Polite Racism and Cultural Capital: Afro-Caribbean Negotiations of Blackness in Canada

Karine Coen-Sanchez

doi:10.3390/socsci14080451

journal article Open Access Jul 23, 2025

Polite Racism and Cultural Capital: Afro-Caribbean Negotiations of Blackness in Canada

Karine Coen-Sanchez

Social Sciences Vol. 14 No. 8 pp. 451 · MDPI AG

View at Publisher Save 10.3390/socsci14080451

Abstract

Blackness, both as a racial identity and a marker of cultural difference, disrupts the hegemonic norms embedded in dominant forms of cultural capital. This article examines how first- and second-generation Haitian and Jamaican communities in Ontario and Quebec negotiate Blackness within a Canadian context. Drawing from international literature, it introduces distinctly Canadian concepts—such as polite racism, racial ignominy, and duplicity of consciousness—to illuminate local racial dynamics. Using Yosso’s (2005) framework of community cultural wealth, the study analyzes six forms of cultural capital—linguistic, aspirational, social, navigational, resistant, and familial—as employed by Afro-Caribbeans to navigate systemic exclusion. The article expands the limited Canadian discourse on Black identity and offers theoretical tools for understanding how cultural capital is shaped and constrained by race in multicultural democracies.

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Details

Published: Jul 23, 2025
Vol/Issue: 14(8)
Pages: 451
License: View

Authors

K

Karine Coen-Sanchez

School of Sociological and Anthropological Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada

Cite This Article

Karine Coen-Sanchez (2025). Polite Racism and Cultural Capital: Afro-Caribbean Negotiations of Blackness in Canada. Social Sciences, 14(8), 451. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci14080451

Polite Racism and Cultural Capital: Afro-Caribbean Negotiations of Blackness in Canada

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