“Capital of the Caribbean” was an excellent transition from Blood Relations. It explored the post-renessaince period and viewed Harlem as the center for all this reform and even power. I found the article to be interesting because I had never thought of all the issues going on in the Caribbean during the time of the World War. I found it almost poetic that this was the time when West Indians and African Americans got together for a common cause, transnationalism. It paralleled the countries at the time getting together for the War. It was a time where a lot of communities came together and pushed for independence, as well as representation in the government. This article showed the connection between the civil movements in the United States, which matched those of the Caribbean and I was surprised that I hadn’t learned of this history before.
Brown Girl, Brownstones was much easier, and entertaining read than Blood Relations, in my opinion. I love the innocence of Selina, matched by the complexity of each of her family members. I think Paule Marshall does a great job of capturing the time and giving the reader a feel for the environment. She also conveys the struggles that both women and African Americans had to go through. It talks about the different jobs such as “Big Momma” had and the various jobs Deighton attempted. The discovery of the land Deighton received shows how people still had an attachment to their home countries. Silla wants the money for the land, but Deighton has a dream to go back and live off the land. It’s a difficult conflict, because it shows one person who wants to leave the past behind, while someone else is still fighting for the homeland. I think I can relate to this because in my family, my mother chose to leave everything behind, whereas my father is more involved with the country he was raised in. The author does capture the struggles of immigrant families really well. Selina has a more romanticized view of Bimshire, but she doesn’t understand how much worse it was for her parents there. I think her mother and father are very similar to any immigrant family, where they leave everything and work hard so their children can have a better life. I think it made Silla a much tougher person, and migrating has that affect on people.
One thing that I enjoyed a lot was reading about these places nearby such as Fulton Street, De Kalb and Prospect Park. I think it’s difficult imagining them in the time period of the book, versus what they are today, and it makes it very interesting.
