Do First and Second Generation West Indians Assimilate into the AA Community? (New York: rooftop, to live in)
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Pete Rock, Foxy Brown, Phife Dawg, Q-Tip, Kool Herc, KRS-One, Afrika Bambaataa, Canibus, Busta Rhymes, "Pepa" from Salt and Pepa, Doug E. Fresh and KRS-One among others.
Wow! Had no idea about Afrika Bambaataa being caribbean. Interesting. Cool.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BajanYankee
Born and raised in the USA.
Were you raised around other West Indians?
I find that this can sometimes make a difference too. Most of the WIs I know who don't tell you were raised mostly around americans and adapted to the culture easily.
I notice that in Los Angeles that even though it's probably the second most diverse city next to NYC, all of the various cultures stayed SEPARATE. They weren't racist or mean or anything, they just hung out with EACH OTHER. If you saw a "mixed" group of people, then you knew they weren't from LA. They were probably transplants.
I find that in NYC, you don't have to stick solely with your own kind, unless you really want to practice a form of self-segregation.
Not really. My wife, on the other hand, lived in the West Indies during primary school before her family moved to NYC. She has no trace of an accent. She has mostly West Indian or African friends who listen to more Mary J. Blige than Destra Garcia.
As someone already stated, I don't see Louis Farrakhan, Stokely Carmichael or Constance Baker Motley as being any different from most African Americans. And I'm not sure if many other people see a real difference either.
Not really. My wife, on the other hand, lived in the West Indies during primary school before her family moved to NYC. She has no trace of an accent. She has mostly West Indian or African friends who listen to more Mary J. Blige than Destra Garcia.
As someone already stated, I don't see Louis Farrakhan, Stokely Carmichael or Constance Baker Motley as being any different from most African Americans. And I'm not sure if many other people see a real difference either.
Because they never big upped their heritage. There was no need to. It was on a NEED TO KNOW basis. Irene Cara is Puerto Rican, but she never discusses it.
Nikki Minaj and Rihanna's island roots are talked about all the time, because THEY keep talking about it. What's funny is that I can understand why Rihanna would still identify with her Bajan background as she came here as a teen, but Nikki came here when she was 5 years old and should have assimilated by now.
I guess the more 'exotic' you are in the entertainment biz, the more crossover appeal you have.
Because most first and (to a lesser extent) second generation Caribbean blacks (as the topic asks) are too different from native African American blacks to assimilate. After the second generation, though, I think they'll probably be better assimilated to some extent.
You'll find some American-born children of West Indian immigrants who are fully assimilated into AA culture. Look at Biggie. You wouldn't know his parents were from Jamaica, other than the few references he had in his music.
The same can be said for the white community and ex-Soviet immigrants. Some of their kids are fully assimilated into white American culture, but most of them aren't. However, the descendants of Jews from Eastern Europe who came here in the early 20th century eventually became Americanized, other than the Orthodox, and that was for religious reasons. I'd equate them to Voodoo/Santeria practitioners in the West Indian community (probably can't equate Rastafarianism, since African Americans have embraced it). People who sacrifice chickens probably won't be able to reconcile their differences with Christian and Muslim African Americans.
Because most first and (to a lesser extent) second generation Caribbean blacks (as the topic asks) are too different from native African American blacks to assimilate. After the second generation, though, I think they'll probably be better assimilated to some extent.
You'll find some American-born children of West Indian immigrants who are fully assimilated into AA culture. Look at Biggie. You wouldn't know his parents were from Jamaica, other than the few references he had in his music.
The same can be said for the white community and ex-Soviet immigrants. Some of their kids are fully assimilated into white American culture, but most of them aren't. However, the descendants of Jews from Eastern Europe who came here in the early 20th century eventually became Americanized, other than the Orthodox, and that was for religious reasons. I'd equate them to Voodoo/Santeria practitioners in the West Indian community (probably can't equate Rastafarianism, since African Americans have embraced it). People who sacrifice chickens probably won't be able to reconcile their differences with Christian and Muslim African Americans.
Except you ALWAYS had some African American practioners of voodoo. Particularly on the Gulf Coast (read up on people like Marie Laveau from New Orleans) and among the Gullah people of the Carolinas and Georgia.
Because they never big upped their heritage. There was no need to. It was on a NEED TO KNOW basis. Irene Cara is Puerto Rican, but she never discusses it.
Nikki Minaj and Rihanna's island roots are talked about all the time, because THEY keep talking about it. What's funny is that I can understand why Rihanna would still identify with her Bajan background as she came here as a teen, but Nikki came here when she was 5 years old and should have assimilated by now.
I guess the more 'exotic' you are in the entertainment biz, the more crossover appeal you have.
Rihanna has a THICK Caribbean accent. Its rather obvious she is Caribbean.
As for Nikki, why should she assimilate? The 21st century is a bit different from say the 60s and 70s in which people would have not pointed out their ethnicity more.
I knew a white Puerto Rican who told me back in the 70s, it was completely uncool when she performed on stage (she's a comedian) to say you were Latina. She said in those days she had to be a white girl. But she was born in Puerto Rico. In later years, with larger numbers of all types of Hispanics in the city and changing cultural attitudes, she came out as Latina and Puerto Rican.
Alfonso Riberio, when he played Will Smith's brother on the Fresh Prince, never mentioned his ethnicity. In later years he talked frequently about being Panamanian.
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Voted no...
