The African Diaspora in the United States and Europe The Ghanaian Experience

This book systematically documents the experiences of Ghanaian communities in North America as a case study of the new African migration. The rapid increase in the number of Ghanaians lawfully admitted as permanent residents since 1980 offers an opportunity to investigate their immigrant journeys, their membership in the larger society and the expression of their individual and collective social identities. Using original empirical data from the US and Canada as well as comparative material from the UK and the Netherlands, the author also investigates the relationship between these new African migrants and the native-born black diaspora in the US. This study balances theoretical insight with policy implications, using the case-study as a lens not just on African migration but also on significant conceptual themes in migration studies including transnationalism, identity, social networks, remittances, economic integration and citizenship.

Contents: Preface; The Ghanaian diaspora in the United States setting and overview of chapters; Aims of study and data collection; Crossing the Atlantic to Ablotsi and Manse: the exodus of Ghanaians to the West; Structure and composition of Ghanaian immigrant families in the United States; Identity matters: carving patterns of racial, ethnic, and class niches; Immigrant institutions - building communities and forging integration; The 2nd generation immigrant youth: multiple and shifting identities; Remittance flows: sending money home and sharing the migration dividend; Homeward bound: return migration and repatriation to Ghana; The Ghanaian diaspora: transatlantic continuities in the European Union; Conclusion: the continuities of the Ghanaian diaspora in the new global migration; Bibliography; Index.

John A. Arthur is Professor of Criminology and Sociology at the University of Minnesota, Duluth, USA.