Black History Month: Celebrating and Honoring Black Immigrant Youth
Black History Month is a time to honor the resilience and brilliance of Black communities across the globe. As advocates, it is also an opportunity to reflect on how our practices can more intentionally affirm the identities and lived experiences of Black immigrant youth, whose stories and identities are shaped by migration, racialization, and complex cultural identities.
Black immigrant youth are a diverse population; they come from African, Caribbean, Afro-Latinx, and multiracial backgrounds. Black History Month brings not only the opportunity to engage with and celebrate their identity, but also a time to engage in meaningful culturally responsive support that recognizes the historical and current realities faced by Black immigrant youth.
Understanding the Challenges Black Immigrant Youth Face
Black Immigrant youth often navigate multiple challenges that can impact their mental health, identity development, and sense of belonging.
- Anti-Blackness and racism can be new experiences for Black immigrant youth, and racism can look different post-migration. For some youth, arriving in the United States, it may be the first time they are racialized or labeled as “Black.” This labeling can be not only confusing, but also lead to experiences of racial profiling, discrimination, or stereotypes that are different from how they understood themselves in their country of origin, creating a conflicting view around their identity formation.
- Immigration-related stressors like family separation, language barriers, fear of deportation, financial instability, and navigating complex systems can intensify the effects of racial stress and identity conflicts.
- Identity conflicts are common as youth try to balance expectations and cultural norms at home, while striving to fit in with their peers at school and in their neighborhood. Youth may feel that they are, “not enough” in their culture of origin, while also feeling that they are not being “American” enough. They may have previously known who they were in their community, defined by their personality and talents, without having to navigate that added layer of being viewed as an outsider in a new community.
- Intergenerational conflicts may arise as youth navigate new information, learn cultural norms, and gain access to educational opportunities that may not have been available to previous generations. The youth may begin to hold different views on mental health, gender norms, independence, finances, religion, and education, which can cause tension with family members, especially those with generational gaps such as parents and grandparents.
Identity as a source of strength
As advocates, we are often aware of the challenges that Black immigrant youth face- rightfully so, as we continue to fight for a more just system for them. We sometimes forget to center the strength, joy, and power that their identities carry. Black immigrant youth carry resilience, culture, and community as their stories continue to develop. These youth are multilingual, multicultural, highly adaptable, and aware of the sacrifices made by them and their families. Their identities not only help them survive but also empower them to thrive. This is an opportunity to connect their personal stories to broader stories of migration, resistance and survival across Black and immigrant communities. Highlighting how their identities are both a foundation and a source of empowerment is important.
Supporting Black immigrant youth
As we take the month to actively engage in identifying supportive practices for Black immigrant youth, below are some tips for supporting youth:
- Ask, don’t assume. Do not assume race, nationality, language, or culture. As advocates, curiosity emphasizes cultural humility by listening and being open to learning new information instead of minimizing the client to our own beliefs.
- Normalize complexity. Identity can change, especially in youth, and those changes are intensified when youth are navigating between different experiences, cultures, and languages.
- Do not be afraid to name racism and validate lived experiences. Avoid minimizing or avoiding experiences of discrimination. Simply naming racism and Anti-Blackness can be validating to the youth’s experience. They are not the problem; it is a systemic issue that requires education on a broader scale.
- Reflect on their strengths by highlighting their resilience, adaptability, and courage despite the struggles they face everyday.
- Support bicultural or multicultural identities. Remind youth they do not have to choose a single cultural identity or fit into any particular mold because neither will tell their full story. Their full story includes the intersection of their multicultural identities. Identity can be fluid, and it is normal for their sense of self to continue developing and even change completely over time to reflect the new experiences, relationships, and insights they’ve gained.
- Use Black history month actively and intentionally versus superficially. Celebration of identity and history goes beyond a one-time post or annual activity. Engage youth and families by sharing resources, authors, and histories that reflect the diversity and strength of Black communities across the globe. Create space for conversations about what Black history month means to them, how they engage with their Black identity, and how their immigrant identity also intersects to shape who they are as a person.
By CILA social work team