"But where are you really from?" : A qualitative study about young Afro-Swedes view on their own identity and sense of belonging

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to examine how young Afro-Swedes view their identity and sense of belonging in Swedish society, and whether they face challenges and how it affects their social inclusion. This is examined through eight semi-structured interviews with six women and two men who are all born and raised in Sweden. Furthermore, thematic analyses have been applied to the material. The two concepts that have been used to analyze and discuss the collected data is ethnicity and belonging. The results of this study indicates that young Afro-Swedes do not identify as Swedish mostly because society categorizes them as “immigrants”. There is a clear perception that Swedish people are all white, blond and blue eyed which they as black citizens do not fit into. Because of this, young Afro-Swedes have faced many challenges and some of them feel socially excluded. The challenges they have in common is racism and xenophobia which has negatively affected them in many ways. The result of this study also shows how social environment, skin color, religion, and residential area have a major impact on how Afro-Swedes choose to identify as well as their sense of belonging in Sweden.