Young Children of Black Immigrants in America: Changing Flows, Changing Faces

In large part because of immigration, the child population in the United States is rapidly changing. In 2010, nearly one in four U.S. children under 18 was the child of an immigrant.  Latino, Black, Asian, and multiracial children together are nearing a majority of the nation’s children.  These “minority” children already account for more than half of U.S. children under age 1.  Not surprisingly, scholarship has focused on the largest immigrant groups: the children of Latinos and Asians.  Far less academic attention has been paid to the rapidly diversifying Black child population and, in particular, to the children from birth through age 10 of Black immigrants.  To narrow this research gap, MPI’s National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy, with support from the Foundation for Child Development, launched a research initiative in 2010 to build and encourage understanding of this understudied and growing population. MPI released a major volume showcasing the research of a distinguished group of interdisciplinary scholars. The volume includes demographic overviews of Black immigrants (both African and Caribbean) in the United States and their children, and examines health outcomes, use of social supports, school readiness, and the schooling of these children. The event discussion touches on the intersection of race and immigration, and focuses on the demographics of this population, their educational success, and the implications of the volume’s findings for research and public policy.