Hidden in Blackness analyzes the experiences, perspectives, and development of Black immigrant students, while also complicating how race, ethnicity, nativity, and nationality are understood across the P-20 education landscape. The authors unpack how Blackness and anti-Black racism in the United States can foster Black immigrants becoming hidden in Blackness in schools and education research-meaning their Black identity is homogenized into a U.S. construction of Blackness while their ethnicity, nationality, and nativity go unacknowledged or is weaponized to subjugate other people of Color. The book culminates by offering the Black Diasporic Illumination (BDI) framework with recommendations for supporting these students with a positive sense of self and abilities in the face of racial realities. BDI bridges sociocultural ecology, ethnic-racial identity and socialization scholarship, asset orientations, and critical constructions of race and racism into a transdisciplinary approach for understanding the experiences of Black immigrants in U.S. education. Book Features: Spans the experiences and outcomes of both K-12 and higher education Black immigrant students to provide a more complete picture. Integrates a structural lens that considers the role of systemic racism, nativism, xenophobia, anti-Blackness, and white supremacy embedded within the educational experience. Amplifies the rich diversity that exists among Black communities and immigrant communities in the United States. Offers researchers, practitioners, and policymakers guidance for better supporting these students through awareness of their educational experiences, needs, challenges, and successes. Provides insights into the demographic diversity of Black immigrants (e.g., parental education level, nationality, ethnicity, English-language proficiency, and citizenship/ documentation status) and how these shape educational experiences and outcomes differently.
Chrystal A. George Mwangi, a transnational Black women scholar, is an associate professor of higher education at George Mason University. Adaurennaya "Ada" C. Onyewuenyi, a second-generation Nigerian of the Igbo tribe, is an associate professor of psychology and affiliate faculty of African American studies at The College of New Jersey.
Contents Series Foreword James A. Banks ?xi Foreword: What Do You Know About and How Do You Study "Black and Immigrant Students"? Janice B. Fournillier ?xv Acknowledgments ?xix Introduction: Complicating Blackness and Immigration ?1 Hidden in Blackness ?1 Black Immigration Flows and Immigration Policies ?2 Black Immigrant Demographic Shifts in the United States ?6 How We Enter: Author Positionalities ?9 Organization of the Book ?13 1. ?Lifting the Veil on the Landscape of Black Immigrant and U.S. Education Scholarship ?14 The Research Landscape ?14 Reframing Black Immigrants' U.S. Educational Experiences ?18 Conclusion ?21 2. ?Complicating Racial Identity Development ?22 Black Identity Development Theories ?22 Black Immigrants and Black Identity Development ?26 Linking Blackness and Nativity, Ethnicity, and Nationality ?31 Centering Power in Understanding Black Immigrants' Racial Identity Development ?38 3. ?Complicating the K-12 Education System and Structures ?40 School Environment ?41 Family vs. School or Family and School? ?54 Conclusion ?56 4. ?Complicating K-12 Social Support and Resources: Black Immigrant Youth Navigating Gatekeepers and Shepherds ?57 Gatekeepers and Shepherds ?58 Family and Community Expectations, Socialization, and Support ?58 Peers as Facilitators, Supporters, or Prohibitors ?67 Teachers and School Counselors as Interrupters, Advocates, or Instigators ?75 Black Immigrant Students' Strategies to Navigate Various Environments and Relationships ?80 Conclusion ?82 5. ?Complicating Access to Higher Education ?83 Framing the College-Going Process ?84 College-Going Motivators, Supports, and Resources ?85 Barriers to the College-Going Process ?94 Conclusion ?100 6. ?Complicating Student Experiences in Higher Education ?101 Adjustment to College ?101 Experiences With Campus Culture and Climate for Diversity ?104 Classroom and Academic Experiences ?109 Social and Peer Engagement ?112 Conclusion ?120 7. ?Complicating Education and Workforce Outcomes ?121 Educational Outcomes: Complicating the Success Story ?121 Workforce Participation and Outcomes ?125 Conclusion: Hidden No More: The Black Diasporic Illumination Framework ?131 Developing the BDI Framework: Theoretical and Conceptual Grounding ?131 BDI Framework ?133 Implications for Future Research ?136 Implications for Education Practice and Policy ?138 Conclusion ?140 Epilogue: A Love Letter to Black Immigrant Students Navigating the U.S. Education System ?142 Appendix: Data Sources and Research Designs ?145 Endnotes ?155 References ?157 Index ?193 About the Authors ?201
