Journal of Global Citizenship & Equity Education Volume 4 Number 1 - 2014 journals.sfu.ca/jgcee Toward Enacted Cosmopolitan Citizenship: New Conceptualizations of African Immigrants’ Civic Learning and Action in the United States Ashley Taylor Jaffee Assistant Professor of Social Studies Education James Madison University Vaughn W. M. Watson Teachers College, Columbia University Michelle G. Knight Associate Professor of Education Teachers College, Columbia University Keywords: Citizenship, Cosmopolitanism, African Immigrants, Civic Action, Global Justice ABSTRACT: The rapid growth of African residents in the U.S. currently shapes global civil society and calls for rethinking global identities and notions of global citizenship. This paper presents findings from a qualitative, interpretive case study on the civic learning and action of second- and 1.5-generation African immigrants in New York, U.S.A. We consider how African immigrants are constructing an understanding of their civic learning and action, and conceptualize an enacted cosmopolitan citizenship to better understand their civic engagement involving social justice issues in the U.S. and globally. We examine African immigrants’ enacted cosmopolitan citizenship across two intersecting themes: 1) identities/attachments within and across local and global communities and 2) enactments within and across local and global communities. We build upon theories of cosmopolitanism to extend understandings of an action-oriented global worldview of cosmopolitan citizenship, and point to implications for enacting new conceptualizations of citizenship and civic participation in global societies. Introduction Unprecedented demographic changes, during a time of vast expansion and global, technological, economic, political, and social interactions engender the rethinking of global identities and re- conceptualizing notions of citizenship (Banks, 2009). Between 1990 and 2005 an estimated 17 million immigrants entered the United States (Rong & Preissle, 2009). African immigrants in the U.S. contribute to these demographic shifts, with a population increased by 40% between 2000 and 2005, increasing the total immigrant population from multiple African nations to 1.2 million residents (Rong & Preissle,