From the Bookshelves: Unwelcome Shores: Black Refugees in America by Bernadette Ludwig
You are warmly invited to join in person at the CUNY Graduate Center (365 Fifth Avenue, Room 6112/Sociology Lounge, NYC) or online (register for the Zoom link via the QR code below or this link)—for the next event in the Immigration Seminar Series, co-organized by the MA Program in International Migration Studies and the PhD Program in Sociology at the CUNY Graduate Center. Tuesday, December 9, 2025, 6:30-8:30pm EST.
The featured speaker is Dr. Bernadette Ludwig (Western Connecticut State University), who will discuss Unwelcome Shores: Black Refugees in America, her book that officially launches on December 9.
About the book: Drawing on data from longitudinal ethnographic study of the Liberian refugee community in Staten Island, NY, I discuss how seemingly race-neutral refugee and immigration policies are inherently racist. I highlight the racialization of Black refugees and the anti-Black racism and violation of human rights they have experienced at every step of their migration journey. By privileging race as the lens of analysis, I reveal the significance of race in the lives of Liberians prior to, and after their immigration to the U.S.—from the foundation of Liberia as a quasi-U.S. colony for free(d) Black people, to the selection process for refugee resettlement, and finally to Liberian refugees’ incorporation into American society. I show how Liberians had to go at great length to obtain legal refugee status since the larger general public, the media, and the U.S. government tend to regard Black people as an economic and social burden unworthy of assistance. Finally, the talk reveals how Liberian refugees have responded to anti-Black racism and forged alliances with native-born Black Americans in racially divided context of places such as Staten Island.
About the speaker: Bernadette Ludwig, Ph.D., is a Sociologist and the Assistant Dean of the Macricostas School of Arts and Sciences at Western Connecticut State University. She is also a Part-Time Assistant Professor and an Affiliated Faculty at the Zolberg Institute on Migration and Mobility at the New School. Her primary research explores the intersection of immigration and race--specifically, how racism affects Black refugees in their (in)ability to find refuge and resettlement policies. Her other research focuses on community-engaged learning. Before entering academia, she worked for NGOs that provided services with and for refugees and immigrants in Atlanta, GA. She also serves as a pro bono country conditions expert for asylum and deportation cases.
