Black Immigrant Youth Inequality in Another France

This paper uses in-depth interviews with first- and second-generation immigrant youth of African descent in France to understand their integration process.  I first examine identity, by addressing the following question: Where do these young immigrant descent individuals see themselves fitting in French society?  I use respondents’ voices to identify cultural and structural factors that define their integration experience, and then present initial findings as they fall within three areas: 1) identity formation, 2) religion as a mechanism, 3) and the importance of race and immigrant statuses.  Then, I apply the cultural materialist framework to explain an unequal world and integration challenges using two particular cases: Alita, a first-generation young woman’s integration, and the 2005 riots of immigrant youth in France’s suburbs.