Young Children of Black Immigrants in America: Changing Flows, Changing Faces
The child population in the United States is rapidly changing and diversifying—in large part because of immigration. Today, nearly one in four U.S. children under the age of 18 is the child of an immigrant. While research has focused on the largest of these groups (Latinos and Asians), far less academic attention has been paid to the changing Black child population, with the children of Black immigrants representing an increasing share of the U.S. Black child population.
To better understand a unique segment of the child population, chapters in this interdisciplinary volume examine the health, well-being, school readiness, and academic achievement of children in Black immigrant families (most with parents from Africa and the Caribbean).
The volume explores the migration and settlement experiences of Black immigrants to the United States, focusing on contextual factors such as family circumstances, parenting behaviors, social supports, and school climate that influence outcomes during early childhood and the elementary and middle-school years. Many of its findings hold important policy implications for education, health care, child care, early childhood development, immigrant integration, and refugee assistance.
Introduction
Michael Fix, Randy Capps, and Kristen McCabe
Part One: Demography of a Rapidly Growing Immigrant Population to the United States
Contemporary Black Caribbean Immigrants in the United States
Kevin J.A. Thomas
New Streams: Black African Migration to the United States
Randy Capps, Kristen McCabe, and Michael Fix
Young Children in Black Immigrant Families from Africa and the Caribbean
Donald J. Hernandez
Part Two: Family Circumstances, Early Childhood Outcomes, and School Readiness
Black and Immigrant: Exploring the Effects of Ethnicity and Foreign-Born Status on Infant Health
Tiffany L. Green
Parenting Behavior, Health, and Cognitive Development among Children in Black Immigrant Families: Comparing the United States and United Kingdom
Margot Jackson
Patterns and Predictors of School Readiness and Early Childhood Success among Young Children in Black Immigrant Families
Danielle A. Crosby and Angel S. Dunbar
Circumstances and Outcomes among Black Immigrant Mothers and their Young Children: Evidence from Palm Beach County, Florida
Lauren Rich, Julie Spielberger, and Angela Valdovinos D’Angelo
Transnational Parenting: Child Fostering in Ghanaian Immigrant Families
Cati Coe
Part Three: Educational Experiences and Academic Achievement
Beyond Black: Diversity among Black Immigrant Students in New York City Public Schools
Fabienne Doucet, Amy Ellen Schwartz, and Elizabeth Debraggio
The Academic Development of Black Foreign-Born Students in Miami-Dade County Schools
Dylan Conger and Megan Hatch
Will the Paradox Hold? Uncovering the Path to Academic Success for Young Children of Black Immigrants
Carola Suárez-Orozco