“All they see is black”: The experience and negotiation of racial identity for Nigerians in the United States

ABSTRACT

The United States experienced rising racial tensions in 2020 due to several brutal killings of Black people. Given this context, this study examined how Nigerian immigrants experienced race and how these experiences affected their identity negotiation strategies as Black in the United States. Using a qualitative open-ended questionnaire, a purposive sample of Nigerians (N = 68) who grew up in Nigeria but resided in the United States at the time of the study was assembled. Constant comparative analysis revealed Nigerians’ experience of race was a function of (a) understandings of race, (b) salient racial encounters, and (c) affective states. Findings also indicated Nigerians’ racialized experiences impacted perceptions of Blackness and stereotypes communicated to them. Lastly, racial identity negotiation strategies included (a) awareness and caution, and (b) affinity and pride in being Black. These findings’ implications are discussed in relation to the boundaries of race, Blackness, and group membership, thus providing more nuanced understandings of race, even as globalization increases the likelihood of intercultural and interracial communication.

KEYWORDS:

• Race
• blackness
• identity negotiation
• Nigerian immigrants

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 The questionnaire contained other questions that have been reported in another manuscript and are not analyzed here.

2 IRB no. 12228; University name masked.

3 Emphasis (in italics) added by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Doris E. Acheme

Doris E. Acheme (Ph. D., University of Oklahoma) is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Georgia. Her research examines how identity impacts psycho-social responses during intergroup interactions.

Ioana A. Cionea

Ioana A. Cionea (Ph. D., University of Maryland) is an associate professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Oklahoma. Her research focuses on interpersonal and intercultural communication, specifically, arguing behaviors.