English-speaking Caribbean Immigrants Research Articles

Inmigrantes haitianos y la comunidad del Gran Caribe de la ciudad de Nueva York: Retos y oportunidades

Haitians are one of the largest post 1965 immigrant groups in New York City. In 2009, there were some 118,769 Haitian immigrants in the city, and this figure does not include the undocumented and the many thousands of children born in the United States to foreign-born Haitian parents. Unlike the English speaking Caribbean immigrants that are recognized as a model minority in America, Haitian immigrants had a different treatment. They were not viewed as a model minority despite the fact that they also came fr o m the Caribbean and shared similar narrative. This paper addresses the two most important periods of Haitian migration to New York City and the mechanisms and structures that they developed in the past several decades to gain acceptance in the US and forge political alliances with the English-speaking Caribbean immigrants to empow er their communi ty.

How Do English-speaking Caribbean Immigrants in Toronto Find Jobs?: Exploring the Relevance of Social Networks

INTRODUCTION This paper draws from a doctoral dissertation that examined factors beyond human capital that influenced labour market outcomes for immigrants to Toronto from Jamaica, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago. The majority of Canada's immigrants from these three countries live in Toronto. In addition, these immigrants are primarily racialized individuals who possess strong English language skills and high levels of education, training and work experience, but have experienced higher unemployment rates and lower incomes than the Canadian-born population (Colin 2007; James 2009; Preston et al. 2010). The key argument is that for English-speaking Caribbean immigrants, social networks are as important, if not more so, as human capital, for securing meaningful employment in Toronto. Canada's immigration policy seeks to attract immigrants on the basis of their human capital, but largely ignores the demand side factors that relate to how immigrants actually find jobs and does not adequately address factors that allow high-skilled immigrants to find work. The study is based on critical policy research, an inter-disciplinary approach to research that has many dimensions, but this paper is primarily focused on critical race. Critical race theorists investigate notions of race, blackness, and whiteness in the production of societal biases. Traditional critical race theory is focused on an analysis of the social construction of race and racism, and the manner in which people of colour are ordered and constrained in society (Trevino, Harris and Wallace 2008). In the Canadian context, emphasis is placed on examining the manner in which structural and institutional arrangements operate at a disadvantage to racialized groups. Critical race theory, therefore, offers useful insights in how discrimination comes to be structured into Canada's labour market (Galabuzi 2006; James 2009; James, Plaza and Jansen 1999). A number of researchers have expressed concern that Canada's employers may be discriminating against immigrants on the basis of race (Aylward 1999; Block and Galabuzi 2011; Teelucksingh and Galabuzi 2007; Warner 2006). Others have documented that Canada's visible minority immigrants earn lower incomes and have higher unemployment rates than other immigrants and the native-born (Block and Galabuzi 2011; Cardozo and Pendakur 2008; Gilmore 2008; Pendakur and Pendakur 2011; Reitz 2001, 2007). Quantitative studies have also established that poor labour market outcomes for racialized immigrants are linked to racial and gender discrimination (Pendakur and Pendakur 1998; Pendakur and Pendakur 2011). Though not the focus of this study, there are also lessons to be learned from the labour market experiences of Canada's seasonal agricultural workers, live-in caregivers and other temporary foreign workers who have experienced wage discrimination and abusive recruitment practices (Faraday 2014; Satzewich 1991; Tilson 2009). Experimental studies have also found evidence of discrimination, in that resumes from applicants with non-English sounding last names are often excluded at early stages of the job application process (Henry and Ginzberg 1985; Oreopoulos 2011). Qualitative studies of the experiences of nurses in Ontario also found that African-Canadian nurses experienced racism, sexism and classism (Das Gupta 1996; Hagey et al. 2001). Many of Canada's Caribbean immigrants have reported experiences of discrimination in the labour market, which they believe have affected their labour market outcomes (Colin 2007; James 2009; Preston et al. 2010). In each census period from 1996 to 2006, immigrants from the Caribbean experienced higher unemployment rates and lower incomes than the Canadian-born population (Colin 2007). This is the context from which the study examined the lived-experience of English-speaking Caribbean immigrants in Toronto, focusing in part on the obstacles they faced and highlighting the relevance of social networks to their job search. …

The Contributions and Constraints of Contemporary Immigration and Citizenship: Commemorating Canada’s 150 Years

The Contributions and Constraints of Contemporary Immigration and Citizenship: Commemorating Canada’s 150 Years Evangelia Tastsoglou, Special Guest Editor (bio) Although neither selected as representative of the field of Canadian ethnic studies, nor comprehensive, the articles in this special issue of Canadian Ethnic Studies/Études ethniques au Canada, commemorating Canada’s 150 years, do provide a good sense of the contemporary state of ethnic studies in Canada. The articles consist of diverse perspectives, methodologies, substantive topics and disciplines, yet they also share common features and point to common directions. I will start from their diversity, representative of and continuing the historical diversity in the field of ethnic studies, then move on to their similarities and common directions which reflect broader scholarly, theoretical and policy preoccupations of the present time, and finally end with what I consider promising, more recent—though by no means new—perspectives and directions pushing the traditional boundaries of the field of ethnic studies. I will conclude this brief introduction with an overview of the articles in the volume. First, in terms of the articles’ diversity as a group, they are interdisciplinary, spanning the fields of sociology, literary studies, history, and policy studies. They make use of a great range of social science and humanities methodologies, from discourse analysis to multilevel regression and from the analysis of legal texts to qualitative interviews. They also derive from a healthy range of perspectives and dimensions within their respective disciplines, ranging from feminist perspectives to historical and legal dimensions; from positivist approaches to interpretative, constructivist and Critical Theory ones. In terms of the articles’ similarities which also shaped the title of this special issue, they consist first in a common emphasis on immigration and broadly defined citizenship issues and processes, as opposed to insular ethnic group issues, essentialized ethnic cultures and static ethno-cultural identities. Moreover, the articles are [End Page 1] about either contributions or constraints of immigration and citizenship, that is, they emphasize the dynamic interaction of diverse groups within Canadian society and with the Canadian state. An important similarity among these articles, in the midst of their said diversity, is the authors’ intent for intervention in order to make a difference, manifested in various degrees of explicitness. This intent to make a difference is expressed as recognition of a problem of exclusion, discrimination, omission, or gap, so that more inclusive and equitable policies and practices, at the appropriate level, can be put in place. The studies of this issue move beyond description to policy relevance, in the direction of expanding social justice in Canadian society for the 21st century. In so doing, while always mindful of the lessons from the dark periods in Canada’s 150 years, the present volume truly commemorates the country’s historical promise of freedom and justice to its immigrants and all Canadians. More specifically, in this volume the articles by Fernando and Rinaldi, and Kaya are about ongoing—albeit in new forms—processes of exclusion, i.e., obstacles to citizenship for immigrants. The article by Tastsoglou and Dobrowolsky is about obstacles but also possibilities for enhancing a sense of belonging for immigrants; Branker’s study is about obstacles but also venues or possibilities for finding work, that is, economic integration or socio-economic citizenship for English-speaking Caribbean immigrants in Toronto. Yixi Lu and Li Zong’s article is about historical processes of discrimination against the Chinese out of major metropolitan centres, while Chira’s work is about obstacles to, and possibilities for international students, i.e., often prospective immigrants, also outside of major, immigrant-attracting Canadian metropolises. Finally, van Dijk’s article is about contributions of Dutch-Canadian writers to Canadian multi-cultural and polyphonic identity. With respect to the more recent dimensions and directions, the latter consist in modernizing and expanding the field of ethnic studies outside of the historical settler societies, societies of immigration, immigrant-receiving societies, or nation-states in which ethnicities are created and ethnic identities are molded, to include the transnational level, in recognition of (i) the contemporary modality of migration as a dynamic transnational process and (ii) the role that the transnational field plays in identity negotiation, sense of belonging and citizenship. As a consequence...

Labour Market Discrimination: the Lived Experiences of English-Speaking Caribbean Immigrants in Toronto

The study examined the lived experiences of immigrants in Toronto from Jamaica, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago, with emphasis on their perceptions and experiences of labour market discrimination. The study employs a qualitative methodology and adopts a critical policy research framework which included a series of in-depth interviews. Based on the central argument that there is a disjuncture between the human capital model used at the policy level and the understanding of immigrant human capital on the ground, the study has found structural and institutional practices inherent in the Canadian labour market that are principal reasons for many immigrants’ poor labour market outcomes. Evidence from the study strongly suggests that there is an issue of racism and sexism at play in the Canadian labour market that negatively affects outcomes for Caribbean immigrants in Toronto.

Ethnic group moderates the association between attachment and well-being in later life.

Attachment styles are associated with well-being across the life span. Particularly in later life, when individuals face declining health and increasing dependency, patterns of attachment may relate to affective outcomes. However, few studies have empirically examined the attachment-well-being link at the end of the life span or considered whether ethnic group membership may moderate attachment-well-being links. Data from a sample of older adults (N = 1,116) were used to investigate how secure, dismissive, and fearful/avoidant styles predicted well-being in 4 ethnic groups; African Americans, European Americans, Eastern European immigrants, and English-speaking Caribbean immigrants. As expected, both secure and dismissive attachment dimensions were related to greater well-being, whereas fearful/avoidant attachment was associated with less. This positive impact of a secure attachment style of relating to others on well-being was stronger among African Americans and English-speaking Caribbeans compared with the European American and Eastern European immigrant groups. The negative impact of a fearful/avoidant attachment style of relating on well-being was buffered by being an English-speaking Caribbean but not for the other 3 groups. Results are interpreted in light of general and culture-specific premises of attachment. The article concludes with some implications and suggestions for future work.

Links between parenting styles, parent–child academic interaction, parent–school interaction, and early academic skills and social behaviors in young children of English-speaking Caribbean immigrants

This study examined the influence of parenting styles, parent–child academic involvement at home, and parent–school contact on academic skills and social behaviors among kindergarten-age children of Caribbean immigrants. Seventy immigrant mothers and fathers participated in the study. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that fathers’ authoritarian parenting style was negatively associated with and father–school contact was positively associated with receptive skills, vocabulary, and composite scores over and above that of mothers’ contributions in these areas. Fathers’ authoritative parenting style and father–child academic interaction at home were positively related to children's social behaviors. Mothers’ authoritarian parenting style was negatively and mother–school contact was positively associated with children's social behaviors. Analyses indicated that fathers’ parenting carried the weight of influence over mothers’ parenting for facilitating both child academic skills and social behaviors. The roles of parenting styles, parent–academic activities, and parent–school contacts in early schooling are discussed.

Working with Caribbean Immigrants After the World Trade Center Tragedy

SUMMARY Caribbean immigrants were among those transfixed by the destruction and human suffering caused by the World Trade Center tragedy. An emergent cliche is that life will never be the same after September 11th. This study explores the issues that impact the health and well-being of English-speaking Caribbean immigrants and challenges social workers to reassess their intervention with immigrant populations in the Post 9/11 era.

Cervix and breast cancer incidence in immigrant Caribbean women.

Cervix and breast cancer incidence in 1978-82 was computed for immigrant and United States-born Black women in Brooklyn, New York. Compared to the national SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results) rates, US-born and Haitian women had high rates of invasive cervical cancer, while English-speaking Caribbean immigrants had an average rate. However, while US-born women had an average rate of carcinoma in situ of the cervix, both immigrant groups had low rates. Both immigrant groups had low rates of breast cancer, whereas US-born Black women had an average rate.

A Theoretical Framework for the Study of the Psychological Sense of Community of English-Speaking Caribbean Immigrants

The central observation here is that a Caribbean immigrant from one island develops a psychological sense of community towards Caribbean immigrants from a different island. This sense of community is the inclination of the immigrant to consider himself or herself and immigrants from the other island to be a unit, to relate to the immigrants from the other island as though these immigrants were himself or herself. It may be engendered as the immigrant develops connections to immigrants from the other island: resides close to them, interacts with them, identifies with them, and displays a dependence on them for his or her identity. The immigrant develops these connections under the influence of contextual conditions under which the immigrant lives: the Caribbean migrant ideology, the disorganization the immigrant experiences because of the differences between his or her native culture and that of the new society and the achievement orientation of the immigrant in the new society.

Screening for cervical and breast cancer among Caribbean immigrants.

The yield of abnormal Pap tests was 13.3/1000 women screened; the yield of breast cancer was 2.2/1000 women examined. Approximately half of the Haitian immigrants (N = 361) had no prior Pap test, compared to one-quarter of the English-speaking Caribbean immigrants (N = 228) and one-tenth of the U.S.-born Black women (N = 264). Only 47% of Haitian women had a regular source of health care compared to 74% of the English speaking Caribbean women and 83% of the U.S.-born Black women. Haitian women were much less likely to practice breast self-examination or to use contraception than were U.S.-born Black women. This program reveals significant needs for preventive health services among low-income Caribbean immigrant women, and demonstrates that selective neighborhood-site programs can be effective in reaching those in need.