The population of African immigrants in the United States has grown rapidly over the past few decades. African Immigrants and the American Experience: Race, Anti-Black Violence, and the Quest for the American Dream by Wanjala S. Nasong'o, Imali J. Abala, and Kefa M. Otiso explores contemporary sub-Saharan African immigrants' experiences with issues of race, ethnicity, and systemic violence in the United States. Each contributor within this volume dissects how these issues have impacted, and in many cases snuffed out, the immigrants' quest for the fabled American dream. Divided into three sections, each chapter focuses on these main themes: race and anti-black violence, educational attainment among African immigrants in pursuit of the American dream, and African immigrant's socioeconomics, health, and well-being. Through research and first-hand accounts, the contributors provide perspectives of what it truly means to be a sub-Saharan African immigrant in the United States.
Wanjala S. Nasong'o is professor of international studies at Rhodes College. Imali J. Abala is professor of English at Ohio Dominican University. Kefa M. Otiso is professor of geography at Bowling Green State University.
List of Figures and Tables Preface Acknowledgements Introduction: African Immigrants and the American Experience by Wanjala S. Nasong'o, Imali J. Abala, and Kefa M. Otiso Part I: African Immigrants, Race, and Anti-Black Violence Chapter 1: A Geographic, Demographic, and Socioeconomic Portrait of Recent African Immigrants to the United States by Kefa M. Otiso Chapter 2: "I want my father to tell me how I should deal with being Black in America": Disruption of Racial Socialization in Black African Immigrant Households by Margaret Gichane and Faith Maina Chapter 3: Antiblackness and American Exceptionalism: African Immigrants Navigating the Racial Contours of American Life by Brenda Nyandiko Sanya Chapter 4: Deadly Encounters with American Law Enforcement: African Immigrant Victims of Police Violence by Wanjala S. Nasong'o Part II: Education and Pursuit of the American Dream Chapter 5: African Immigrants and the Pursuit of the American Dream in Higher Education by Wycliffe W.S. Njororai Chapter 6: by Educational and Career Trajectories of African Immigrants by Fatuma Guyo and Gloria Nziba Pindi Chapter 7: A Fragmented Life in the Land of the Free by Imali J. Abala Chapter 8: An African Immigrant in Pursuit of the American Dream by Lyndah Wasike Part III: Socioeconomic Portraits and Health and Wellbeing Chapter 9: The Lived Experiences of Senegalese Immigrant Entrepreneurs in Little Senegal, New York City in the Period of the COVID-19 Pandemic by David Monda Chapter 10: African Diaspora and Cultural Identity: West African Immigrant Community Experiences in Memphis, Tennessee by Abou-Bakar Mamah Chapter 11: African Immigrant Health Issues in the US by Lilian Nyindodo Chapter 12: Negotiating Race and Health Within African Refugee Immigrant Communities, by Anne Jebet Rotich About the Contributors
African Immigrants and the American Experience is a well-researched treatment on an often unexplored topic: the life and varied experiences of African immigrants in the United States. It is a clever study, revealing at every turn the complexity, diversity, and changing nature of American society. -- Mickie Mwanzia Koster, The University of Texas at Tyler The journey of the struggles, survival, and success by African immigrants in the United States has not been accorded enough academic attention it deserves. Finally, an assemblage of accomplished African scholars has put together a volume that examines the intersectionality of the social, economic, cultural, and political accomplishments of African immigrants in America, despite their many challenges. This 'must read' twelve-chapter volume provides data, and analysis that will surprise many Afro-skeptics. -- Ayuk E. Augustine, Clayton State University
