Exploring Black Immigrants' and Nonimmigrants' Understanding of "Acting Black" and "Acting White". (April 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Thelamour, Barbara; Johnson, Deborah J.
• Is Part Of: Journal of black psychology. Volume 43:Number 3(2017)
• Page Start: 280
• Page End: 304
• Publication Date: 2017-04
• Subjects: adolescent development -- acculturation -- Black immigrants -- acting Black -- acting White -- mixed methods; African Americans -- Psychology -- Periodicals; 155.8496
• DOI: 10.1177/0095798416641863
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0095-7984

Abstract

Immigrant and nonimmigrant Black adolescents' perceptions of "acting Black" and "acting White" were compared using a concurrent mixed-methods approach. Using the Maryland Adolescent Development in Context Study data set, 39 second-generation African and Caribbean adolescent immigrants and a matched set of 39 nonimmigrant Black peers responded to the question "What does it mean to act Black/White?" Their responses were examined for differences and change over time. Quantitative analyses revealed that all Black youth shifted in their perspectives of acting White and acting Black but immigrant youth differed significantly from their nonimmigrant counterparts. Analysis of secondary qualitative text further highlighted respondents' development and change at Time 2. These results underscore a racial cultural orientation process under the tridimensional model that acknowledges Black immigrants' acculturation to African American culture in the United States.