Vickerman, Milton. “Chapter 7- Jamaicans: Balancing Race and Ethnicity.” New Immigrants in New York. Edited by Nancy Foner. pp. 201-228. New York: Columbia UP, 1987.
Amongst the many reasons why immigrants come to America, the opportunity to climb the socio-economic ladder has been the motive for hundreds of years. Some arrive with set skills that they then apply to an occupation, but many come with the dreams of acquiring skills in the American education system towards a high-paying job. American schools are unique in that anyone can take advantage of it and anyone can do well in it, and immigrants are often surprised by how liberal and encouraging the environment can be. However, immigrants also often face challenges in education and employment. Like learning English, education is a necessary stepping stone for attaining employment, and yet there are those who face the legal and financial issues of not having citizenship regardless of how hard they have worked.
Although the United States does not have an official language, learning English is arguably the most important component of integration for immigrants. Being able to communicate with other Americans is practical socio-economically, and yet it is not always so easy. Many struggle with learning the language, let alone its unusual idioms, the slang that is so pervasive on New York City streets, and feel even more alienated as a result. To add another level of complexity, immigrants must often communicate with other immigrants who also lack English proficiency! While some use television, books, and music to learn English, others manage to fit English classes into their busy city schedules. Younger immigrants can learn English in the American education system, and yet many immigrants also view learning English crucial to doing well in school so that they can find higher-paying jobs. Learning English is undoubtedly a stepping stone for immigrants, whether it is for themselves or for their children.
Although New York City has been a major point of entry for immigration for hundreds of years, immigrants still experience a culture shock. The different smells, incredibly novel and unusual sights, and vast multiracial population can be both captivating and intimidating. For some, the chaos can be disenchanting from the city that has been immortalized in global popular culture. One thing is certain: there is no place like New York City elsewhere in the world.
My initial thought for this IDC class was that “peopling” is a horrible word. Frankly, it evokes the slightly repulsive image of meiosis. It is a clumsy present participle that sounds like “toppling,” and no one uses it in every-day conversation, let alone a course title, for good reason.
However, I’ve always loved history and I’m a second-generation Korean-American. I figured this class had to easy, awkward name or not. Imagine my excitement when I found out how much time-consuming, dense reading (congested with words even worse than “peopling”) there was! Nonetheless, we could bring the readings into class discussions, which often turned into entertaining debates. We were encouraged to voice our thoughts, no matter how ridiculous, and that is honestly what makes American education so distinctive.
Additionally, I loved writing my personal essay. I had never talked to my parents about their pasts before and it was humbling hearing how difficult it was to come to America with only $600. I was shocked to learn that my mother was so disillusioned of the American Dream, that she took my brother and went back to Korea for a year. If she hadn’t come back, I would have never been born, which certainly put my life in a different perspective.
My statistical profile was another story. It literally put me in tears and I have (almost) no shame in admitting that. I was absolutely Microsoft Excel illiterate, but with the help of Ben the ITF, I got through it alive. I know I will have to use this maddening program again in my life, so this was a constructive introduction.
The interview project was also constructive in that I got to hear another immigrant’s fascinatingly unconventional story, which didn’t fit any of the theories in the readings. Academics can try to categorize people all they want, but people always have been and always will be both capricious and resilient.
Macaulay should really change the title of this course to give the subject matter the justice it deserves.
Neville, a 63-year-old immigrant from Jamaica, remembers that college jumpstarted his political activism in the United States:
In college, you know, I was very, very involved. Very involved. Did some fundraising for, you know, like drought areas in the Sahel Desert. Sahel is a region that goes across, uhm, Africa and the Sahara – Chad, Mauritania, uhm it’s like a dry belt and it’s had bad situations with drought. So you get involved with that at that level and on the college level, you had struggles with English department, uhm, dominating the African Studies department. Things like that… and it’s not just the, uhm you know, race or anyting like that. I did a lot of stuff: Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch…
Neville, a 63-year-old immigrant from Jamaica, reflects on why people leave the safety and familiarity of their home countries:
Yeah, [Jamaicans] migrate a lot. It’s what they call, um, a pressure release? People migrate because if, uhm, if it wasn’t for migration, then you’d have revolution… because there would be no outlet for individuals to acquire what they’re looking for, what the government can’t give them.
Neville, a 63-year-old immigrant from Jamaica, reveals a light-hearted anecdote on his introduction to American slang:
Uhm, a part of it is that culture thing, that language, the jargon, the street-language. I heard for the first time the word “MF.” Right? How I heard “MF” was that one young man introduced me to, uhm, his friend. And uhm, he said to the — in the course of talking, he said “You are a MF” and I took it literally!… And I-I-I just couldn’t even look at the guy, you know?… When the person left and the next person came up, another person called him the same word. I noticed that when they were using the word, they were smiling! Then I-I asked what that meant, and they said no it’s just an expression, you know. It was one of the things I had to go through, you know. It doesn’t necessarily mean how it sounds.
Neville, a 63-year-old immigrant from Jamaica, discusses how he combats discrimination, not only for himself but also for those who cannot stand up for themselves:
Well I’ve experienced discrimination on the job. You experience it back in the 60’s, 70’s yeah… What happened to me was that I had a good sense of self. On the job, wherever I worked, I was the jailhouse lawyer, you know. What that meant was individuals who were not treated fairly and needed formalize their grievances with the company, I would write their letters, when nobody knew. You know, so individuals– sometimes people are about to be terminated, and uh, we’d just talk and I would write the letter personally with them and they could put their letter in the file and they’re still on the job.
Neville, a 63-year-old immigrant from Jamaica, has been living in the United States for forty-five years.
As shown in the graph, 28.2% of the foreign-born Jamaican population has graduated high school only in New York City. This is actually a higher percentage of high school graduates than NYC’s collective foreign-born population, 23.5%, and more surprisingly the native-born population, 25.1%. Although this may be due to high English proficiency compared to other immigrant groups, foreign-born Jamaicans might also be placing more emphasis on the obtainment of a high school diploma to succeed. The percentage of college attainment or more might still be low, but this may change as they integrate into society. After all, with no language barriers and high school degrees, foreign-born Jamaicans will be able to find employment much more easily and have the basic skills to climb the socio-economic ladder.
Lobo, Arun Peter, and Joseph J. Salvo. 2004. The Newest New Yorkers, 2000: Immigrant New York in the New Millennium. New York: New York City Department of City Planning, Population Division.
As shown in the graph, in 2000, 28.2% of the foreign-born Jamaican population graduated high school only in New York City. This is actually a higher percentage of high school graduates than NYC’s collective foreign-born population, 23.5%, and more surprisingly the native-born population, 25.1%. Although this may be due to high English proficiency compared to other immigrant groups, foreign-born Jamaicans might also be placing more emphasis on the obtainment of a high school diploma to succeed. The percentage of college attainment or more might still be low, but this may change as they integrate into society. After all, with no language barriers and high school degrees, foreign-born Jamaicans will be able to find employment much more easily and have the basic skills to climb the socio-economic ladder.
Sarah at Au Pied de Cochon in Montreal, QC in Oct. 2012.
My name is Sarah Park. I was born in Queens, but I grew up in a small suburban town by the Long Island Sound. Although I’ve lived in New York all my life, I’ve been all around the world. I technically entered the Macaulay Honors Program as a freshman two years ago, but I took a break and traveled some more for a year and worked full-time in retail for another. I got tired of the nomadic lifestyle (and by that I mean being broke all the time lost its charm) and now that I’m living in Bushwick and I’m back at Baruch, I hope to major in English. My favorite writers are Vladimir Nabokov, Haruki Murakami, Margaret Atwood, and Neil Gaiman. When I’m not reading, I like to watch weird films, practice my violin, and play Mario Kart Wii. I probably won’t make a lot of money with an English degree either, but I’m pretty content with that.
