Paper short abstract:

This paper examines the meaning and location of African culture and identity within ‘uneasy,’ temporal spaces or new communities, by analyzing njanggis, and other practices of place making of Africans in the United States.

Paper long abstract:

Voluntary migration and movements of resourceful and creative people is common from corrupt, exploitative and often hostile African nations. The implications for Africans and their host, USA, are enormous. Immigrants bring along their cultural practices (foodways, language use, annual and monthly meetings).Whereas some studies exist on the status of African migrants abroad, little research has been done to evaluate challenges faced by migrants once they settle in their 'new communities.' This paper explores place-making and reproduction of African communities and identity in this 'uneasy migrant space.' It presents a new interpretation of African history, one that focuses on the self-motivated endeavours of Africans to reinvent themselves and their worlds. Understanding how Africans survive, network, and use cultural forms to recreate 'home away from home' addresses critical questions in history, politics and international studies, thereby interrogating and challenging standard analytical categories and conventional methodologies.