Not black, but Habasha: Ethiopian and Eritrean immigrants in American society

Being black, foreign and woman: African immigrant identities in the United States

“…Some of the women therefore sought different strategies to combat the racism and discrimination based on ethnicity that they encountered in the USA. Contrary to findings that suggest that black immigrants emphasize their cultural and ethnic particularity in dealing with racism (Bashi and McDaniel 1997;Habecker 2012;Kasinitz 1992;Waters 1990Waters , 2001Vickerman 1999), some of these women employed a strategy of distancing themselves from their ethnic identities in the workplace. In response to processes of racialization and to be upwardly mobile in the profession, a subset of participants actively sought to distance themselves from specializations and institutions with large concentrations of co-ethnics.…”

“…The theories of assimilation support this claim (Portes and Zhou 1993). Some scholars of immigration argue that in order to be successful, black immigrants may eschew a racial identity that is linked to downward mobility and association with African Americans, and instead may express their ethnic particularity and stress ethnic, cultural and national identities over race (Foner 2001;Habecker 2012;Kasinitz and Vickerman 2001;Vickerman 1999;Waters 2001).…”

Creating transregional collective nostalgia: the organising role of Catholic parishes among Louisiana migrants in Great Migration-era Los Angeles

“…Just as transnationalism studies remind scholars to focus on home regions in research on international migration, the present results highlight the importance of considering home regions in research on internal migration. The role of religious institutions and enclaves in reinforcing internal migrants' transregional collective nostalgia closely corresponds to patterns observed in international migration (Abrahamson 1996;Butterfield 2004;FitzGerald 2009;Habecker 2012;Levitt 2003Levitt , 2007Levitt and Glick Schiller 2004;Richards 2008;Tweed 1997). Catholic parishes were literal and symbolic sites of Louisiana-centred interaction.…”

“…In transnational migrant communities, enclaves feature a high concentration of migrants, enabling strong ties to exist between their lifestyles and their geographic spaces, while supporting continued engagement with customs from home countries. Enclaves reinforce regional identities and foster the second generation's connection to their homeland (Abrahamson 1996;Butterfield 2004;Habecker 2012;Mazumdar et al 2000;cf. Portes and Jensen 1987;Richards 2008).…”

“…Enclaves are important places for immigrants and their second generation (Butterfield 2004;Habecker 2012;Mazumdar et al 2000;Richards 2008). In transnational migrant communities, enclaves feature a high concentration of migrants, enabling strong ties to exist between their lifestyles and their geographic spaces, while supporting continued engagement with customs from home countries.…”