Bridging the Gap: African Transnationalism and Youth Incorporation in the Case of U.S. Based Nigerian Cultural Organizations

Abstract

In light of concern among children of immigrants and older traditionalist organizations about a “loss of culture”, this project explores the degree to which Nigerian immigrant organizations discuss cultural preservation, and by extension implicate youth as a part of their mission statements, goals and objectives. Utilizing online web documents as a data source, this study analyzes the language of mission statements of 36 Nigerian immigrant organizations in the United States, in order to explore these groups’ inclusion of the second generation. A central finding is that explicit references to youth are relatively low in these organizations, and far lower for references to the second generation. Findings indicate that while 40% of sampled immigrant organizations mention youth in some form, only 22% include youth in their organizational structure. Further, these organizations generally refer to youth in the under 18, dependent category, suggesting that the young adult second generation may be further alienated from the goals and aspirations of these groups. Using particular case studies from the sample, this work discusses the role that social closure plays in the likelihood of older immigrant organizations to sustain cultural continuity across generations.