Mary C. Waters is M. E. Zukerman Professor of Sociology at Harvard University.

It would be fair to say that most Americans are not aware of the wide variety of ethnicities that exist among the black Caribbeans migrating to this country. Determined to render visible Caribbean immigrants and their families, Waters undertook an exhaustive research project. Here she compares Jamaican, Barbadian, Trinidadian, and Guyanese immigrants to their Irish and Italian counterparts of the turn of the last century, and because the issue of race so strongly shapes everyday life for people of color in this society, she examines the relationships between (and differences among) American blacks and black Caribbean immigrants. Drawing from interviews with several generations of immigrants, Waters reports a wide range of discoveries--including her finding that the Caribbean immigrants who resist Americanization are the most likely to succeed. And excellent history and a multifaceted analysis of current immigration issues.

• Introduction Historical Legacies Racial and Ethnic Identity Choices West Indians at Work Encountering American Race Relations Intergenerational Dynamics Segregated Neighborhoods and Schools Identities of the Second Generation Immigrants and American Race Relations Appendix: Notes on Methodology Notes Index

Mary C. Waters is M. E. Zukerman Professor of Sociology at Harvard University.

It would be fair to say that most Americans are not aware of the wide variety of ethnicities that exist among the black Caribbeans migrating to this country. Determined to render visible Caribbean immigrants and their families, Waters undertook an exhaustive research project. Here she compares Jamaican, Barbadian, Trinidadian, and Guyanese immigrants to their Irish and Italian counterparts of the turn of the last century, and because the issue of race so strongly shapes everyday life for people of color in this society, she examines the relationships between (and differences among) American blacks and black Caribbean immigrants. Drawing from interviews with several generations of immigrants, Waters reports a wide range of discoveries--including her finding that the Caribbean immigrants who resist Americanization are the most likely to succeed. And excellent history and a multifaceted analysis of current immigration issues.

• Introduction Historical Legacies Racial and Ethnic Identity Choices West Indians at Work Encountering American Race Relations Intergenerational Dynamics Segregated Neighborhoods and Schools Identities of the Second Generation Immigrants and American Race Relations Appendix: Notes on Methodology Notes Index