In Sheri Ann Butterfield’s article, she describes the identity of second generation West Indians in terms of both race and ethnicity. She asserts that West Indians do not make a choice between race and identity; they embrace both. According to Butterfield, one may be more emphasized than the other depending on the environment and the context of the situation. Choosing to emphasize one part of identity does not mean rejection of the other. Butterfield also argues that assimilation is not unidirectional and the notion that West Indians distance themselves from African Americans to prevent downward mobility fails to account for class status. West Indians who are financially inclined choose to distinguish themselves from all poor blacks, not just African Americans.
Differences in ethnicity and race fosters racism, as shown by the example of West Indian children being judged for their accents or in many cases where West Indians are assumed to be African Americans. West Indian identity in society is a bit complicated because they are racially the same as African Americans, but ethnically different. Because of this, they face discrimination on both sides.
One good thing that has stemmed from the second generation of West Indians is the changing role of women. The role of West Indian women was to wait on men and perform domestic chores. This has changed in the second generation in that more and more West Indian women are becoming educated which leads to them getting prestigious jobs, a substantial change from the role they were formerly expected to live up to.
Caribbean and West Indian culture is increasingly influencing New York culture, which may be an indication that their culture is now more widely known. This is advantageous to them because people may not confuse them with other ethnicities as often as they did before.
