African-Born Immigrants in U.S. Schools: An Intercultural Perspective on Schooling and Diversity

Abstract

Despite the significant increase of African-born immigrants in the United States of America, the education system does not recognize their presence and does little to facilitate their integration through the implementation of necessary curricular adjustments. The purpose of this article is to call on multicultural education advocates to endorse the argument for the distinctness of African-born immigrants as a complex cultural group with unique vulnerabilities requiring sensitivity. Organizationally, the paper develops four key points: the current demographic representation of the African population; the absence of African voices in multicultural education scholarship; the salience of multicultural education advocacy in recognizing the essence of African cultures in the western world; and the minimal coverage of African topics in the U.S. curriculum. Two sets of recommendations, curricular and culture-oriented, conclude the argument. Despite the recent increase of African-born immigrants in the United States of America (Hamza, 2005), their presence is poorly reflected in curricular decisions and educational planning in the U.S. school system. Oftentimes, the efforts of school officials to acknowledge African students yield minimal effect and superficial understanding among American-born educators and peers. Due to the absorption of African immigrant populations into the larger context of the black race (Arthur, 2000), little is known about their histories, their cultures, and their achievements. African-born children or children of African-born parents in the western world are disadvantaged by the manner in which African cultures and people have been portrayed in western-authored textbooks and by the western media. This paper is a response to the minority cultures from sub-Saharan Africa, who seldom feel recognized or given the opportunity to affirm themselves in the U.S. context, particularly in the educational arena. After examining the American education curriculum vis-à-vis immigrant minorities from non-predominant cultures, like Africans, a two-fold argument emerged. _____________________________