Race in an era of mass migration: black migrants in Europe and the United States

A comparative analysis of Afro-Caribbean and African migrants and their children on the two sides of the Atlantic highlights how the social, political, and demographic contexts of and historical developments in different societies influence the nature and impact of racial boundaries and barriers. The comparison of Britain, France, and the Netherlands and the United States raises some intriguing questions. Why and in what ways are the racial barriers facing black migrants more severe in the United States? At the same time, how has the history and presence of the large native black population provided black migrants and their descendants with certain advantages that they lack in Europe? Why do identity struggles of the second generation take different forms on the two sides of the Atlantic? Do the different current dynamics of race in the United States and Europe also presage different futures?