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In America: Exploring Racial Identity Development of African Immigrants

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In America: Exploring Racial Identity Development of African Immigrants Minnesota State University, Mankato Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects Capstone Projects 2012 Becoming "Black" in America: Exploring Racial Identity Development of African Immigrants Godfried Agyeman Asante Minnesota State University, Mankato Follow this and additional works at: https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/etds Part of the African Studies Commons, Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, and the Communication Commons Recommended Citation Asante, G. A. (2012). Becoming "Black" in America: Exploring racial identity development of African immigrants. [Master’s thesis, Minnesota State University, Mankato]. Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato. https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/etds/43/ This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects at Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects by an authorized administrator of Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato. Becoming “Black” in America: Exploring Racial Identity Development of African Immigrants By Godfried Agyeman Asante A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MA In Communication Studies Minnesota State University, Mankato, Mankato, Minnesota April 2012 2 Becoming “Black” in America: Exploring Racial Identity Development of African Immigrants Godfried Agyeman Asante This thesis has been examined and approved by the following members of the thesis committee Dr. Sachi Sekimoto (PhD), Advisor Dr. Shannon Miller (PhD) Dr. Christopher Brown (PhD) 3 Acknowledgement First and foremost, I would like to give thanks to God for helping me throughout my graduate program. Secondly, I would like to thank my academic advisor, Dr. Sachi Sekimoto for her insightful guidance and sage advice, which contributed to the completion of this study on time. Deepest gratitude goes to my thesis committee members, Dr. Christopher Brown and Dr. Shannon Miller for their steadfast support and immense input in this study. Furthermore, I appreciate the effort of the faculty and staff of the Communication Department of Minnesota State University, Mankato for providing me with the support and the conducive environment to complete this project. Finally, an honorable mention goes to my family and friends for their support and understandings throughout the duration of my graduate studies. 4 Dedication This thesis is dedicated to my father, Samuel Agyei Asante who passed away in March 2011. It is also dedicated to my mother, Janet Yaa Serwaa Obeng who motivated me to go to graduate school. 5 Abstract Godfried Asante wrote Becoming “Black” in America: Exploring Racial Identity Development of African Immigrants in completion of his Masters degree in Communication Studies in Minnesota State University, Mankato. This qualitative study critically examined how African immigrants experience racialization and the process of developing Black racial consciousness. Focus group interviews were conducted to sample the collective racial experience among African immigrants. Thematic analysis was used as the basic methodology for analyzing the data. It was discovered that the participants “become African” and also “become Black” during the process of racial identification. “Becoming African” and “Becoming Black” constituted two sets of processes that simultaneously shaped the identity of African immigrants as they assimilated into the United States. From the study it became evident that there was tension between ethnic identification as African and racial identification as Black. Most of the participants affirmed their ethnic identity as African over their racial identity. Using the culturalist racist discourse as the conceptual framework, I argued that ethnic definitions do not overturn the negative connotations of blackness. Rather, it assumes the contemporary colorblind nature of American society while the system of racism stays the same. 6 Table of Contents Title Page ....................................................................................................................................... 1 Acknowledgement ........................................................................................................................ 3 Dedication ..................................................................................................................................... 4 Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... 5 Chapter One .................................................................................................................................. 8 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 8 Purpose of the Study .................................................................................................................. 9 Research Questions ............................................................................................................ 12 Précis of Chapters ............................................................................................................... 12 Chapter Two ............................................................................................................................... 14 Literature Review ................................................................................................................... 14 Black Racial Identity Development ......................................................................................... 14 African Immigrants and Race ................................................................................................... 17 Historical Background ......................................................................................................... 17 Differences in systems of Social Stratification ................................................................... 19 Post-colonial Identity ............................................................................................................... 20 Chapter Three ............................................................................................................................. 23 Methodology ........................................................................................................................... 23 Data Collection ................................................................................................................. 23 Assembling the Groups .................................................................................................... 24 Participants ....................................................................................................................... 25 Preparing Study Mechanics ...................................................................................................... 26 Analyzing Data and Preparing a Summary Report .................................................................. 27 Chapter Four .............................................................................................................................. 29 Analysis ................................................................................................................................... 29 Becoming African .................................................................................................................. 31 A representative of Africa ................................................................................................ 31 Africa as Home ................................................................................................................. 33 Becoming Black ..................................................................................................................... 46 I am not just African I am also Black .............................................................................. 47 Anything that wasn’t them was White ............................................................................ 50 Chapter Five ............................................................................................................................... 67 Discussion ................................................................................................................................ 67 Implications ........................................................................................................................... 69 Africanization and the Racist Discourse .......................................................................... 70 Re-thinking Pan-Africanism ............................................................................................. 73 7 Limitations ............................................................................................................................ 77 Future Research ..................................................................................................................... 78 Reference .....................................................................................................................................
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