Distinctiveness and the Secret Life of Social Class in Representations of Culture

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter points out how social class shapes representations of Caribbean culture in schools. In London and New York, Black Caribbean students drew on distinctiveness as a cultural strategy for pursuing power by distancing themselves from a more stigmatized group to escape the culture trap. However, Caribbean youth in New York often emphasized a different kind of distinctiveness than their counterparts in London. In New York, where Caribbean identities are deemed an asset, some Caribbean students defended claims of collective distinctiveness as an exercise in ethnic pride. In London, where Caribbean culture is misrepresented as a liability, some Caribbean students reject negative appraisals of their cultural identities through claims of individual distinctiveness. This chapter suggests that for Black Caribbean youth in London and New York, the groups they most consistently sought to distance themselves from were low-income Black people. This reveals the secret life of class in representations of culture.