Do First and Second Generation West Indians Assimilate into the AA Community? (New York: 2013, luxury)
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I don't think its fair to Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton to be put in this same sentence along with OJ.
O.J. Simpson may be the most hated black person of all time. Louis Farrakhan fills in the next slot followed by Al Sharpton and then Jesse Jackson, imo. But that's neither here nor there. My point was that people very much think of Farrakhan as being "African American." They don't view him any differently from the other aforementioned names.
Are you counting Americam born with one parent that is American with Southern ancestry (although all is really African and whatever else is in the mix) as a WI? Just asking because Sheryl Lee Ralph's father is American Black with roots from Virginia, and LL's maternal grandparents are from Georgia.
Yes. I said one or two generations removed. It's common in the Tri-State area to meet someone who has one parent from the Caribbean and one parent from the States.
But even with people like Tatyana Ali, she's not viewed any differently from Will Smith. Biggie is not viewed any differently from Tupac.
It is really hard to say. West Indians have been living in America and in NYC for quite sometime. Remember the Island of Barbados used to be a major slave depot along with Jamaica back in Colonial days so I'm sure plenty of slaves purchased from these islands found their way onto the American colonial mainland. Overtime West Indians do assimilate into African Americans but it takes sometime, but it also depends on certain factors. An African American who is Baptist marries a Trinidadian who is Roman Catholic due to the islands Hispanic/Franco heritage, being Catholic is going to expose their kid to more diverse body of people and guild union workers, compared to Baptist church which is primarily African American with its customs and traditions. It also depends on neighborhoods they live in, economics and education. I find West Indians to be very industrious than their African American counterpart and leaps bounds excel up into middle class America. I'm not sure if you guys remember, their was an article in the NYT that stated that West Indian and American Africans, out number African Americans in Ivy league schools. That correlation showed how different and distinct African Americans in terms of academic achievement and attainment are different from West Indians and Africans. In terms of economics you might see an West Indian immigrant with a EBT card but their offsprings wont participate in the cycle of poverty. I think some do mix with African Americans but some do remain distinct and have snobbish elitism. I remember one guy telling me that when he came to NYC in the 1960s from Jamaica, employers would rather hire him than a black American person escaping dying Jim Crow of the south which many did at that time. Supposdely that West Indian was a better worker and better skilled as well. Than again this is what he told me. I could be wrong! Lets not forget that West Indians did not grow up in the world of Jim Crow racism compared to African Americans. Also the practice of slavery ended across the British Empire in 1833 thanks to the Industrial Revolution, but continued 30 years more in the United States resulting in a deadly civil war which shakes the very foundation of this country to this very day. Slavery in the islands is only remembered in emancipation day, but here in America slavery is remembered in a very different tone.
Also Farrakhan was a Calypso singer before he was Muslim. He plays ukulele, guitar, and it is well known that he plays classic violin. When he was in the NY area more he would imitate all the different accents of Black people in the different American regions, the different Carribean Islands, and the different African nations. He would repeat the bragging boasting things each one said about there own homeland. He did this in an amusing way. He was very good with the accents.
It also depends on neighborhoods they live in, economics and education. I find West Indians to be very industrious than their African American counterpart and leaps bounds excel up into middle class America. I'm not sure if you guys remember, their was an article in the NYT that stated that West Indian and American Africans, out number African Americans in Ivy league schools. That correlation showed how different and distinct African Americans in terms of academic achievement and attainment are different from West Indians and Africans.
There are HUGE factors in why this disparity happened within the last 20 to 30 years which we won't get into in this thread. It's not to make excuses, but the black american elite (who've been the elite since before and after slavery) have basically continued to make strides and not fall into the trap the government planned for the masses.
Many Africans and West Indians arrived here in super huge numbers in the 80s on down. They also do not have the same inherit fear and mistrust of whites like African Americans do (and with GOOD REASON from a historical standpoint). I'll also say that whites do not fear foreign blacks in the same way they do AAs. If you want to get a job in corporate america as a black person, then just slap a foreign accent on and the job is YOURS. LOL!
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In terms of economics you might see an West Indian immigrant with a EBT card but their offsprings wont participate in the cycle of poverty.
Lies. It's nice to believe that though. Lol!
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I remember one guy telling me that when he came to NYC in the 1960s from Jamaica, employers would rather hire him than a black American person escaping dying Jim Crow of the south which many did at that time. Supposdely that West Indian was a better worker and better skilled as well.
Come on. Now you know the 60s was pre-crack era. Black men at that time were VERY hard workers and skilled. They didn't want to hire them, because they secretly feared them. The man who told you this must have lived in NYC, because I doubt a southern white person would have said this to him.
Last edited by marilyn220; 10-09-2013 at 10:18 AM..
It is really hard to say. West Indians have been living in America and in NYC for quite sometime. Remember the Island of Barbados used to be a major slave depot along with Jamaica back in Colonial days so I'm sure plenty of slaves purchased from these islands found their way onto the American colonial mainland. Overtime West Indians do assimilate into African Americans but it takes sometime, but it also depends on certain factors. An African American who is Baptist marries a Trinidadian who is Roman Catholic due to the islands Hispanic/Franco heritage, being Catholic is going to expose their kid to more diverse body of people and guild union workers, compared to Baptist church which is primarily African American with its customs and traditions. It also depends on neighborhoods they live in, economics and education. I find West Indians to be very industrious than their African American counterpart and leaps bounds excel up into middle class America. I'm not sure if you guys remember, their was an article in the NYT that stated that West Indian and American Africans, out number African Americans in Ivy league schools. That correlation showed how different and distinct African Americans in terms of academic achievement and attainment are different from West Indians and Africans. In terms of economics you might see an West Indian immigrant with a EBT card but their offsprings wont participate in the cycle of poverty. I think some do mix with African Americans but some do remain distinct and have snobbish elitism. I remember one guy telling me that when he came to NYC in the 1960s from Jamaica, employers would rather hire him than a black American person escaping dying Jim Crow of the south which many did at that time. Supposdely that West Indian was a better worker and better skilled as well. Than again this is what he told me. I could be wrong! Lets not forget that West Indians did not grow up in the world of Jim Crow racism compared to African Americans. Also the practice of slavery ended across the British Empire in 1833 thanks to the Industrial Revolution, but continued 30 years more in the United States resulting in a deadly civil war which shakes the very foundation of this country to this very day. Slavery in the islands is only remembered in emancipation day, but here in America slavery is remembered in a very different tone.
From the HRA current statistics Black Americans are the smallest group right now receiving public assistance and snap in NYC. Dominicans are the largest. Many other groups are now receiving asistance.
Employers in the NY metro area do prefer WI, and African, over American Blacks if they are hiring Black people that is a fact. This usually is not based on education and qualifications because the applicant pool will have similar qualifications. It is usually do to preconceived notions about Black Americans.
Black Americans with means tend to find going to a HBCU more odvantageous and a door into Ivy league graduate schools. The HBCU' s provide life long connections for them.
If you want to get a job in corporate america as a black person, then just slap a foreign accent on and the job is YOURS. LOL! .
Yes and many are doing just that. If they don't go that far, they definitely have a fake heritage that they can recite at request. They feel they must to survive.
Yes and many are doing just that. If they don't go that far, they definitely have a fake heritage that they can recite at request. They feel they must to survive.
Lol! I was kidding!
This is so sad, but hey, do whatchu gotta do to get that money.
It bothered me when Beyonce kept harping on her "creole" background in every interview to appear more "exotic". She has this makeup revlon commercial where they list three or four different racial backgrounds. All I could do was roll my eyes.
JLO does the same commercial, but all she says is that she's "100 Puerto Rican" which means absolutely nothing. Why isn't her racial makeup included?
Even poor Naomi Campbell, one of the baddest models to ever walk the catwalk tried to claim she had a "chinese" grandmother. LOLOL!!
Last edited by marilyn220; 10-09-2013 at 11:43 AM..
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