This study examines how music functions in relation to identity development for African-, Caribbean- and Black-identified emerging adults who have immigrated to Canada. Eleven ACB-identified emerging adults, recruited from music schools, community, and student organizations took part in semi-structured interviews adapted from McAdams’ Life Story Interview protocol to focus on music practices and memories. Thematic Analyses results suggest that transitioning to life in Canada necessitated learning new meanings of being and “becoming” Black. Participants described the influence of music on negotiating identity in a Canadian context. They described using music to resist racist and hegemonic narratives of Canadian Black identity, to connect to and celebrate their embodied Black identities, and establish self-continuity and coherence across histories and generations to connect with spiritual memories, land, and ancestors. We conclude by suggesting implications of this work for practice and developing research methodologies that resist whiteness.

这项研究探讨了音乐如何与移民到加拿大的非洲、加勒比和黑人身份的新兴成年人的身份发展相关。从音乐学校、社区和学生组织招募的 11 名 ACB 认定的新兴成年人参加了改编自 McAdams 的生活故事访谈协议的半结构化访谈，以关注音乐实践和记忆。主题分析结果表明，在加拿大过渡到生活需要学习成为和“成为”黑人的新意义。参与者描述了在加拿大背景下音乐对协商身份的影响。他们描述了使用音乐来抵制加拿大黑人身份的种​​族主义和霸权叙事，以连接和庆祝他们所体现的黑人身份，并在历史和世代之间建立自我连续性和连贯性，以与精神记忆、土地和祖先联系起来。最后，我们提出了这项工作对实践的影响，并开发了抵抗白人的研究方法。