The Antinomies of Globalization: Causes of Contemporary African Immigration to the United States of (original) (raw)

The Antinomies of Globalization: Some Consequences of Contemporary African Immigration to the United

2005

The first class carpenters, tinsmiths, blacksmiths, wheelwrights, brick masons and other skilled workmen, made so by slavery, are disappearing and few of their places are being filled. Northern competition has completely shut the skilled Negro workman out from that section, and the continual stream of well-trained European laborers that is continually flowing into the West leaves him no foothold there. We are compelled to admit that he holds his place in the South today, not so much by an over superiority of workmanship as from lack of competition. When the day comes, as it evidently will, when that great train of sturdy Englishmen and Germans begins to fill up the South, unless the Negro prepares himself thoroughly for the conflict, during the interim, his only resort will be in the cotton field. [1] &every hour sees the black man elbowed out of employment by some newly arrived emigrant, whose hunger and whose color are thought to give him a better title to the place. [2] If we would reach a degree of civilization higher and grander than any yet attained, we should welcome to our ample continent all nations, kindreds and tongues and peoples; and as fast as they learn our language and comprehend the duties of citizenship, we would incorporate them into the American body politic. The outspread wings of the American eagle are broad enough to shelter all who are likely to come. [3]

Economic Assimilation of African Immigrants in the United States

The Park Place Economist, 2015

From 1980 to 2009, the African-born population in United States grew from just under 200,000 to almost 1.5 million (McCabe, 2011). According to the New York Times, the number of black African immigrants alone doubled in the 2000's (2014). Clearly, there has been a significant increase in the population of Africans in the U.S. A logical question to ask is what has been attracting Africans? If we agree with Barry Chiswick that "economic migrants tend on average to be more able, ambitious, aggressive, entrepreneurial, or otherwise more favorably selected than similar individuals who choose to remain in their place of origin" (1999), we may conclude that the economic returns to all these qualities must be increasing. Therefore, another question to ask, and the focus of this research, is what is the labor market experience of the workers among African immigrants, and how does it change over time in comparison to U.S. natives? If the population of Africans in the U.S is incr...

Dimensions of African Migration to the United States: Labor, Brain Drain, Identity Formation and Naturalization

Ìrìnkèrindò: a Journal of African …, 2003

Yorùbá say, obscured those on the horizon. There was just too much busy-ness, and all of it involved being stuck in one locale rather than being engaged in Ìrìnkèrindò. But here she is once again, on the move, and the combined force of a healthy dose of guilt, unflagging sense of dedication and responsibility, and the incessant nagging of my conscience make it inevitable that she write her part of this editorial so that the third issue of the journal can be published once and for all. So, passing through Paris" Charles De Gaulle airport, traveling to Lagos with Air France, our editor mused that it would have been more enjoyable if the editorial team had traveled in tandem, for one of us is fluent and expert in French, and the other halting and amateur. This airport is somewhat of a blur, in spite of her having passed through on two previous occasions. Were this the first time, there would have been no time to develop a serious impression since there were only approximately fifty minutes between flights with the challenge of having to change from one terminal to another. This was something that had caused quite a bit of anxiety prior to travel since any delay on the New York end would have made it impossible to make the connecting flight. Anyhow, it was a relief that things went smoothly, and that the plane ride was uneventful.

Globalized anti-blackness: Transnationalizing Western immigration law, policy, and practice

Ethnic and Racial Studies, 2004

The racial category "black" is not merely an excluded category in a history of documented Western preference for "white" immigrants. Comparative historical evidence shows clear strategies to keep black persons out of First World nations, except as temporary labour. In this climate, black migration occurs partly because each nation has an ambivalent relationship to the black labourers, soldiers and seamen who offer their service expecting membership in the polity in return. Finding such membership objectionable, Western governments individually avoid black immigration. They also watch, imitate, and respond to each other's admission policies vis-à-vis blacks to ensure each limits the size of the black population they "welcome" relative to the other nations. When seen as a policy corpus , these actions may be interpreted as an anti-black immigration policy operative on a global scale. This article theorizes a transnationalization of racialized (anti-black) immigration policy in the histories of the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada.

“You can’t go Home no More”: Africans in America in the Age of Globalization

West African Migrations: Transnational and Global Pathways in a New Century, 2012

“owe lesin oro, bi oro ba sonu, owe l’afi nwaa. (Proverbs are the horses of words and language. When words are lost, it is with proverbs that we find them. Proverbs illuminate words and reveal the deep, underlying meanings in words.)” Yoruba proverb. There are many clichés about home – Home is where the heart is, for instance. However, since this is a contribution to a project on Transnational Africa and Globalization foregrounding how personal experiences, professional interests, and scholarship shaped experiences of Diaspora and Transnationality, I feel the necessity to return to Nigeria from my present location in North America, and will weave in scholarly ruminations on home, sojourn, and return, all within the context of how transnationality and globalism have shaped my experiences. Since I do not see myself as a passive victim of circumstances, I will also give some insight into how I have consciously and otherwise shaped my experiences of these worldwide phenomena, within the limits of my capabilities. I will do this through the use of my understanding of the Yorùbá language, and my experience and knowledge of the culture to explicate what these experiences and phenomena mean to me.