After reading “Capital of the Caribbean,” I was pleased to discover that I was reasonably well-informed on some of the topics that were discussed. At the same time, I learned that the things I thought I knew were far too narrow in scope. Zooming out, I was able to see the much broader ramifications of these seemingly binary interactions. I am speaking mostly about the wartime efforts and exchanges of the United States and Britain. While I already was aware that the United States used trades of carriers for bases in order to maintain its neutral façade, I never paid much attention to, or learned about, how this change in power would affect the people who lived near where these bases were located. People were concerned about whether the infamous Jim Crow attitude would be inherited, and generally Caribbean people had no say in the fates of their countries. Eventually, however, as a result of Roosevelt’s limited ties with Harlem, the neighborhood which the essay proclaims to be the capital of the Caribbean, and as a result of various committees and diplomats, some Caribbean voices were heard, and policy decisions had their concerns in mind.
As in Blood Relations, I was remarkably unaware of how important Harlem was to not only New York, but to the entire world. These works helped to inform me otherwise. Harlem was truly a beacon of hope for people of African descent all around the world, and it was a hub for immigration and social change. Even more so, I wasn’t aware that Harlem played such a huge role in the advancement of Caribbean nations, and I didn’t know that so much intellectual activity in regards to social change was present in the Caribbean and was brought up to Harlem.
In the first two books of Brown Girl, Brownstones, the main character Selina is dealing with her identity as both an American, a Barbadian, and a young girl. This mix of identities is interesting, and her world-view is heavily shaped by this. On one hand, she desires strongly to reside with the rich whites who occupied the brownstone before her, but these thoughts are beaten down and discouraged once she realizes the impossibility of this happening––a result of her skin color. On the other hand, she romanticizes the idea of moving back to Barbados, even though she doesn’t fully understand the implications that such a transition would have for her and her family. As a young girl, however, her experience can surely be compared to those of any girl her age. She is starting to recognize the signs of maturity, and is dealing with the struggles, emotionally and physically, that come along with it. Ina, Selina’s sister, is the one who introduces her to some of these concepts, and is ultimately responsible for making Selina feel a bit like an outsider.
