Yes, Black Americans Should Care About Immigration
October 13, 2025
Yes, Black Americans must concern ourselves with immigration. It’s counter-productive to ask whether Black Americans should concern themselves with the plight of immigrants. Yet in some corners, that is exactly what’s happening.
In the United States, the fate of marginalized communities is tied. What is tolerated for one group of marginalized people may become the eventual reality for other groups. Black communities, therefore, do not have the luxury of looking the other way.
Additionally, there was a time when activists advocated for fusion politics, where diverse communities came together for the pursuit of freedom. They understood that we are stronger together than we are apart. Now, it seems, there is a preoccupation with individualism.
Pain and Frustration
This question of whether Black people should involve themselves in immigration policy is often rooted in pain and frustration. Black communities have grown tired of anti-Blackness that is pervasive in many immigrant communities. We are weary of showing up for everyone else, only to be met with self-righteous contempt and feigned superiority.
In our frustration, I hope we do not lose sight of the fact that Black immigrants and Black Americans have similar experiences. For years, Black immigrants were more likely to be criminalized. They suffer from the same anti-Blackness that shapes Black Americans’ lives. Sometimes anti-immigrant sentiments also ensnare Black immigrants. Immigration is therefore a Black issue.
Moreover, I hope we appreciate that Black immigrants and their descendants also participated in the struggle for civil rights. People like Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, and Kwame Ture all had Caribbean roots. All helped secure the freedoms we now enjoy.
Luminaries
Marcus Garvey founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association. He was a Jamaican immigrant who was the first Black man to lead an organized movement for justice in the U.S. Garvey organized the ‘Back to Africa’ movement. He was also the progenitor of the modern “Black is beautiful” affirmation. Can you imagine the impact of his work on the psyche of Black people who lived during his era?
Malcolm X needs no introduction. The son of a Jamaican immigrant, Malcolm X loved Black people, and ultimately gave his life in pursuit of the uplift of Black communities. You cannot talk about civil rights, Black power, and what it means to love Black people without talking about Malcolm X.
Kwame Ture
Kwame Ture’s, born Stokely Carmichael, was born in Trinidad and Tobago. Ture attended Howard University and was a founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. He also participated in Freedom Summer, in which young people traveled to the South to help register Black people to vote. Notably, Ture developed the Lowndes County Freedom Organization and participated, for a time, in the Black Panther Party.
Even Shirley Chisholm was the daughter of Barbadian immigrants. She was the first Black woman to be elected to Congress in 1968. Chisholm was also the first Black candidate and the first woman to seek backing from a major political party when she ran for President in 1972. While running for office, by itself, does not suggest a commitment to Black uplift, Chisholm was widely regarded as pivotal to the Black experience.
The example of these luminaries does not mitigate the need for work around anti-Blackness in immigrant circles. Immigrants who fancy themselves better than Black Americans, without acknowledging the contributions of Black Americans are ignorant and short-sighted. Generations of Black Americans were beaten, maimed, and killed so that the rest of us could enjoy the freedoms we so easily take for granted today.
We Need Partners
It’s important to remember that freedom cannot be won, or sustained, without partners. We should not overlook the threat of the current environment simply because our families aren’t directly impacted by immigration policy or ICE raids. Everyone knows an immigrant. Further, by virtual of our race, Black people are as likely to be profiled during raids as someone born on foreign soil.
In conclusion, freedom that is limited to a narrow few is not freedom at all.
Jennifer R. Farmer, aka The PR Whisperer®, is an author, lecturer and strategic communications expert. Check out our blog posts and subscribe for updates.
