African Immigrants and the American Experience : Race, Anti-Black Violence, and the Quest for the American Dream

This book explores the lived experiences of African immigrants in the United States in their pursuit of the fabled American dream. It examines and documents their travails, successes, and fate vis-à-vis the problematics of race, ethnicity, and anti-Black violence.

The population of African immigrants in the United States has grown rapidly over the past few decades. African Immigrants and the American Experience: Race, Anti-Black Violence, and the Quest for the American Dream by Wanjala S. Nasong’o, Imali J. Abala, and Kefa M. Otiso explores contemporary sub-Saharan African immigrants’ experiences with issues of race, ethnicity, and systemic violence in the United States. Each contributor within this volume dissects how these issues have impacted, and in many cases snuffed out, the immigrants’ quest for the fabled American dream. Divided into three sections, each chapter focuses on these main themes: race and anti-black violence, educational attainment among African immigrants in pursuit of the American dream, and African immigrant’s socioeconomics, health, and well-being. Through research and first-hand accounts, the contributors provide perspectives of what it truly means to be a sub-Saharan African immigrant in the United States.