Many first-generation Americans find that their parents’ story carries great significance when it comes to their own development. Decisions that parents make, responsibilities they take on, friendships they create are inherently passed down to their children. Rebekah Laguerre is no exception.
Her mother came to the United States from India in the 1980s, when she was ten years old. In her first few years, she stayed with her parents and uncle, who had immigrated to New York a few years prior. Ms. Laguerre also attended Baruch College, and found that the city was a welcome place for her to learn and grow. One of the first people she met was Rebekah’s biological father, a hispanic man with roots in Puerto Rico. As she began to grow accustomed to her surroundings, she began to appreciate New York City for its accepting culture. She had moved in comfortably with her family, and was ready to create her own future in America. However, this sense of comfort turned out to be short-lived.
When her mother found out she was pregnant, her world changed completely. Her initially welcoming surroundings turned on her, as her parents closed their doors on her and she was faced with the reality of becoming a single mother. This was an especially hard time for Rebekah’s mother, because she now had to manage her pregnancy, housing accommodations, and career on her own. The pressure culminated one day while she was in school at Baruch. Ms. Laguerre had broken down crying in the bathroom, with seemingly no solution to her newfound hardships. By a stroke of fate, Rebekah’s mother was shown a brighter future.
The New York City Church of Christ (Harlem Ministry), where Rebekah made a lot of her childhood friends and memories
As she was struggling to cope with her situation, two people from the New York Church of Christ consoled her. They understood her circumstances, and offered her an opportunity to stay with them. Through this rough time, Ms. Laguerre was exposed to the hispanic culture, as she was now living in the Bronx with Dominican and Puerto Rican roommates. In addition, she started going to church on Sundays at the Manhattan ministry on the Upper East Side. While she was pregnant, she attended services at this ministry, which was primarily for single women. Shortly after giving birth to Rebekah, her mother moved the family to Harlem, and as a result, began attending the Harlem ministry. Much like her mother, the church became an integral part of Rebekah’s early life, especially given the familial culture of the Harlem ministry. In Rebekah’s words:
“A huge part of my life is church. Most of the people that I know even to this day are from church, [because my mom was living with the Dominican family], all from the church, they had taken her in.”
Growing up in Harlem taught Rebekah life lessons about family and building relationships. Many of the people in her neighborhood went to the same ministry as her, and she became close with many of her neighbors and children that were her age. It seems that this collective bond with her neighborhood blends with the Puerto Rican heritage that her biological father passed onto her. Rebekah has learned to speak Spanish through her friends, and “resonates with being Puerto Rican” in general.
Another influential figure in Rebekah’s upbringing was her stepfather, a man of Haitian descent that came into her life when she was four years old. He serves as her father figure to this day, and she expressed gratitude when asked about his influence on her life:
“From when I was four up until now, he [taught] me to have a good work ethic, I have always had good grades because he would help me study through the years…education was a big part, and my mother would always put me into extracurriculars.”
Rebekah’s stepfather also brought an aspect of Haitian culture into her life that she has grown to understand and appreciate through special holidays and her grandparents. Every now and then, Rebekah eats dinner with her father’s parents in Queens, and for her, Haitian food plays an important role in her understanding of her father’s side of the family. Her favorite dish is “soup joumou,” which is a savory blend of beef and pumpkin, pictured below.
Soup Joumou, made with beef and pumpkin.
Overall, Rebekah is able to connect with Haitian culture in small ways, giving her a greater sense of her father’s background. This aspect, along with her inherited Puerto Rican culture forms the Hispanic background that she identifies with.
A year ago, Rebekah and her family moved out of Harlem, to an apartment in Hell’s Kitchen near 42nd Street. When asked about the change, Rebekah mentioned that her new neighborhood felt very different and she was still adjusting to her surroundings, including moving from the Harlem ministry to the Manhattan ministry. Hell’s Kitchen is more of a quiet area, and not quite as diverse as Harlem. However, Rebekah has tried to bring some of her personal traditions from the Harlem ministry to her new environment. She is always trying to meet new people in the church, and take friendships to a more personal level:
“The idea of being connected, being really rooted in, being like a family even though you’re not blood-related, I definitely have been able to bring that to Manhattan.”
Undoubtedly, no matter where she goes, Rebekah will always carry forward Hispanic customs that she learned in Harlem. And although she gets to go back and visit the neighborhood, she sometimes experiences nostalgia when thinking of her childhood memories and friends. Some may attach negative stereotypes and perception to the neighborhood, but to Rebekah, Harlem is home:
“I was never worried, because that was just my home. I really loved it there, and I felt connected to being there.”
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