UCLA

Concerned with the role of social context on political incorporation, this dissertation addresses three primary questions: 1) what are the social factors that influence Afro-Caribbean group attachments in New York City and Los Angeles County; 2) what are the factors that influence socio-political attitudes towards the Obama Presidency among Afro-Caribbeans in the United States; and, 3) how does social context influence the pathway to political incorporation chosen by Afro-Caribbeans in New York and Los Angeles? Relying on in-depth interviews with first and second generation Trinidadians and Jamaicans in New York and Los Angeles, as well as participant observations, the dissertation finds that Afro-Caribbean group attachments are influenced by group reputation in the public consciousness. As such, Afro-Caribbeans utilize culture as a mechanism for navigating ethnic, racial and country of origin attachments simultaneously. Multiple attachments and the emphasis on culture inform political attitudes towards the Obama Presidency, while also serving as a means of public claims making.