Abstract
This article explores multiple affiliations that first-generation Francophone sub-Saharan African immigrants in Alberta build with their communities of origin, the Francophone community in general, and the broader Canadian society. This article posits that dominant racial and ethnic ideologies generate feelings of exclusion from multiple communities. It also sheds light on major challenges faced by this population in the process of integration and illustrates how these barriers are related to racism and linguistic discrimination. At the same time, we observe that African Francophone immigrants reinterpret their social identities in inclusive ways that draw our attention to alternative means of approaching identities. In addition to immigrants’ identity strategies, some initiatives have been implemented within the mainstream of the Francophonie and the broader Alberta society that allow us to identify ways of avoiding identity exclusion and increasing equity.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
The analyzed data are part of the project of the Racial and Ethnic Identity of African Francophone Immigrants (2008–2011), which was funded by the University of Calgary. All interviews were used to identify the themes of analysis; however, excerpts from eight interviews were employed in this article and numbered from no. 1 to no 8.
In response to MLA Léo Piquette case, who took legal action against Alberta government when he was prohibited to ask a question in French in Alberta’s Legislative Assembly, the Supreme Court of Canada invalidated Bill 60 in 1990 confirming that section 110 of the NT Act was still in effect since it has never been formally revoked.
References
ACFA. (2009). Énoncé de vision. //www.acfa.ab.ca/vision.html. Accessed May 3 2014.
Agrawal, S., & Lovell, K. (2010). High‐income Indian immigrants in Canada. South Asian Diaspora, 2(2), 143–163.
Belkhodja, C. (2012). D’ici et d’ailleurs. Regards croisés sur l’immigration francophone en Acadie du Nouveau-Brunswick. Moncton: Éditions Perce-Neige.
Berns-McGown, R. (2013). “I am Canadian”, challenging stereotypes about young Somali Canadians. Montreal: Institute for Research on Public Policy No. 38.
Cardinal, L., Gilbert, A., & Thériault, J. (2008). L’Espace francophone en milieu minoritaire. Montreal: Fides.
Carlson-Berg, L. (2012). Parlons de la francophonie dans toutes ses couleurs: Un projet recherche-action en sciences humaines. Canadian Issues, 51–54
CIC. (2013). Facts and figures. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/statistics/facts2012/.
Das Gupta, T., James, C., Maaka, R., Galabuzi, G.-E., & Anderson, C. (Eds.). (2007). Race and racialization, essential readings. Toronto: Canadian Scholars’ Press.
Davies, P., Spencer, S., & Steele, C. (2005). Clearing the air: identity safety moderates the effects of stereotype threat on women’s leadership aspirations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88(2), 276–287.
Dei, G. (2009). Speaking race: salience, salience, and the politics of antiracist scholarship. In M. Wallis & E. Fleras (Eds.), The politics of race in Canada (pp. 230–238). Don Mills: Oxford University Press.
Denis, W. (2008). From minority to citizenship: the challenge of diversity in the Fransaskois community. Canadian Themes, 42– 44
Erel, U. (2010). Migrating cultural capital: Bourdieu in migration studies. Sociology, 44(4), 642–660.
Gallant, N. (2011). Les communautés francophones en milieu minoritaire et les immigrants: entre ouverture et inclusion. Revue du Nouvel Ontario, 35(36), 69–105.
Harris-Lacewell, M. (2004). Barbershops, bible, and BET: everyday talk and black political thought. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Hartigan, J. (2010). Race in the 21st century, ethnographic approaches. New York: Oxford University Press.
Huot, S., Dodson, B., & Laliberte Rudman, D. (2014). Negotiating belonging following migration: exploring the relationship between place and identity in Francophone minority communities. The Canadian Geographer, 58(3), 329–340.
Ibrahim, A. (2010). Hey, whassup homeoby? In Becoming Black: hip-hop language and culture, race performativity, and the politics of identity in high school. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Isajiw, W. (1993). Definition and dimensions of ethnicity: a theoretical framework. In: Challenges of measuring an ethnic world. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, pp.407–427.
Johnson, C. (2008). The end of the black American narrative. American Scholar, 77(30), 32–41.
Labelle, M. (2011). Racisme et antiracisme au Québec. Québec: Presses de l’Université du Québec.
Madison, S. (2012). Critical ethnography: method, ethics and performance. Los Angeles, London, Delhi, Singapore, Washington, DC: Sage.
Markus, H. (2010). Who am I? Race, ethnicity, and identity. In H. Markus & P. Moya (Eds.), Doing race, 21 essays for the 21st century (pp. 359–389). New York: Norton.
McAndrew, M. (2010). Les majorités fragiles de l’éducation: Belgique, Catalogne, Irlande du Nord, Québec. Montréal: Les Presses de l’Université de Montréal.
Moke-Ngala, V. (2006). L’intégration des jeunes des familles immigrantes francophones d’origine africaine d la vie scolaire dans les écoles secondaires francophones dans un milieu urbain en Alberta. Master’s Thesis, University of Alberta, Edmonton
Morrison, T. (1992). Playing in the dark: whiteness and the literary imagination. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Nabors, N. (2012). The social psychology of stigma. In R. Nettles & R. Balter (Eds.), Multiple minority identities (pp. 13–34). New York: Springer.
Nederveen- Pieterse, J. (2007). Ethnicities and global multicultural. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
Ngo, H. (2012). Cultural competence in Alberta schools: perceptions of ESL families in four major school boards. TESL Canada Journal, 29(6), 204–223.
Olaoye, E. (2012). Increasing resilience in multiple minority clients using positive psychology. In R. Nettles & R. Balter (Eds.), Multiple minority identities (pp. 141–162). New York: Springer.
Omi, M., & Winant, H. (2014). Racial formation in the United States. New York: Routledge.
Palmer, H., & Palmer, T. (1985). The black experience in Alberta. In H. Palmer & T. Palmer (Eds.), Peoples of Alberta: portraits of cultural diversity (pp. 365–393). Saskatoon: Western Producer Prairie Books.
Satzewich, V., & Liodakis, N. (2013). “Race” and ethnicity in Canada, a critical introduction. Don Mills: Oxford University Press.
SLMC. (n.d.) Northwest Territories Act (1877). http://www.slmc.uottawa.ca/?q=leg_northwest_territories_act.
Statistics Canada. (2011). Census 2011. http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/index-eng.cfm.
Tettey, W., & Puplampu, K. (Eds.). (2005). The African diaspora in Canada: negotiating identity and belonging. Calgary: University of Calgary Press.
Van den Hoonaard, D. (2011). Qualitative research in action, a Canadian primer. Don Mills: Oxford University Press.
Walters, D., Phythian, K., & Anisef, P. (2006). The ethnic identity of immigrants in Canada. Toronto: CERIS Working Papers No. 38.
Williams, D., & Williams-Morris, R. (2000). Racism and mental health: the African American experience. Ethnicity & Health, 4(3–4), 243–268.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Madibbo, A. The Way Forward: African Francophone Immigrants Negotiate Their Multiple Minority Identities. Int. Migration & Integration 17, 853–866 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-015-0437-x
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-015-0437-x