Hidden in Blackness

Being Black and Being an Immigrant in U.S. Schools and Colleges

by Chrystal A. George Mwangi and Adaurennaya C. Onyewuenyi

Foreword by Janice B. Fournillier

Series edited by James A. Banks

Published by: Teachers College Press

Series: Multicultural Education Series

Imprint: Teachers College Press

224 Pages, 156.00 × 229.00 × 11.00 mm

Paperback
9780807786925
Published: February 2025

£36.00

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Hardcover
9780807786932
Published: February 2025

£108.00

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Description
Contents
Authors

This timely book offers a transdisciplinary approach for understanding and improving the educational experiences of Black immigrants.

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.

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 40
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