Since we have a code of conduct now and we've learn to agree to disagree, we decided to re-post this article since it provides an interesting insight into the recent gang violence among Cape Verdean youth.

Drugs, Crime and the Cape Verdean Dream in America
By an undisclosed author

What causes so many Cape Verdeans (and other black immigrants) to choose the life of gangs, drugs and violence? It is definitely not what they or their parents had hoped for when they thought of the American Dream. It turns out that the reasons that make an immigrant choose the identity of African-American are the same reasons they find themselves in a life of crime. To begin with, the 1st generation immigrants’ low-paying jobs put their family in the tough inner-city neighborhood, with poor schools and a lack of role-models. This situation makes their aspirations very difficult for the 2nd generation, who is caught between wanting a better life than their 1st generation family and a future “blocked by a lack of resources,and suitable training. Add to this the effects of race discrimination . . . and the stage is set for serious trouble.” (Portes, 2002, p.36) . With all this, the 2nd generation starts to feel frustrated and pessimistic about their future, and normally turns to those who can understand their plight: their neighborhood streets.
To get out of poverty, the 2nd generation tries to get a better job. However, they find that to get a better job, they need an education, but the school districts they are in are some of the poorest in the country. In school, the extreme pressure to act “black”, and to dress like their peers is in direct opposition to what the 1st generation is telling them to do. Although they may strive to meet the family’s expectations for academic achievement, they feel ostracized as “uncool” or “acting white”. This ostracism, as it turns out, is not strictly towards immigrants, but to anyone that studies and tries to work hard in school. The pressures in predominantly black inner-city schools to not achieve are strong and difficult to resist (A. Gathing, personal communication, November 30, 2003). Immigrants often submit to the peer pressure and become “American” by adopting the cultural ways of the inner-city because they may begin to feel “shaky” about education being a way to move upward (Zhou, 1999) . A ready alternative to education that the 2nd generation encounters is the drug gangs and street culture that already “saturates their environment” (Portes, 2002, p. 37) .
Family life among those that choose the street life is also not ideal. The ideal situation is when there are both parents present to influence the child. This situation, however, is rare. Many immigrants send their children to other family members or are unable to be home because of the pressures to work. One Cape Verdean relates a story about a friend who was born in Cape Verde, but immigrated to the United States and had been living in the United States for 10 years:

“She immigrated to the United States to live with an aunt. Her parents never came and she never went back to Cape Verde. She was not properly supervised. She wasn’t given any direction. Because of this, she got a lot of emotional problems. She had to deal with personal struggles. She ended up getting involved in American activities.


In essence, without the strong family ties, 2nd generation immigrants need to look elsewhere for social ties. The street culture and gangs provide that. It gives “restitution for alienation [and] provides a strong family unit” (The Politics of Education and Recent Immigrants as Gang Members, para. 11) .
“Money is the root of all evil.” This is a very common phrase in American culture and the truth of it is apparent in the immigrant’s life. Before ever immigrating to the United States, as stated earlier, families who have already immigrated send back money and barrels full of American goods. This gives the family in the home country the impression that the United States is paved in gold. However, upon arrival, those material goods that were so important and the money that went so far in the home country, becomes a “drop in the bucket” (Waters, 1999, p. 207) . The expectations of the 2nd generation is thus very high, but the 1st generation has very limited resources. The 2nd generation, wanting these material things, but unable to get them, often turn to the underground economy. Eventually, the drug money “undermines the authority of the older generation”. In effect, the 2nd generation begins to wonder why they should work so hard, when they can simply sell a few drugs and get the same amount (Waters, 1999, p. 219) .

“I think that the longer that people are here, the more accustomed they get to the American values. Some of them are positive, naturally. The desire to make money encourages people to become doctors and lawyers and these are very positive. However, the negative things, the pleasure-oriented things that you have in American society, the mass media, the idea of lack of respect for other people, the brashness, the arrogance. This is picked up absolutely. And in addition there’s also the drug problem. Larger number of kids who are from West Indian population are getting involved. And that will just kill a culture. Kids who have never been exposed to this over there become exposed to it over here, and this has a dramatic effect on the parents as well.” (White male teacher)
(Water, 1999, p. 219)


Money can make for easier upward mobilization, but it can also erode the family and dreams, causing downward mobility.
Gangs and the street culture are ready alternatives for these youth for a number of reasons. Sociologist and gang members themselves have identified the following reasons to join a gang, all of which are things troubled immigrants may be looking for: identity, recognition, belonging, discipline, love, and money, as well as “intimidation to avoid continued harassment” (Nawojczyk, 1997, p. 3). Many current gang youth say that members listen to each other, help one another with problems, and enjoy the flow of money that brings them the material wealth that they are looking for.

“Adolescent identity confusion can be a crisis for immigrants who are seduced by music, dating practices and consumer products.” (Rothstein, 2002, p. 2) ; also known as pop-culture. Second generation immigrants without family to direct them, and living in the inner-city, are bombarded by pressure to conform to the black culture, not only in school, but on the radio, on TV, and anywhere else that pop culture is prevalent. David Grace, a 4th generation Cape Verdean discussed this phenomenon, stating that the pop culture is a very heavy influence on youth; it is “so in your face”. The Cape Verdean youth, in turn see this and their “American Dream” becomes what the pop-culture portrays; the “bling-bling” (Black Vernacular English for expensive material things that show off how much money – and success – one has) . Many Cape Verdeans, he goes on to say, want to imitate that lifestyle and become fixated on it. He implies that the Cape Verdean youth are not necessarily becoming black American, but merely imitating it. The lifestyle that many of the rap stars and others that portray the “bling-bling” come from a life of gangs and tough neighborhoods. Grace contends that the Cape Verdean youth feel that they need to do that, too, in order to achieve this goal. His reasoning for this is because he sees Cape Verdeans taking it back to their own communities, which is prominently Cape Verdean culture, not black American culture. (personal communication, November 30, 2003) . This “taking it back” to the home culture thus influences the newcomers and begins a vicious cycle that is difficult to stop. It also finds itself in the home country, when the immigrant, who is not an American citizen, is caught for illegal activity and sent back. This new “send-back” (so-termed for those that are “sent back” because of illegal activity) culture of Cape Verdean youth in the country has an effect on the culture there, especially to the easily-influenced Cape Verdeans that look to family members as role models.

On a personal note, I have witnessed this first-hand, as a very close person to me in Cape Verde has recently become involved in the dug trade in Cape Verde. For the four years that I have known him, I have always thought that if he were to ever come to the United States, he would be involved in illegal activity. I thought this because of his obsession with material things and need to be accepted, plus his American role-models like Tu-Pac Shakur and other famous rap stars. He also was easily awed by his cousin who is a drug dealer in Portugal. He could not keep his mind off how much money his cousin had and how many beautiful material things he possessed. After I left Cape Verde, most – if not all – of his friends left as well; some for the United States, others for far-off places like Portugal and Holland. In the year that I have been back to the United States, I have kept in regular touch with him and have witnessed and incredible change. First, he was very lonely and upset that he didn’t have the money to visit any of his friends. Then, he started keeping in contact more and more with his cousin in Portugal and telling me more and more about material possessions he had accumulated; yet could never tell me what he was doing to earn the money for everything. After moving to Boston (which hosts more Cape Verdeans than Cape Verde itself), I started to hear rumors about his involvement in the drug ring in Cape Verde. Just recently I talked to him and although he did not admit to being involved in the drug trade, he did admit a number of things to me. For instance, he told me he doesn’t have a job, but he has two brand new cars (a Mercedes and a Jeep); he has bought a house in one of the richest areas in Cape Verde; he has a ring with diamonds; he’s gained 25 pounds and he’s been to Brazil three times (this route has since closed because of the heavy drug traffic that it created). He also told me that his cousin is in prison and gave him his money and “business” to take care of while he’s incarcerated. Even though this is a case of assimilation in Portugal, I believe it still shows the effect those that become entrapped in the illegal activities can have on the host country. In the past two years, Cape Verde – a once very peaceful nation – has seen drive-by shooting, kidnappings and a host of murders. All with a “send-back” involved.

The process of assimilating into American culture for Cape Verdeans (and black immigrants in general) is dependent on educational attainment, socioeconomic status, human necessity and circumstance. It is important to realize that nothing is fixed in this process. “The ultimate paradox . . . may well be that in the process, what is being assimilated metamorphoses into something quite dissimilar from what any . . . ever imagined or intended . . .” (Rumbaut, 1999, p. 192) .

Source:
Becoming American: Smooth Transition or Harrowing Struggle?

Cape Verdean Immigrants’ Struggle to Fit-In to a Black and White World
By an undisclosed author

This article's portrayal of both Cape Verdeans and African Americans, is extremely disturbing and just plain wrong. Firstly, criminal activity and “not achiev[ing]” in school are NOT attributes of African-American culture or identity. This is a dangerous and fundamentally racist theory that has been discredited by researchers. Crime and school failure (and success) can be found among all races and ethnicities. Secondly, the author confuses “black culture” with “pop culture,” “American culture” and “street culture,” which must be delineated. “Bling-bling” is not Black Vernacular English. It is slang. And neither is materialism a part of Black culture. It is an American cultural value that can likewise be found among all races and ethnicities in the U.S.

Saying that Cape Verdean youth get into trouble because they “act black” necessarily implies that African American youth get into trouble because they are black. This paints both groups as pathological and demonstrates little understanding of the disproportion of some kinds of crime among poor, inner-city, youth of color. It also shows little understanding of the intricate processes of socialization and acculturation of non-White youth in the U.S., especially when they are poor. The choices and decisions that Cape Verdean youth make in negotiating these processes are much more complex and sophisticated than simply deciding to “act black.” The work that Cape Verdean researcher Ambrizeth Lima has done with these youth provides valuable insight into this issue.

I disagree with the statement that this article is “color-blind.” This article has “blackness” written all over it. As Black people – Cape Verdeans, African Americans and other African-originated people – we must come together to both study and resolve the challenges in our communities in ways that lift up, rather than denigrate, our rich and wonderful cultures.

Just a friendly reminder to all our visitors including our staff:FORCV firmly believes everyone should feel comfortable to post articles or express any opinions on this forum.. That’s why we set it up to be as anonymous as possible so people can say whatever they want. However, let’s use an appropriate level of language for a public forum, be respectful of others, and voice our agreements or disagreements in a mature and academic way so nobody feel uneasy to fearlessly put out their views and suggestions.

Thank you,

FORCV management team.

This time we will behave.

Is there a solution for the wave of violence that is hauting the cape Verdean community?

Here's what I think. This article is the work of an intemediate ESL student . It was first written three or so years ago. When it first started circulating on-line you could literally hear the strong immigrant accent in the way it was written. The grammar and vocabulary used was so bad. So my conclusion is that whoever wrote this paper is an immigrant with very little exposure or knowledge of the African American middle and upper classes. The African American middle classes, which outnumber, the poor ones, highly value education and social upper mobility and are law abiding and patriotic citizens. It's the so called "under-class", the empoverished inner city dwellers, the only African Americans the author of this paper probably ever had contact with, that exhibit the attitudes illustrated in this paper. This being said, I reiterate, it's the ignorance and lack of exposure of this paper's author that compelled he or she to draw the flawed stupid conclusions s/he drew.

On this question on drugs crime and the Caboverdean dream.

The first thing that was errneous was the point made about Caboverdean
and other Black immigrants. Who are the Black immigrants? That is so blatantly misleading.I will not waste the readers time to elucidate.

The reality of criminality has nothing to do with with nationality or pigmentation. Poverty,economic deprivation and all the social ills that breed contention and other contingencies.

"To choose the identity of African American?" said the undisclosed author.

I am so sorry,but you are very wrong and I suggest you do more scientific study. Perhaps you might consider studying social psychology or perhaps a social scientist can help you to have a better understanding of the real facts.

I am sadden by your inaccuracy of false information based on what you think you know. Who ever you might be,your incapacity to express your thoughts in the American English tells me that you don't know as much as you think you do.

I am a second generation American born Caboverdiano,I am 73 years young. Lived in Boston when you could count CV's on one hand.
I have lived in the African American community and many other communities but I did not choose the criminal way of life of any nationality. Hard work being responsible and of good character and good conduct. I came from the poor working class but perseverance with good work ethics payed off.

Your reasoning is out of line.

I will make a strong suggestion to you. You need to speak with someone like The Honorable Judge George Leighton or to the President of BridgeWater State College a Cabo Verdean American, Dr. Danna Faria

Love to all malice towards none.

Manu Salah

Where the connection between Cape Verdeans, being black and the violence?

Two thumbs up for you, Salah.
I hope this young Capeverdeans take your message serious.