African American and Black Caribbean feelings of closeness to Africans

• Published in: Identities (Yverdon, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2017-07, Vol.24 (4), p.493-512
• Main Authors: Thornton, Michael C., Taylor, Robert Joseph, Chatters, Linda M., Forsythe-Brown, Ivy
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: African American attitudes; African Americans; African cultural groups; African diaspora; Black people; Caribbeans; Closeness; Diaspora; Economic stress; ethnic closeness; Ethnicity; Immigration; Intergroup relations; Polls & surveys; Race; Race relations; Self concept; West Indians
• ISSN: 1070-289X; 1547-3384
• DOI: 10.1080/1070289X.2016.1208096

African American and Black Caribbean relations dominate research on interactions across black ethnic divides. Using National Survey of American Life data, we explore a different aspect of black interethnic attitudes: how close these groups feel towards Africans. African Americans and Black Caribbeans were largely similar in their feelings of closeness to Africans. For Black Caribbeans, younger and male respondents, those reporting higher levels of financial strain, living in the northeast and persons who immigrated to the US at least 11 years ago, report feeling especially close to Africans. Being male was the only significant correlate among African Americans. The findings are discussed in relation to how race, ethnicity and national origin shape personal identities within the US and their significance for intergroup perceptions. These broader issues warrant further consideration in light of assertions that race as a defining feature of American life and intergroup relations is obsolete.