CHAPTER 16

The Next Generation of African Immigrants in Kentucky

Iddah Otieno

Eastern Kentucky University

INTRODUCTION

The story of life in diaspora for African families living in the United States is not complete without the voices of the next generation of African immigrants for whom America is now a home. Fueled by the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act and the introduction of the U.S. Diversity Visa Program in 1990, a steady flow of African immigrants and their offspring have made their way into the U.S. Whereas the research on African immigrant families has mainly focused on parents and their coping strategies upon relocation, the voices of the children of African immigrants in the complex story of immigrant families in diaspora are often missing.^[1] Through interviews and participant observations, this chapter captures the stories of ten second-generation African immigrant children in Kentucky—some born in the United States and others brought to America by their parents as children or young adults. These interviewed children focused on family life, food, clothing, education, social interaction, views about Africa, career aspirations, and general outlook on life in the U.S. We wondered about the role of family and parental expectations in shaping educational aspirations and career choices of the second-generation African immigrants and the challenges they have experienced along the way. Based on how the second-generation African children perceive their ethnicities and cultures, the qualitative interviews illuminate who these young people are, what motivates them, how they view their world, and how they navigate their way in America as the next generation of African immigrants in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. These young men and women are part and parcel of the immigrant story, not only as foreign-borns who tagged along with their parents upon relocation, but also as natives in the land where their immigrant parents sought new beginnings. These second generation African immigrants are a powerful force of movers and shakers (re)writing the immigrant story in the U.S.

WHO THEY ARE

Interviewees in this study were children of African immigrants born in the United States and those legally brought to America as young children or young adults ranging from ages 13 to 26. The question of identity became the natural conversation starter in the interviews. Regarding their self-identification, responses ranged from African American, Kenyan American, Zimbabwean American, Congolese American, to African were common. Most of these young people are acutely aware of their American life along with their African heritage. As Ochieng explains, “I was born in Richmond, Kentucky, but my parents are from Kenya. I consider myself a Kenyan American.” Nyasha considers Zimbabwe her home even though she has been in the U.S. for the past eleven years on permanent resident status alongside her parents, and she considers her stay in the U.S. temporary. “I was born in Zimbabwe. My family came here when I was very young. I’m Zimbabwean,” she explains. Others maintain they are both African and American. As Bangaly puts it, “I identify myself as both African and American. My mother is American and my dad is from Guinea, West Africa. So in the truest sense of the form, I am African American.” Deeply rooted in these responses is the undeniable fact that African immigrant children consider themselves transnational individuals whose stories and experiences transcend multiple locations, either as voluntary or involuntary immigrants in the United States. Yamukumba brought this point home as he recounted his journey to America. “I identify myself as the African in America. I am also an Emba in America. I have spent more time elsewhere other than the Congo. I lived in the Congo until I was eleven years old, then we became refugees in Zimbabwe for four years after which we moved to the U.S. when I was 15.”

This second generation of African immigrants shares a sense of pride in their African heritage, as revealed in their views of Africa. Oraida stresses her Libyan heritage: “I was born in Lexington, Kentucky. When I tell people I am African, they get confused because I am White in complexion. I am a Libyan Arab from North Africa. That is how I identify myself.” Mikal maintains her Kenyan identity: “I usually say I am Kenyan American. Kenya will always be a special part of our lives…we just happen to have been born here in Richmond, Kentucky.” As for Cubaka, the Democratic Republic of Congo is home: “I was born in the Congo and we relocated to Uganda when I was six years old. We moved to America when I was fourteen. I am unapologetically Congolese. America comes second.”

VIEWS OF AFRICA

Africa holds a special place in the lives of the next generation of African immigrants. Most of the stories shared in the interviews revolved around traveling to various parts of the African continent, paying intimate visits to family and friends, eating meals prepared from scratch, attending weddings and funerals, touring African cities and national parks, attending school, and playing soccer, among other family adventures. Interviewees noted the lack of balanced stories when presenting the continent of Africa to the rest of the world. As Odhiambo explains, “People view Africa negatively. Africa has a more family feel to it than the U.S., where people may not even know their next-door neighbors. Kenya is a beautiful place. I show them pictures. I explain to them that Africa is a lot more than what they see on TV.” Others view Africa as a place that provided them with ordered lives at a very young age. Nostalgic memories of an elementary school left behind formed the backdrop of Nyasha’s account: “I went to school every morning. I loved my school…I had a lot of friends. I would like to go back to Africa as a medical doctor to help my people.” Permanent relocation to Africa is not a view held by all, as Ochieng explains, “I’d love to visit and help, but I will always live in the United States.”

These young people credited the role of family involvement in shaping their worldview on the African continent, its people, and culture. Making family visits to Africa, attending African events in the United States, reading African books, living in African homes, eating African food, wearing African clothes, listening to African music, and speaking African languages (for some) have all kept the African cultures alive. “Going to Libyan events in Lexington has helped me not to be ashamed of my Libyan heritage. The community as a whole is like family. There is always someone to lean on,” says Oraida. “Kenyans in Kentucky still find time to get together. Even if you are not blood related, you are still treated like family. Surrounded by people like that is how I have met my African friends . . . All my African attire have a special place in my closet,” adds Mikal. These avenues have provided African immigrant children a platform to explore their own identities in a contested cultural terrain that sometimes calls their very heritage into question. Just like their parents who now call America “home,” these second-generation African young people are deeply anchored in their ethnic backgrounds.

They are also concerned about educating others about Africa. As Mikal explains, “I think people have a totally different view of Africa. They often think of poverty. Whenever I visit Kenya, I enjoy going back to our compound. I love going to Aunt Jane’s house and my grandparents. I have lots of cousins in Kenya . . . in class we watched a video about how we should be fortunate to go to school here in the U.S. compared to African children. People think Africa is a poor place. I tell them we have a house in Kenya. Kenyan children love going to school. I also did a scrapbook about my visit with pictures I took in Kenya. I feel that it has changed their perspective on Africa.” Bangaly also aims to educate others, observing that “Americans do not understand that Africa is a diverse continent with thousands of languages and diverse cultures. There is a lack of understanding, and I am happy to educate others about it.” Oraida pointed out that “people have one image of Africa and they are stuck with it . . . of course there are some bad things that have happened in Africa, but there are also amazing things like buildings, educated people, doctors, lawyers, and many other professionals. I try my best to create a new image. If you respond with education, no one will argue with you.” She put those words into practice when she was a prime organizer of a multicultural fair at her high school.

SOURCE OF MOTIVATION

Second-generation African immigrants are highly motivated individuals. Research on parental characteristics of children of African immigrants cite parental involvement and motivation as key contributors to the second-generation African immigrant children’s academic progress.^[2] Most of the children interviewed come from homes where the parents are heavily involved in their children’s success.^[3] Expectations are communicated and modeled early in these children’s lives because most of these parents enter the United States with at least a high school diploma or an undergraduate degree.^[4] Odhiambo, a rising high school junior at the time, explained that going to college was an obvious choice, citing mentoring and encouragement from his parents as the key factors that have made the difference: “My parents are both college professors. They are familiar with college requirements since that’s what they do for a living.” Nyasha, a middle schooler who has already taken the ACT exam, credits her academic success to her parents: “My parents are always pushing me to do better. They motivate me. If I don’t meet their expectations, they are always there to comfort me.” Bangaly, whose father is from Guinea and whose mother is a White American, has followed in the footsteps of his father in the food industry (at least for the time being) while he works on his aviation certification program. As a young entrepreneur with his own ice cream store, he draws his strength and foresight from his African heritage. Having visited his father’s homeland as a child, he returned to the U.S. determined to succeed in his adult life. When asked what motivates him to succeed, Bangaly is quick to point out his parents’ influence: “Had I not traveled with my dad and experienced the discomfort most people live with daily in Guinea, I would not have turned out the way I have.” He recounts how his father came with nothing to the U.S., except the will to work hard and realize the American dream. A West African restaurant, an ice cream store, and a jewelry store in downtown Lexington serve as evidence of the fruits of hard work by the Savane family: “Our parents have taught us to be self-reliant. Look at my sister, she is only eighteen and she can balance the books at my mom’s jewelry store while I step in for my dad.”

Other young people, who explain that they owe their drive to achieve to their parents’ involvement and daily examples at home, expressed this feeling: “My dad is always encouraging me to read. He always takes us to the library. He encourages me to join academic teams. Whenever I have a question about something, he is always willing to help me answer those questions. My mom also talks to the school if I am uncomfortable,” stated Nyasha. Odhiambo explained that “academics come first in my family. I am expected to do well in academics, or I’m not allowed to do sports and other things. My dad is the dean of the College of Science at EKU. I know he had to do well in Kenya and make good grades and want more in order to be what he is today. My mother is a college professor. She wasn’t born here. Both my parents had to face the battle of people thinking they were not good enough, but they worked hard and both have their PhDs.” He has since joined the University of Kentucky and plans to use the public health platform to serve others, both in the U.S. and Africa. Yamukumba came to the U.S. as a refugee. When he started school, his mother was “not knowledgeable about the school system in America. I had to work on my own choosing classes, checking my grades, doing my homework, and applying for admission to the university. My mom focused on teaching us to know who we are, our family line, and the struggles we have been through. The journey to the United States motivates me to work harder and where I come from determines the choices I make. My mother is my hero.” As the new immigrant and refugee specialist at Bluegrass Community and Technical College, he is already paying it forward in his service to other immigrant groups in the Bluegrass region.

CAREER PLANS AND ASPIRATIONS

The next generation of African immigrants interviewed are driven in their career plans and aspirations. Higher social and economic aspirations characterized their narratives, mirroring a study seeking to understand academic and occupational pathways for African immigrant children in which Vivian Tseng concluded that these children had higher social and economic aspirations compared to their peers with U.S.-born parents.^[5] The young people expressed a desire to pursue degrees in professional areas such as medicine, law, business, aviation, teaching, public administration, and community organizing. While some of these career choices were influenced by parental desires for their children, others were completely individual in nature. For example, Bangaly, whose father thought he would take over the family business, prefers to be a pilot instead: “At one point it was expected that I would take over the family business. That is not my dream. I have a dream of being a pilot. It took some time for my dad to realize and accept that I want to make my own path and do my own thing. I’m appreciative that I can work alongside him to help the business grow, but that is not what I want to do for the rest of my life.” Ochieng, whose parents are college professors, does not want to be a teacher. Medicine is the career of choice instead. Asked why he is drawn to the medical career, he maintains that it will offer him a broader platform to “make a difference in the lives of others, not only in America but also in Africa.” He has since joined a medical school and hopes to work in the U.S. and volunteer his expertise in Africa upon graduation. Oraida, the young Libyan woman, is interested in a law degree “so I can be a voice to the voiceless. I want to be a lawyer so that I can help undocumented students pursue education in the U.S. I have worked with ESL and Hispanic students and seen firsthand what they go through.”

Service to others was a common theme in most of the narratives. Giving back to the communities that nurtured them seems to be a driving force behind their career choices. Nyasha, the young Zimbabwean girl brought to the U.S. as a child, wants to excel in school and become a pediatric surgeon “so I can go back to Zimbabwe and help my people. I do want to have contact with my relatives in Zimbabwe. That is where I am from and that is where I feel I should be. There is a great need there,” she adds. For Cubaka, the Congolese-born refugee who lost his mother at a young age in Uganda and is now residing in Kentucky with his father, going back home has always been a life-long dream: “I want to be able to go back to my country. I want to be able to help organize in the community. I want to help people to be sufficient on their own, to be able to develop themselves. I want to go back to Africa and be part of the growth. There is so much work to be done at home. My mother taught me survival skills when she was here and my dad has enhanced those skills in her absence. I want to make a difference in the lives of others.” For Aisha, a rising philanthropist in Lexington, Kentucky, the 1600 backpacks donated to her former school in Burundi through her backpack project is just the beginning of greater things to come in the area of advocacy and philanthropic giving.

DIGITAL NATIVES

The children of African immigrants are technologically savvy. They are smart, innovative, and way ahead of their parents in all things digital. The young people interviewed acknowledged that technology occupies a significant part of their lives, both at school and home. African parents have often registered frustrations about the impact of technology on the African immigrant family. What has complicated the issue for these parents, most of whom were raised without any form of technology, is the fact that the American classroom has become a technological haven with some assignments requiring students to have a phone or a tablet at their disposal. Some school days have even been branded “technology days,” requiring students to bring some type of electronic item to the classroom. What the immigrant African parents are realizing is that technology is slowly changing African family dynamics. Conversations become scarce and tempers rise when technology is withheld or taken away altogether.

The average African immigrant young person is fully engaged in at least two or more social media platforms. When other platforms like texting and Snapchat are factored in, there is very limited time for family interaction. “These children text each other even in the same room. They no longer talk to each other,” lamented a Kenyan mother at an annual Kenya Community in Kentucky gathering. A growing concern for some parents is that the children have become less mobile when they return home from school and other extra-curricular activities: “They are either in their rooms flat on their backs with a cell phone in hand or sloughing on a couch, head bowed low, oblivious of their surroundings. It’s like I’m raising total strangers in my home,” retorted another frustrated mother. In defense of technology in modern day education, an African dad is quick to add that “technology is not always a bad thing. Look at these children. They are so smart compared to their age mates back home. They have information at their fingertips and are doing great things with it. Let the children explore.” Other parents are also wary of the danger posed by online activity and its effect on the future of their children. “These children have no idea information shared online is permanent and can damage their future irreparably,” said another frustrated mother.

The interviewees shared much in common with non-immigrant American young people when they talked about their parents and technology. One interviewee said, “I am definitely more tech savvy than my parents. They text slowly with one finger. They don’t know how to use simple things on their phones. It’s annoying.” Another said, “It’s miserable when my mother tries to text,” and another: “My dad’s idea of technology is YouTube. He watches Congolese news over and over again. He is also on Facebook to keep in touch with his family and friends back home.” Still another explained, “Technology has made things like travel and finding places easier, but my dad still trusts printed out maps for places and attractions whenever we travel.” Clearly, the war between the digital natives and newcomers is here to stay.

“MOTHER MAY I”: PARENTING THE AFRICAN IMMIGRANT CHILD

Parenting in the shifting terrain of the borderland is one of the greatest challenges facing African immigrant families. For the African immigrant parent, balancing parental control and respect for their children’s privacy is a tightrope to walk. Raised in authoritarian homes and close-knit family networks where the community was part of the “village” that raised the child, these parents find it extremely difficult to raise children in the U.S. where their authority is quite often questioned. Dating is one such thorny issue in the African immigrant home. African children born or raised outside their parents’ countries of origin do not view dating in the same way their parents do. As a matter of fact, some of their parents never dated before marriage. Because of this cultural difference, children of African immigrants quite often face resistance from their parents regarding dating before marriage. “I have taken the view that it is possible to live with a girl without getting married. This does not make sense to my mom. Sometimes uncomfortable conversations go on in my presence when my mom is trying to arrange a marriage between her friend’s children and me. I do understand why it is important for her that the families get involved,” explains Yamukumba.

Another area of conflict is social interaction outside school. African parents are very particular about who their children spend time with outside their home. For example, during events such as sleepovers and birthday celebrations, it is not uncommon for African immigrant parents to demand to meet with the host parent and ask about details such as adult supervision, time limits, and other details. Others sometimes wait in their cars until the event is over. Most of the children find this scrutiny offensive and an intrusion of their privacy and that of their friends. Clothing and general appearance at home or in public is yet another challenging area. Most African parents require their children to be appropriately dressed. Sagging clothes and unkempt hair is not acceptable, even in cases when their children’s peers exhibit alternative dress and grooming codes.

Many African immigrant parents come to the United States with fairly favorable academic credentials. They are driven and expect nothing less from their children. Cases of academic dropouts or stop-outs are rarely tolerated, creating tension between parents and their children. The same applies to employment. African immigrant parents expect their children to seek employment in reputable organizations with decent salaries. This phenomenon explains the push by parents to enroll their kids in highly specialized fields such as law, medicine, engineering, and business administration, among others. While some of the young people have embraced their parents’ desires, others have rejected career paths chosen for them by their parents.

Based on conversations with the children and their parents, the children of African immigrants can sometimes become total strangers to their parents. Indeed, these children are “immigrants in our lives,” as one parent put it at an African gathering: “We came here alone, and then the children came into our lives. They look like us, but their behaviors are totally alien.” Another African parent and spiritual leader cautioned fellow parents at the 2017 annual Kenyans in Kentucky (KIK) gathering: “This generation lives in their own world. These children are not from Murang’a. They are Americans. They know their rights. You must be careful how you engage them. They live in a society where children and pets have more power than their parents.” Overall, parenting the African immigrant child is a balancing act between the values the parents brought with them from their countries of origin and those acquired upon relocation.

STORIES OF STRUGGLE AND COMMUNITIES THAT CARED

The dispersion of people of African descent around the globe has had a significant impact on African families.^[6] Whereas the African immigrant parents have noted numerous opportunities in their newly acquired homes for themselves and their children, some of their offspring have faced many challenges as they find their path in the U.S. Some of the challenges that emerged in our conversations included language, discrimination, housing, and academic preparedness. The conversations also highlight communities and organizations that have extended a helping hand to the bourgeoning African immigrant populations in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND ALIENATION

The children of African immigrants are highly unlikely to be fluent in their parents’ native languages. Fueled by the need to excel in school and find employment, the language of choice for most parents and their children is English. Fluency in the English language is often viewed as the path to survival upon relocation. Some of these children, especially within refugee African immigrant populations, become the translators for their parents. The danger in focusing on English at the expense of the native languages is that the children who were brought into the U.S. as foreign-born lose their native languages (or sometimes become “ashamed of them”), preferring instead to perfect their English-speaking skills as a coping strategy for assimilation into their new environment.^[7]

Even in cases when parents have tried to salvage the situation by stressing the use of ethnic languages at home, the results have often been dismal, creating a barrier between children and their parents. The children become “strangers in their own homes”— unable to comprehend their parents’ native tongues. Whenever these parents visit their home countries with their children or talk to them on the phone, communication breakdown is normally the order of the day, as the non-English-speaking grandparents are unable to communicate with their grandchildren.

DISCRIMINATION

Children of African immigrants sometimes face discrimination, both within the school and in the communities where they live. The young people interviewed noted being singled out because of their accents. Some of them shared stories of struggle mastering the English language for academic success and general survival. Moreover, even in cases when they had developed advanced use of the English language, African immigrant students still felt singled out for their accents by their peers as well as their teachers. Being labeled “that child who speaks funny” by peers made early years of school difficult for some African immigrant students. At other times these students felt the burden of daily proving themselves worthy of belonging to groups, ending up interacting with students from similar backgrounds. Others felt the burden of representing an entire continent in their classroom discussions, especially when any topic focusing on Africa was discussed. The label of being poor, displaced, and hungry is a burden that most African immigrant children carry around the various communities they participate in and is considered burdensome by many.”^[8]

HOUSING

Housing is another challenge facing some immigrants, especially refugee families. Some of the young people interviewed have lived in neighborhoods where security was not guaranteed. Others reported large families with limited living space. For example, at Westminster Village,^[9] which is a Section 8 subsidized apartment complex in Lexington, Kentucky, rent is calculated based on income, making this location one of the most sought-after residences upon relocation for refugee families. It is not uncommon to find an average family of six occupying a two-bedroom apartment. Quality of life in such a crowded space can affect children in their formative years. While it is true that some refugee families have managed to move out and purchase homes for their growing families, the process is always long due to lack of resources and decent employment opportunities.

ACADEMIC PREPAREDNESS

The feeling of “going through education alone” was a recurring theme for some interviewees. Whereas those children from highly educated middle-class families reported sailing through the often-confusing enrollment maze that accompanies education in America, others reported having to learn on their own what was required of them to succeed academically: “My parents are both in higher education. They are also academic advisors so I have always received extra help from home on what to do to succeed in school. Whenever I have questions about schoolwork, there is always help readily available at home,” explains Ochieng. This picture is not a common one for some students, especially from refugee homes.

Studies have revealed that immigrant parents sometimes experience difficulties understanding the educational systems of the receiving countries. In their study focusing on problems and parental challenges facing resettled refugee parents, Marie-Antoinette Sossou and Christson Adedoyin found that this lack of understanding of the school system makes refugee parents “incapable of using the resources and opportunities available to advance their children’s educational goals.”^[10] As Yamukumba, who has now graduated with his undergraduate and master’s degrees, reflects: “I had to learn on my own which classes to take and what was required. My mother offered support at home, but she did not understand how the system worked. I had to figure it out myself. Even when she enrolled in school herself, we were both uncertain what was expected of us. She is my role model. She is a strong woman.” Most of the refugee students relied on the support of volunteers and advocates within the community to guide them through the process.

To help students learn English and obtain extra academic help when they first arrive in the U.S., Newcomer Academies have been organized in various school systems around the country, including Louisville, Kentucky. In 2017-18, Fayette County Schools were prepared to open a Newcomer Academy if they had the need, but they did not because the number of new refugee students dropped in spring 2017 after President Donald Trump took office. The system had planned an individualized program designed to help students accelerate their language acquisition and mastery of academics for several months to a year before moving into middle and high schools. It would also have included special services for students who had missed formal education for two or more years and because of trauma might need social, emotional, and psychological support.^[11] Warren County Schools in Bowling Green, Kentucky, had already gone further and opened the GEO International High School, which “serves a multilingual community of new learners of English to prepare them for graduation, college and beyond. GIHS students develop English in a rigorous, academic, collaborative environment through partnerships with the Warren County Community.”^[12]

Still, in Fayette County, some schools accepted the challenge of recently arrived, especially refugee, students. For example, the Family Resource Center Coordinator at Picadome Elementary School and the Youth Services Coordinator at Jessie Clark Middle School were proactive in 2016-17 in getting to know incoming students at Westminster Village, the Section 8 housing complex, who were transferred to their schools. In the spring, the elementary school Family Resource Center Coordinator noticed that parents could not easily come to the school to pick up food donated by Glean Kentucky and arranged for delivery directly to the Village. During the summer, the Youth Services Coordinator went to the Village one night each week to play soccer with the incoming students and get to know them. He also arranged for a special art program to occur at the Village during the summer. Both coordinators also planned events for parents, targeting clothing and school supply needs. During the fall, the Youth Services Coordinator organized a combination of basketball and tutoring opportunities for students and connected with students who often came to his office during their lunch hour.

CONCLUSION

The next generation of African immigrants is growing, not only in Kentucky but also in the rest of the U.S. These young people, whether American or foreign-born, are charting their own course and (re)writing the immigrant story in the U.S. While deeply anchored in their African heritage, these young men and women are not afraid to venture out and create their own paths in the new cultural environment their families now find themselves. In the area of career aspirations, for example, the next generation of African immigrants have high career aspirations. While a number of them aspire for careers that fall under professional degree programs such as medicine, law, engineering, and business administration recommended by parents, others are drawn to careers in community organizing, advocacy, public administration, health administration, aviation, and self-employment. Educational attainment is a top priority for these young people. While going to school has clearly been a challenge for some, the desire to break the cycle of under-employment and low-income characterizing the refugee community in Kentucky is evident. This next generation derives motivation from their parents and their community networks where individuals balance working at multiple jobs, attending school, running households, and sometimes taking care of aging parents. The African immigrant families and their dependents are grateful for the communities that have embraced and nurtured them, including soccer, basketball, church, and school, which includes other communities such as Bowling Green, in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.^[13]

The narratives also show a group of visionaries who are well-connected and anchored in their communities (in the U.S. and abroad) and are willing to give back through philanthropy, community service, and legislative engagement, especially in the areas of health care, higher education, and legal counsel. For example, Oraida of Libyan heritage who led the organization of a multicultural fair at her high school was a co-organizer of a rally in downtown Lexington in spring 2017 to support refugees. The next generation of African immigrants is also aware of the current dialogue on race, ethnicity, and immigration and their role in changing the narrative about African people, societies, and cultures. As Bangaly Savane puts it, “I hope the next generation of African immigrant children do not forget where they came from. I hope they are patient and that they are able to educate people, especially in the current political climate. We come from a big continent with a rich history, and there is no reason we should not share that.”

1. See Kamya, Hugo A. African Immigrants in the United States: The Challenges for Research and Practice. Social Work, 42 (1997): 154-165. See also Yewah, Emmanuel & Togunde, Dimeji (eds.). Across the Atlantic: African Immigrants in the United States Diaspora. Champaign, IL: Common Grounds Publishing, 2010. ↑

2. See for example Kevin Thomas, in "Parental Characteristics and the Schooling Progress of the Children of Immigrant and U.S.-Born Blacks." Demography 46, no. 3 (2009): 513-34. ↑

3. See Steinberg, Lamborn, Dornbush, & Darling (1992). Impact of Parenting, School Involvement, and Encouragement to Succeed. Child Development, 63, 1266-1281. See also Grolnick & Slowiaczek (1994). Parent’s Involvement in Children’s Schooling: A Multidisciplinary Conceptualization Model. Child Development, 65, 237-252. ↑

4. See Capp & Fix (2012). Young Children of Black Immigrants in America: Changing Flows, Changing Faces. See also Kaba (2007). Educational Attainment, Income Levels, and Africans in the United States: Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute. See also Kaba (2007). Educational Attainment, Income Levels, and Africans in the United States: The Paradox of Nigerian Immigrants. West African Review, 11: 1-27. ↑

5. Vivian Tseng in "Unpacking Immigration in Youths' Academic and Occupational Pathways." Child Development 77, no. 5 (2006): 1434.↑

6. Coe (2014). The Scattered Family. Parenting, African Migrants, and Global Inequality. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago. See also See Min Zhou. Growing up American: The Challenge Confronting Immigrant Children and Children of Immigrants. Annual Review of Sociology, 23(1997): 63-95. See also Cati Coe. The Scattered Family. Parenting, African Migrants, and Global Inequality. The Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2014. ↑

7. For an in-depth look at the role of education and language among African immigrants, see Nicholas Tarlebbea. “An Ethnographic Study on the Role of Education and Language among African Immigrants as they Struggle to Integrate and Succeed in the United States.” Journal of Alternative Perspective in the Social Sciences, 2 (2010): 854-868.↑

8. See Samson Omotosho, Being an African Student: Stories of Opportunity and Determination. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 2005. See also Carol Schmid, "Educational Achievement, Language-Minority Students, and the New Second

   Generation." Sociology of Education 74 (2001): 72. ↑

9. Most of the families who call Westminster Village home fall below the extremely low or very low income threshold. For a detailed income limit per household size visit http://section-8-housing.credio.com/l/1325/Westminster-Village#Eligibility&s=2FUxwH ↑

10. See Marie-Antoinette Sossou & Adedoyin, Christson Adeditun “A Qualitative Study of Problems and Parental Challenges of Resettled African Refugee Parents.” Professional Development: The International Journal of Continuing Social Work Education, Vol 15, no 2 (2012): 47. See also Musoni, Francis, Otieno, Iddah, Wilson, Angene, & Wilson, Jack. Voices of African Immigrants in Kentucky: Migration, Identity, and Transnationality. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 2019: 147-154. ↑

11. Valerie Honeycutt Spears, “Academy for immigrant, refugee students planned for Fayette,” Lexington Herald Leader, June 19, 2017). Also Newcomer Academy PowerPoint presentation by Lisa Hillenbrand, Kate McAnelley and Michael D. Daily, Fayette Country Public Schools, 6/26/2017.↑

12. See Warren County schools website. http://www.warrencountyschools.org/↑

13. See Kenan Mujkanovic. Voices from Bowling Green: Tales of Young Visionaries. Middletown, DE: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform, 2016.↑