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C Ch ha ap pt te er r 1 14 4 Jamaicans in Broward County, Florida JOHN W. FRAZIER INTRODUCTION The last half century has witnessed nearly three million arrivals from nations around the world into New York City, making it a continuous immigrant gateway. Immigration law (Kraly and Miyares 2001; Foner 2001) and powerful ethnic networks (Massey 1999) have been credited for the recent and continuing surge. Caribbean flows have been particularly strong to New York City. Foner noted the relatively strong pre-1965 West Indian population as a cultural attraction and support network that pulled West Indians to the City (Foner 2001, 2000, 1987). Economic opportunity in the City supported this movement of “two great waves” of immigration, the latter containing greater ethnic diversity and more substantial social capital related to professional skills and education (Foner 2000). Foner, in New Immigrants in New York (Foner 2001) explores the various impacts of immigrants on the City, and the City on Black immigrants, stressing the need to compare other places with large numbers of West Indians to the patterns and experiences of those cultures in New York. Boswell and Sheskin (chapter 13) provide a useful comparison of the West Indian populations in New York City and Miami-Dade. They note that Jamaicans are the largest West Indian population in both locations. South Florida, where proximity to homeland, economic opportunity, and easy access to co-ethnics encouraged their influx, contains two important Black immigrant gateways, Miami and Ft. Lauderdale. Within South Florida another migration process has occurred. As Miami-Dade County has continued to grow and change, Jamaicans, among others, have chosen to migrate northward to Broward, Palm Beach, and other locations. This chapter focuses on Broward County’s Jamaicans as they emerge as a dominant minority ethnic group and establish a new cultural center for themselves and other West Indian groups. The purpose of this chapter is to examine West Indian and particularly Jamaican migration, socioeconomic status (SES), and settlement patterns and to compare them to patterns established in New York City. Before examining Jamaican experiences in Broward County, a brief review of literature dealing with West Indian, and in particular Jamaican culture, ethnicity, and experiences in New York City, is provided as a basis for comparison with Broward County. WEST INDIAN AND JAMAICAN EXPERIENCES AND PATTERNS IN NEW YORK CITY West Indians have been New York City’s largest immigrant group since the 1965 Hart-Celler Act revolutionized U.S. immigration. Their population exceeded a half million and accounted for approximately onethird of the City’s Black population by the year 2000 (Foner 2001). Among West Indians, Jamaicans are the largest ethnic group in the U.S. and in New York City. Although their attraction to the City has diminished, New York remains their largest center and provides the basis for comparison with other locales of increasing importance to this group. Given place differences and the variety of place experiences in the U.S., it is important to examine ethnicity on a place-by-place basis prior to formulating general theory. 214 John W. Frazier In New York City, West Indians have tended to cluster in and around native-Black neighborhoods. They also share some cultural traits and interests. These commonalities have contributed to White perceptions of a monolithic Black culture. This perceived lack of cultural distinctiveness among African Americans and Black immigrant groups (Foner 2001; Vickerman 2001), or ethnic “invisibility,” may change due to the increasing numbers, changing status, and strong ethnic expressions of West Indian groups, including Jamaicans (Kasinitz 2001). However, change does not come easily and their increasing group identity and visibility is an evolving process challenged by White racism (Waters 1999; Neckerman, Carter and Lee 1999; Vickerman 2001). Wishing to be ethnically distinct, Jamaicans emphasize their cultural differences from African Americans, such as cultural history and different values. Jamaican Culture and Ethnicity Jamaican culture is, in part, distinguished by its history, beliefs and institutions. Despite their experience under British imperialism and a plantation-type economy, Jamaicans maintained basic cultural features associated with their native food, music, poetry and other cultural expressions. For example, traditional food staples and preparation involving baked goods, rice, spices and meats, including curried goat and chicken, and oxtail, remain distinctly Jamaican today. Indeed, Foner noted that foods (plantain and curried goat), as well as family, religion and women’s roles were important elements of Jamaican ethnicity in New York (Foner 2001, p. 11). Regarding Jamaican-American ethnicity, Foner observes that within...

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