Black Identities: West Indian Immigrant Dreams and American Realities

by Mary C. Waters

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.

Genres: Sociology, Immigration, Nonfiction, Race, School

432 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 25, 2000

Reviews

[rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for my for my forced migration & public health class and highly recommend!!! Wish I'd read it sooner honestly. Interesting perspectives on race relations and anti-blackness and the uniqueness of American racism.

[Amaha · Rating 4 out of 5]

An essential book for thinking about the complexities of black immigrant experience, one whose ideas I turn to often. Waters debunks a lot of popular myths- including "model minority" myths offered by Sowell and sometimes subscribed to by West Indian immigrants themselves. Some of Waters' observations have held up better with time than others; anti-black racism has proven both stubborn and adaptive, and it is less clear than it used to be that employers prefer immigrant to native-born black workers (while black immigrants have higher employment rates, they earn lower wages). But still a critical read on race, immigration, and identity in America.

[bayarmaa bat-erdene · Rating 4 out of 5]

read for soc, def interesting!

[Dylan Suher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid, heartfelt sociological study with a clear and largely valid-seeming argument. Unfortunately a bit dated at this point. One wonders about the methodology, but if one wondered about the methodology all the time, there would be no social science whatsoever. At times completely heartbreaking. Surely the only scholarly work of sociology ever to make me cry.

[hh · Rating 4 out of 5]

well written and interesting interview-based study of racism and identity in New York among West Indian, black American, and white populations, focusing on West Indian identities.

[Jerrika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book. A little long and in some places repetitive, but otherwise an interesting look at race relations and immigration in America