Black Identities and the Second Generation
Black Identities and the Second Generation
Afro-Caribbeans in Britain and the United States
This chapter compares second-generation Afro-Caribbeans in London and New York. This comparison invokes an issue that is also raised in Chapter 10: the role of a large African-descent native population in shaping the experience of black immigrants. The large African American population in New York, along with high levels of racial segregation in the city, especially when contrasted with high levels of racial integration in London, lead to an important contextual difference in the very meaning of assimilation. The presence of a large black population in New York makes becoming American both easier and more problematic for second-generation Afro-Caribbeans. It is easier because being American and being black make for an easy identity to access and understand, yet to become African American is also to inherit the costs (as well as the post-civil-rights benefits) of racial distance and inequality.
Keywords: second-generation Afro-Caribbeans, London, New York, African-descent native population, black immigrants, racial segregation, racial integration, assimilation
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