In A Foreign Land: Stories Of African Immigrants And Their Children In Jackson, MS
My research focuses on the characteristics of African community in Jackson, MS and the factors that contribute to the development and continued existence of African community in the U.S. South. I specifically look at African community as a subregion of the South and draw conclusions about African community and its connections to the larger Southern region of the United States. African community in Jackson, MS develops through the shared experiences of African immigrants who now share the geographical space of the Jackson metropolitan area. This research will show how African members identify their communities and how their children identify and negotiate these identities in accordance to national, regional and racial identity in America and Africa. This paper examines the various ways members of the African community in Jackson, MS negotiate and maintain a distinct African identity amidst vast social pressures to assimilate into both American society and African-American culture. I pay particular attention to the intersections of gender and age. Although some might consider these practices gendered, such as developing community, carrying culture, and passing on a legacy to their children, I argue that they are acts of courage and resistance, which enable the survival of the African community.
African, Black Studies, Immigration, Jackson, South, Southern Studies, Sociology
Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations