Kirwan Update July/August 2010 The Changing Face of Black America Executive Notes Charisma S. Acey number of reasons, including increasingly The immigration issue Assistant Professor of restrictive immigration policies among City and Regional Planning has exploded again with a joint appointment European countries. Moreover, changes into the national spot- at the Kirwan Institute to U.S. immigration policy have directly light with Arizona’s affected the rates of legal migration to the draconian law. Given Most of the increase in scholarship United States: The 1965 act eliminated the the issue’s complexity, on immigration following the 1965 quota system, and refugee policies in the I would like to touch Immigration and Naturalization Act has 1980s also facilitated immigration. The most on four key points. Professor john a. powell followed the dramatic rise in non-European dramatic jump in African immigrant popu- Rather than looking at immigrant diversity, but has been heavily lation was between 2000 and 2005, accord- the immigration issue focused on Latino, Asian, and European ing to the 2007 report by Mary Mederios in isolation, we should socioeconomic attainment and assimila- Kent, “Immigration and America’s Black recognize the effect of our current socio- tion. According to the last U.S. Census, Population,” when 40 percent of the current political situation as the country deals African immigrants to the United States African immigrant population arrived. with a deep recession in the Obama era. from the mid-20th century now num- How do Black Caribbean and Black African Secondly, we should consider the role of ber approximately one million persons, migration differ? Studies of Black Caribbean immigration in Anglo-American global- mostly from West, East, and North Africa, migration have found evidence of assimila- ization, which has become the received with smaller numbers from Southern and tion with Black America, in terms of resi- wisdom for elites. Thirdly, immigration Central Africa. In comparison with other dential location (including sub-enclaves should be viewed in historical context, immigrant communities, there have been within largely Black American areas) and with specific attention to slavery. Lastly, relatively few studies, sociological or oth- the socioeconomic status of immigrants it is important to understand how immi- erwise, of this growing demographic and over time. Although some studies find that gration relates to the tension between the ways they influence or are influenced by Black Caribbean migrants from former states and the federal government. U.S. society. Although there are 52 African British colonies fare better than African nations (and hundreds of distinct ethno- In the current climate, there is signifi- Americans, especially in terms of education linguistic groupings within those), studies cant racial anxiety, and groups are using and employment rates, this effect seems to have either treated African immigrants as a implicitly racial terms to redefine what largely disappear by the second generation, homogenous group or have assumed their it means to be “truly” American and to when the children of Black migrants experi- assimilation into Black American society. reclaim America based on reactionary ence socioeconomic decline relative to their Understanding the extent of African assimi- White values. Considering the birther parents. The pressures of assimilation on lation into U.S. society has important politi- movement, calls for secession, and the second generation Black migrants seem to cal and social policy implications in the U.S. attacks on President Obama as being operate differently from other immigrant context, especially in the areas of civil rights “other,” there is little doubt that racial groups, obliterating, for example, the coun- and political action. anxiety is a significant factor. This does try-of-origin economic distinctions between not suggest that all people opposing Studies of Black immigrants to the United relatively affluent Jamaican migrants and President Obama’s policies are driven States are predominantly focused on migra- less well off Haitian migrants. by race. tion from the Caribbean and West Indies, With respect to continental African migra- given the fact that two-thirds of first- Racial anxiety is not the same as rac- tion, migrants come from all parts of the generation Black immigrants are from the ism. Research in mind science suggests socioeconomic spectrum, as economic Caribbean and Latin America. However, that most Americans are subject to migrants, students, spouses or relatives immigration from sub-Saharan Africa racial anxiety, and can have anxiety of American citizens, on work visas, or as has grown rapidly since the 1970s for a (continued on page 2) (continued on page 3) INSIDE: Feature Articles • International Perspectives • Talking about Race • Conference Recap • Media Update • GIS Update • Call for Papers • Institute Events • Visions 2042 • New Staff Executive Notes (continued from page 1) ABOUT THE INSTITUTE in one setting and embrace inclusion in lacked union representation. Today, undoc- The Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race another. Our cognitive networks operate umented workers are seen as taking jobs and Ethnicity is a university-wide inter- unconsciously, and saliency of the various and driving down wages, and their status disciplinary research institute. Its goal is networks depends on environmental cues. results in their being greatly exploited. to deepen our understanding of the causes Discussion that the president is not a real However, hostility is directed toward them, of and solutions to racial and ethnic dis- American or not Christian is likely, during not toward their status or corporate elites. parities and hierarchies. This includes an a recession, to trigger racial anxiety. Note explicit focus not only on Ohio and the The fugitive slave laws required all states that Rand Paul attacked the administra- United States, but also on the Americas to help apprehend slaves. Later, the tion’s criticism of BP as un-American. The and our larger global community. Our pri- Supreme Court struck down the Missouri claim that private America can discrimi- mary focus is to increase general under- Compromise asserting federal control over nate is not only a libertarian position, but a standing that, despite many differences, immigration and citizenship. States could position also held by slaveholders and seg- human destinies are intertwined. Thus, not make a binding agreement on slaves regationists. The right has controlled this the institute explores and illustrates both traveling to free states. The fugitive slave our diversity and common humanity in new Southern strategy while moderates laws did not trust free states to apprehend real terms. have been largely silent. fugitive slaves despite a general support The institute brings together a diverse and Regarding immigration and the Anglo- of states’ rights on slavery by a right-wing creative group of scholars and research- American style of globalization, it should court. The law also allowed for the papers ers from various disciplines to focus on be noted that this style is a form of neolib- of any Black person to be demanded. If a the histories, present conditions, and the eralism that protects corporate prerogative person could not produce papers, then s/he future prospects of racially and ethnically while resisting regulation. Simultaneously, could be put into slavery unless s/he could marginalized people. Informed by real- it attacks unions, workers, and democracy. prove s/he was not a slave. world needs, its work strives to meaning- This model advances the free flow of capital fully influence policies and practices. In Arizona, the legislation does not trust and jobs while constraining the movement police to enforce anti-immigration statutes. The institute also focuses on the interre- of citizens and labor, creating structural It has empowered citizens with the right latedness of race and ethnicity with other imbalances in favor of capital. to sue the police. There is still the ques- factors, such as gender, class, and culture, On the third point, the history of slavery tion about whether immigration is a state and how these are embedded in structures informs current immigration debates. or federal issue. Even though citizenship and systems. Collaboration with other During slavery, there was hostility toward claims are in the federal purview, we seem institutions and organizations around the world and ongoing relationships with real slaves and free Blacks who were viewed as willing to allow the state to step in as long people, real communities, and real issues unfair competition to White labor. With as the immigrant “other” pays for it. are a vital part of its work. few exceptions, White workers did not try to develop common cause with Black work- The institute employs many approaches ers. The corporate elite did not face the to fulfilling its mission: original research, same level of resentment except during the publications, comparative analyses, sur- john a. powell, Executive Director populist movement. In the 1930s and 40s, veys, convenings, and conferences. It is Blacks were often seen as scab labor and part of a rich intellectual community and draws upon the insight and energy of the faculty and students at Ohio State. While the institute focuses on margin- alized racial and ethnic communities, it The Kirwan Update is produced by the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and