This finding reveals how being connected transnationally has changed between the 1st and 2nd generation. Lastly, respondents identified themselves as other, which is based on a set of multiple identities. Overall, this study provides a contribution to the social science literature on immigrant adaptation and to the analysis of the experiences of 2nd generation Black immigrants of Continental African descent.
