essay
The Haitians: the cultural meaning of race and ethnicity
New immigrants in New York • New York • Published In 1987 • Pages: 131-158
By: Stafford, Susan Buchanan.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This essay examines shifts in the symbolic meaning of race and ethnicity among Haitian immigrants in New York City, examining in the process Haitian concepts relevant to the meanings and perceptions of these terms. The article '…also shows that these meanings and perceptions have practical consequences for behaviour and social relationships -- not only between Haitians and other populations in New York, but also within the Haitian community itself' (p. 132). Stafford's analysis of her data indicate that Haitians are not merely passive in the adaptation to their new home in the United States, but quite contrary, are active agents in the process of culture change. Other ethnographic topics discussed in this work relate to the history of Haitian emigration to the United States, a demographic overview of the Haitian population, various features of the Haitian community in New York City, and the effects of the community on certain neighborhoods in the city.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- External migration
- Cultural identity and pride
- Settlement patterns
- Ethnic stratification
- Social relationships and groups
- Inter-ethnic relations
- Ethnosociology
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Haitian Americans
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 1998
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- North America
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Regional, Ethnic and Diaspora Cultures
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- essay
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Government Official
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- John Beierle ; 1997
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1974-1977
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1953-1980s
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- New York, N.Y., United States
- NotesAdditional notes
- Susan Buchanan Stafford
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 157-158)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 87006545
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Haitian Americans