Exploring Black Immigrants’ and Nonimmigrants’ Understanding of “Acting Black” and “Acting White”
Publication Date
1-1-2017
Document Type
Article
Volume
43
Issue
3
Abstract
Immigrant and nonimmigrant Black adolescents’ perceptions of “acting Black” and “acting White” were compared using a concurrent mixed-methods approach. Using the Maryland Adolescent Development in Context Study data set, 39 second-generation African and Caribbean adolescent immigrants and a matched set of 39 nonimmigrant Black peers responded to the question “What does it mean to act Black/White?” Their responses were examined for differences and change over time. Quantitative analyses revealed that all Black youth shifted in their perspectives of acting White and acting Black but immigrant youth differed significantly from their nonimmigrant counterparts. Analysis of secondary qualitative text further highlighted respondents’ development and change at Time 2. These results underscore a racial cultural orientation process under the tridimensional model that acknowledges Black immigrants’ acculturation to African American culture in the United States.
Keywords
adolescent development, acculturation, Black immigrants, acting Black, acting White, mixed methods
Recommended Citation
Thelamour, Barbara and Johnson, Deborah J., "Exploring Black Immigrants’ and Nonimmigrants’ Understanding of “Acting Black” and “Acting White”" (2017). Journal of Black Psychology, , 280-304. 10.1177/0095798416641863. Retrieved from https://openworks.wooster.edu/facpub/388