Between 1960 and 2005, the number of black immigrants in the United States increased from approximately 125,000 to approximately 2,815,000. Relative to the size of the black immigrant population in the United States, this group has also contributed disproportionately to the growth of the entire black population in recent decades. If these trends continue, black immigrants and their descendants will play a significant role in determining perceptions of social and economic well-being of the country’s black population in future decades.

My current work investigates how these demographic changes impact racial disparities in health and labor market outcomes among individuals who reside in the United States. I’m currently involved in two strands of research. The first evaluates the factors that generate labor market differences between black immigrants and black natives. The second strand of research explores the degree of health selection among black immigrants as well as the role that conditions in black immigrants’ countries of origin play in explaining variation in their post-migration health in the United States.