African & American tells thestory of the much overlooked experience of first and second generation West Africanimmigrants and refugees in the United States during the last forty years. Interrogatingthe complex role of post-colonialism in the recent history of black America,Marilyn Halter and Violet Showers Johnson highlight the intricate patterns ofemigrant work and family adaptation, the evolving global ties with Africa andEurope, and the translocal connections among the West African enclaves in theUnited States. Drawing on a rich variety of sources,including original interviews, personal narratives, cultural and historicalanalysis, and documentary and demographic evidence, African & American explores issues of cultural identityformation and socioeconomic incorporation among this new West African diaspora. Bringing the experiences of those of recent African ancestry from the peripheryto the center of current debates in the fields of immigration, ethnic, andAfrican American studies, Halter and Johnson examine the impact this communityhas had on the changing meaning of "e;African Americanness"e; and address theprovocative question of whether West African immigrants are, indeed, becomingthe newest African Americans.