Selective acculturation among low-income second-generation West Africans

Abstract

ABSTRACTPrior research on the acculturation processes of the children of Black immigrants has focused on adult children from middle-class backgrounds. This raises questions about the experiences of adolescent children of immigrants from low-income backgrounds. To address this gap, this article draws on interviews with 71 West African high school students from working-class backgrounds in New York City. I find that African immigrant youth selectively acculturate into their American communities and highlight three mechanisms driving this process; adoption of American cultural features, distinction from their non-African counterparts and addition to the American cultural pool. I offer three cultural features that elucidate each mechanism respectively; cuisine, language, and fashion. I also show that racism structures acculturation and limits cultural agency. These findings highlight that selective acculturation is not exclusive to the children of middle-class Black immigrants, but also occurs for their working-class counterparts. Moreover, I underscore the cultural contributions immigrants and their children make to their host society and the mutual cultural reconstitution that occurs such that both immigrants’ ethnic culture and the cultural landscape of their host communities are fundamentally transformed.