Analyzes the situation of English-speaking African-Caribbeans in Canada as they strive to attain upward social & economic mobility. Census data, 1981-2007, and qualitative data obtained during 2004-2007 interviews with 90 African-Caribbeans living in Halifax, Toronto, and Calgary are drawn on to explored their employment and education experiences, along with perceptions of racism and how it has impacted their opportunities, health, and well-being.
"This article investigates the efficacy of community organizing by African Caribbean migrants in Toronto, Ontario. The author argues that community organizing was an instinctive initiative of African Caribbean people. Historically, Black community organizational agenda, although owing much to its own resourcefulness and fortitude, was intimately connected to the influence and strength of the larger White population. Racism and social exclusions were the major external factors influencing the majority of African Caribbean institutional building." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR];
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
297 p., Begins with an introduction to the Caribbean region and the cultural and historical origins of its peoples. She focuses on the cultural practices that shape the community in Toronto, and the extent to which they facilitate or impede integration in Canadian society. Looks closely at such things as male-female relationships, forms of family organization, and patterns of religious practice, and shows that some cultural patterns have been maintained by members of the community whereas others have changed during the migration process.
