The Missing Evidence for Ethnic Solidarity among Cubans in Miami

Ethnic solidarity is often considered to be a crucial factor in the economic success of immigrant groups such as the Cubans in Miami. Despite the prominence of this concept in studies of Cubans, there is a lack of clear definitions of and concrete empirical evidence for ethnic solidarity. The result...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of immigrant & refugee studies 2009-09, Vol.7 (3), p.250-266
Main Author: Alberts, Heike C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cuba
Cubans
Ethnic Identity
Ethnic solidarity
Group Identity
Miami
Miami, Florida
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Summary:Ethnic solidarity is often considered to be a crucial factor in the economic success of immigrant groups such as the Cubans in Miami. Despite the prominence of this concept in studies of Cubans, there is a lack of clear definitions of and concrete empirical evidence for ethnic solidarity. The results of a survey of Cubans in Miami show that there is little tangible evidence for ethnic solidarity in the contemporary Cuban community; instead of relying on co-ethnics, most depend on help from friends and family members. Based on the results from this case study it is argued that scholars studying ethnic communities cannot take the existence of ethnic solidarity for granted. Rather, they need to distinguish between different types of ethnic solidarity, pay attention to changes in ethnic solidarity over time, and examine whether all actions attributed to ethnic solidarity are really motivated by shared feelings among co-ethnics.
ISSN:1556-2948
1556-2956
DOI:10.1080/15562940903150063