Black identities : West Indian immigrant dreams and American realities / Mary C. Waters.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Waters, Mary C.

Series:

Russell Sage Foundation Books at Harvard University Press.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

West Indian Americans--Ethnic identity.

West Indian Americans.

West Indian Americans--Race identity.

West Indian Americans--Cultural assimilation.

Immigrants--United States--Social conditions.

Immigrants.

United States--Ethnic relations.

United States.

United States--Race relations.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xii, 413 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New York : Russell Sage Foundation ; Cambridge, MA : Harvard University Press, 1999.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The story of West Indian immigrants to the United States is generally considered to be a great success. Mary Waters, however, tells a very different story. She finds that the values that gain first-generation immigrants initial success--a willingness to work hard, a lack of attention to racism, a desire for education, an incentive to save--are undermined by the realities of life and race relations in the United States. Contrary to long-held beliefs, Waters finds, those who resist Americanization are most likely to succeed economically, especially in the second generation.

Contents:

Frontmatter

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

CONTENTS

TABLES AND MAP

1 Introduction

2 Historical Legacies

3 Racial and Ethnic Identity Choices

4 West Indians at Work

5 Encountering American Race Relations

6 Intergenerational Dynamics

7 Segregated Neighborhoods and Schools

8 Identities of the Second Generation

9 Immigrants and American Race Relations

Appendix: Notes on Methodology

Notes

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. [373]-407) and index.

ISBN:

9780674044944

0674044940

OCLC:

923112181