The Role of Care Practices, Mutual Aid, and Racial Formation in Black Newcomer Practitioners’ Lived Experience Within Organizations: A Critical Qualitative Inquiry

<p>Black newcomers, defined as people who have migrated to the United States regardless of legal status, are one of the fastest-growing immigrant groups. (Morgan-Trostle et al., 2016). Within this population, a small percentage work within the social service sector with other migrants. Using critical qualitative methods, a critical phenomenological methodology and semi-structured interviews, a sample of 17 participants were asked about their experiences of living and working in the U.S. social service sector. The study uses racial formation theory (Omi & Winant, 2014) to conceptualize how participants experienced their racial identity formation and how racism shapes their personal and professional roles. The study also employed a Black feminist theoretical lens to understand how participants gave and received care, support, and mutual aid in their personal and professional lives.</p> <p>Seventeen participants who identified as Black or part of the African diaspora, worked with new arrivals or within the newcomer social service sector as direct service providers, and were at least 18 years old were interviewed. Participants resided in four regions across the continental United States and came from 14 counties across continental Africa and the Caribbean Islands. The research questions were analyzed using two different analytical methods. First, a thematic analysis (Padgett, 2017) and then a critical discourse analysis (Fairclough, 2012) were employed to learn about the lived experience of the sample. Findings included a relational circle of care that reconsidered the giver-receiver binary and centers community and notions of reciprocity, mutuality, and the interconnection between personal and professional. Additional findings highlighted the ways participants accented English led to experiences of racism and xenophobia that shaped their personal and professional roles. Finally, participants shared insights into the ways their relationship with America shaped their claims or rejection of the African American identity distinction. A novel finding from this study suggested that participants did not share anti-Black sentiments but rather rejected U.S. centrism. This study expanded the empirical research that elucidated the experiences of Black newcomers who work within the social service sector.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Year dc:date.available

2024

Author dc:creator

• Dunbar, Annie Zean

Contributors dc:contributor

• Ramona Beltrán
• Marquisha L. Scott
• Michele Hanna

• Care practices
• Critical discourse analysis
• Critical qualitative methods
• Mutual aid
• Newcomers
• Racial formation
• African American Studies
• Migration Studies
• Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies
• Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Social Work
• Women's Studies

Statement dc:rights

• <p>Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.</p>

Language dc:language

English (eng)

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/2425

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.du.edu:etd-3403