Immigrant incorporation and racial identity: Racial self-identification among Dominican immigrants

Abstract

This article explores the formation of racial identities by Dominican immigrants in the United States. We pose three questions: What are Dominicans’ racial identification choices? Do their identification choices correspond to different views of American society? What does racial formation among Dominicans tell us about racial classification in the contemporary United States? Our results show that the more the racial identification questions are asked in terms of the American racial classification system, the more limited the racial identification choices. The modal self-identification responses are hispano/a, and indio/a. However, when asked about beliefs concerning how the American mainstream perceives them, the modal answer is black. Furthermore, we found that self-identification as black correlates with a critical view of relations between Dominicans and white Americans. Our research points to the increasing complexity of the American racial classification system. Race, however, remains central to the immigrant experience.