Haitian Immigrants in Black America A Sociological and Sociolinguistic Portrait

Subjects:

• Sociology » Urban Studies
• Anthropology » Linguistics
• Multicultural Studies » Black Studies
• Multicultural Studies » Multicultural Studies (General)

Reviews:

• Only Jamaica sends more black immigrants to the US than Haiti. In most cases, Haitians have retained their identity. Zéphir looks at the process of ethnic identity formation among Haitian immigrants and focuses on macr (external) and micro (internal) causal factors.
  —
  Choice
• [O]ffers rich perspectives on the experience of Haitian immigrants in the United States....Flore Zéphir brings an insider's intimate understanding of the Haitian immigrant experience and of the role of Creole in shaping and maintaining Haitian ethnic identity....Her analysis demonstrates that when race and ethnicity remain undifferentiated, we lose the rich variety of cultural and class differences of black group....Haitian Immigrants in Black America masterfully tackles the complex dynamics of social stratification and the strategic use of ethnicity in New York's Haitian community.
  —New West Indian Guide

• Endorsement From
  David R. Roediger, Professor of History,
  University of Minnesota: Zéphir's remarkable ethnographic and sociolinguistic study of Haitian immigration will engage a variety of readers concerned with immigration to the U.S., past and present. An important and timely contribution.

Table of Contents:

• Preface
• Haitian Immigrants: Sociological Dimensions
• Haitians in New York City
• Premigration Experience of Haitian Immigrants
• Emergence and Essence of Haitian Immigrant Ethnicity
• Haitians' Responses to African Americans
• Haitian Immigrants: Sociolinguistic Dimensions
• Language and Ethnicity in the Haitian Immigrant Context
• Patterns of Language Use of Haitian Immigrants
• Haitians, American Cultural Pluralism, and Black Ethnics
• Appendix: Interview Questions
• Works Cited