A Case Study of Race Consciousness Among Haitian Immigrants

This article examines the manifestation of race consciousness among Haitian immigrants, part of the growing black immigrant population in the United States. It is based on 1978-1980 data on Haitians in a suburban midwestern setting. Most black immigrants are physically similar to black Ameri-cans and face discrimination on the basis of their racial designation (Bryce-Laporte, 1972; Buchanan, 1979; Laguerre, 1984; Reid, 1939; Schiller, 1977). Yet, there is hardly any study of the develop-ment of race consciousness among black immigrants. In this case study, it was found that most Haitian immigrants lack race consciousness. Possible reasons for this are (a) the social organization of the Haitian community that mediates between new migrants and American institutions so that the direct effects of racial discrimination are muted; (b) the segmentation of the job market and consequent segregated occupational position of most Haitians; and (c) most Haitian immigrants ’ ideology for migration to the United States. This article has five parts: (1) the definition of the concept of race consciousness, (2) methods and research site, (3) race con-sciousness among the Haitian immigrants studied, (4) reasons for their limited race consciousness, and (5) conclusions and implica-tions for further research.