Diasporic Identity Formation among Cape Verdeans in Boston

Abstract

Introduction Diasporic communities traverse the two or more states to which they belong, which they influence, and which reproduce them. This bipolar identity is the cornerstone of the diasporic experience. (Laguerre, 1998, p. 9) The importance of the concept of as an explanatory paradigm stems from its malleable qualities given that it can apply to diverse communities. Dissociated from the historical experiences of a defined group of people, it becomes a universal nomenclature applicable to displaced groups of people. (Barken & Shelton, 1998, p. 5) The concept of the African Diaspora has its intellectual roots in traditional Pan-Africanist activities conducted in the US, England and in the Caribbean during the nineteenth century. Since that time, theories of the African Diaspora include both support and critique of the idea of Africa as the primary site of identity formation (Appiah, 1992; Drake, 1982; Gilroy, 1993; Gordon, 1998; Padmore, 1956). The evolution of the literature ranges from past conceptualizations of the African Diaspora as a conglomerate with traceable ties to Africa, to more recent attempts at de-essentializing this connection in order to analyze and emphasize the African Diaspora as a dynamic process. The Verdean diaspora population in Boston exemplifies both of these theoretical and political trends. This article examines the concepts of diaspora, race, ethnicity and culture as intellectual frameworks through which to understand Verdean diasporic identity formation. These concepts serve as analytical tools that reveal how Verdeans define the parameters of their and ethnic identities while simultaneously constructing ideas of what constitutes Cape Verdeanness. Situating Verdeans within the context of the larger African diaspora, as Black transnationals, illustrates their historical, social, political and economic experiences in the United States. Defining Diasporas The concept of diaspora is often characterized in terms of the phenomenon of displacement. In the popular imagination, diasporas are conceived as communities that emerge as a result of forced expulsions from a particular place of origin. This place or homeland is believed to remain ever present within the collective consciousness of the diaspora community. Theoretical work examining the formation of diasporas tends to focus upon the impact that dispersal, relocation, and historical memory have on the development of transnational identities (Brah, 1996; Clifford, 1994; Cohen, 1996; Gilroy, 1993; Gopinath, 1995; Helmreich, 1992; Saffan, 1991; Scott, 1991). Geographical dispersion as a defining feature of modern diasporas can be understood in terms of what Marshall Sahlins (1985) calls a structure of conjuncture, an historical event or moment that occurs which facilitates social change and alters the course of cultural history thereafter. For the African Diaspora of the Americas, this defining moment has been identified as the tragic Middle Passage, the historical memory of which links people of African descent to a common experience of slavery and racial terror across space and through time. An emphasis on the processes involved in the formation of African diasporic populations is analytically useful in the study of identity politics, racial formation, and community, especially as it pertains to the Verdean diaspora. For the Verdean diaspora, the event of physical displacement is multidimensional. Perhaps the most significant defining moments were the initial migrations that occurred via the whaling industry. Relocation was also predicated on the forced labor migrations to Sao Tome and Principe. Finally, a significant movement occurred during the 19th and 20th centuries as Verdeans sought to improve their socioeconomic condition by immigrating to Europe, Latin America and the United States in search of employment. …