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An Ummah Divided?

PERSPECTIVES ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AFRICAN-BORN AND AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES IN AMERICA

By Kristi LaFollette

Background

Africans fastest growing immigrant group in America

¾ of the population came after 1990

Immigrant Reception

Impact of “New Destinations” (Waters, Kanitz, and Asad, 2014)

Relationship between African Americans and immigration Notion of zero-sum politics

Civil rights era policies, such as Affirmative Action

Anti-immigration sentiment in wider population

*However, in general, African Americans are more supportive of immigration when compared to whites (Pew Opinion Poll, 2006)

Racialization

Blackness as a “master-status determiner” (Everett Hughes)

Many Africans shocked and confused by racialization in America

(Bigelow, 2009)

-“[Authorities] don’t see Eritrean, Nigerian. No, they see black. That’s what a lot of Africans don’t understand- It’s an international struggle. It’s not a matter of just African Americans. Maybe in this country that’s how it appears to be. That’s how the news will highlight it, but any black person is part of this struggle.” Eritrean woman

Racialization: Africans, African Americans, and Advocacy

After three high-profile incidents, African American leaders spoke out

When violence does occur, immigrants are more likely to view incidents as indicative of typical American violence (Johnson, 2008)

Outrage does not translate into public outcry

Presentation of Self

Three Ways of Presenting Self (term coined by Erving Goffman) Ethnoreligious Identity

Maintenance of Negative Stereotypes

Adopting aspects of “African American” culture

Ethno-religious Identity

Students’ identification as Somali on race forms

“My mom made it very clear that my friends were my family and Eritreans that [my parents] knew and were comfortable with.” –Eritrean woman

Upwardly mobile, middle class youth tend to identify with national or regional identity over racial one (Waters 1999, Zephir 2001)

Ethno-religious Identity

Religion as “capital,” with its own advantages and liabilities.

Shooting of Abu Kassiim (March 2002, Minneapolis)

“[T]he shooting was because he was Somali and if he was white, it wouldn’t have happened . . . It’s illegal and it’s hatred because of religion.” (33 y.o. Muslim Ethiopian man)

Ethno-religious Identity

-The use of ethnic identity to “redeem” religious and racial identities.

“[G[enerally speaking, the brand of terrorism or exploding things or destroying things is not in the Somali way of dealing with things, so many Somalians are very skeptical when they hear Somalians have been arrested for terrorist-related issues.”

-Somali Skyline Tower Oral History Project: Interview with Abdisalam Adam

“Fitting in” vs. “Belonging”

-Navigating school and society requires learning of cultural codes

-many young Africans seeking a “third way”

-proving their blackness to “fit in”

- holding fast to ethnic and religious identities. (e.g. hijab, traditional African dress, eating halal food)

-Tope Folarin, NPR Barbershop<iframe src="http://www.npr.org/player/embed/196635848/196628408" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe

“Fitting in” vs. “Belonging”

African American and Muslim identities viewed as mutually exclusive

“A lot of Somali students . . . take the other side. Like you know, from African American youth. Always listen to music, wear loose pants, sometimes even like making their hair like a woman [braiding]. That’s totally not in our culture. Not focusing more about their education. Not coming to mosques.” –Ali, adult Somali male-

Propagation or Maintenance of Negative Images

Edwin (West African interviewee)

“They don’t embrace the country, but we [African Immigrants] embrace the country . . . They got their priorities all mixed up. Look! You’ve been in this country longer than me . . . And what do you have that I don’t have?”

ResourcesAdam, A. (2004, January 1). Somali Skyline Tower oral history project: interview with Abdisalam Adam [Personal interview]

Abdullah, Z. (2010). Black Encounter. In Black Mecca the African Muslims of Harlem. New York: Oxford University Press.

Bigelow, M. (2009). Somali Adolescents' Negotiation of Religious and Racial Bias In and Out of School. Theory Into Practice, 47(1), 27-34.

Ghebrehiwet, E. (2015, July 21). [Personal interview]

Guenther, K., Pendaz, S., & Makene, F. (2011). The impact of intersecting dimensions of inequality and identity on the racial status of Eastern African immigrants. Sociological Forum, 26(1), 98-120. Retrieved July 14, 2015.

Greer, C. (2013). Black ethnics: Race, immigration, and the pursuit of the American dream. Oxford University Press.

Johnson, V. (2008). What, then, is the African American? African and Afro-Caribbean Identities in Black America. Journal of American Ethnic History,, 28(1), 77-103

Lenoir, G., & Kidane, N. (2007). African Americans and immigrants: Shall we hang together or hang separately? The Black Scholar, 37(1), 50-52. Retrieved July 16, 2015.

Martin, M. (2013, June 28). [Radio broadcast].NPR.

Waters, M., Kasinitz, P., & Asad, A. (2014). Immigrants and African Americans. The Annual Review of Sociology, 369-390. doi:10.1146/annurev-soc-071811-145449