Sherri-Ann P. Butterfield conducted a very interesting study on the identity formation and classification of second generation West Indians. The main issue for West Indians is that they continue to be distinguished by the color of their skin instead of their ethnic background. Numerous uneducated and racist individuals perceive West Indians to be African Americans, where in fact they are from completely different parts of the world. Such a misconception, socioeconomic class, and gender roles, are causing second generation West Indians to take on a new identity for themselves.
Second generation West Indians continue to struggle in choosing an identity that seems fit by American standards or the identity that their parents desire based on the ethnicity of their homeland. Numerous participants in Butterfield’s study spoke of the racism that they received, purely due to the fact that the color of their skin is black. When racist individuals see a black person, they automatically assume African American, and a multitude of negative stereotypes come to mind. One example that was given astounded me; it was about the West Indian girl who was asked to speak about her family’s transition from the south to the north in her AP history course, and when she said that she was West Indian, and not African American, the teacher responds “I can’t believe you haven’t had a true black experience.” All of these stereotypes from teachers and fellow students have caused some West Indians to actually play an African American role just to fit in at school, and when they return home they become West Indian again to please their parents.
Socioeconomic class and gender also have a major effect on the identities created by second generation West Indians. Differences between working and middle-class West Indians have brought about different perceptions of one another. Middle class West Indians utilize their class and ethnicity to distance themselves from not only poor African Americans, but poor blacks in general. The neighborhood in which a West Indian lives in definitely has an affect on the the class of the people and therefore affects their identity. In addition to socioeconomic class, gender roles are also changing for second generation West Indians. Second generation West Indian women are now diverging from the previous path of West Indian women, where they used to wait on men, to a more independent route where they go to college, get a descent job, and marry a man with “equal-marriage” values. Men, on the other hand, seem to be taking up a more unifying role where they see all men of color equally in a fight to defend themselves from abuse and harassment from cops.
Second generation West Indians are succumb to a multitude of factors that determine their identity and perception of self. Racism from those who see West Indians as African Americans, socioeconomic status, and gender roles are all major factors that contribute to the identity West Indians establish for themselves. Hopefully, people will become more educated and understanding in the future in order for West Indians and all the other immigrants to be proud of their ethnic identities instead of hiding or changing identity.
