About this poster

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Panel information
Panel 5. Identity

Abstract

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Racial and social justice movements, such as the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests in 2020, often compel Black youth to grapple with what it means to be Black in the U.S. while navigating the social, cognitive, biological, and moral developmental processes of adolescence. African immigrant adolescents’ perceptions and engagement with these movements may be heightened or diminished depending on how they are socialized to view their ethnic identity in relation to their racial identity. This study aimed to situate African immigrant adolescents’ ethnic and racial identity development within the BLM movements using a conceptual framework that postulates that proximal and distal factors related to race (e.g., structural racism, ethnic racial socialization) and immigration (e.g., sociopolitical relations, family cultural traditions) coact to influence Black immigrant adolescents’ ethnic racial identity, critical consciousness, and health.

In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 adolescents (13-17 years), recruited from youth organizations, personal and professional networks, and social media. Two coders inductively coded the following interview questions: Do you feel that movements like these [BLM] have changed or influenced the way you feel about your ethnic racial identity? How do you feel about these movements? Did you participate in any of the protests? All three authors met to discuss and describe themes.

The three primary themes identified include: (1) incongruence between cultural upbringing and violence/riots occurring during protests; (2) respectability politics; and (3) solidarity with Black Americans. Adolescents’ alignment with these themes differed based on the congruence between their ethnic and racial identity and were associated with proximal and distal factors related to race and immigration, as well as moral and cognitive developmental processes. For instance, youth who expressed parental concerns regarding violence during protests also described a cultural upbringing (proximal immigration-related factor) that placed more value on ethnicity as opposed to racial identity. Respectability politics captured some youth’s description of “being good” as a way to avoid racism. This theme was connected to adolescents’ other responses that suggested they view ethnicity as superior to race and this is reflected on their report of ethnicity/race-related conversations with their families that emphasized ethnicity rather than race. Conversely, some youth expressed solidarity with Black Americans due to the BLM movements. These youth emphasized a shared racial identity with Black Americans, and consequently, shared oppression regardless of ethnic background.

This study highlights the intersection between ethnic and racial identity development among African immigrant adolescents in the context of the BLM protests. For African immigrant youth, ethnic and racial identities may develop independently, though both are complicated by proximal and distal factors related to race and immigration. Additionally, underlying moral and cognitive processes may shape youth’s engagement and perceptions of racial and social justice movements, and consequently, their ethnic and racial identity development. For example, the BLM movements represent a distal race-related factor, and African immigrant adolescents’ solidarity with Black Americans highlights the movement’s impact on heightening youth’s awareness of their racial or ethnic identity. Yet, the extent to which African immigrant youth are able to demonstrate solidarity and recognize their racial identity may depend on their own cognitive and moral development. Youths’ perceptions and engagement with the BLM protests highlight how African immigrant youth contend with the incongruence between existing racial injustices and cultural messages, which may vary based on cognitive developmental processes. Understanding how cognitive and moral development during adolescence impact ethnic and racial identity development in the context of race- and immigration-related proximal (e.g., familial socialization) and distal factors (e.g., racial and social justice movements) is critical to inform how families, schools, and communities could better support youth with intersecting marginalized identities navigating these complicated developmental processes.

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