Our readings on Tuesday focused on Transnationalism and the different familial and cultural networks that were established through it. In Foner’s introductory article, she reminded us how transnationalism and the large influx of West Indian migration began and continued on through the 20th century. Social and economic problems, such as overpopulation, scare resources and high unemployment, along with the newly altered U.S. immigration law in 1965, lead to mass migration from the West Indies after a long period of reduced movements. New York’s availability of jobs combined with the ongoing “White Flight” in many predominantly white neighborhoods, lead to the perfect storm for large West Indian immigration into the city. Unlike earlier migration though, new technologies and cheap airfare prices enabled many displaced peoples to remain in contact with their home country. No longer did one need to reserve a phone to make an international call; international phone plans were aplenty and they were very affordable. Foner’s chapter definitely helped add context to the next chapter we read.
The chapter entitled New York as a Locality in a Global Family Network, by Karen Fog Olwig, took a look into the life of a particular Jamaican family that migrated to the United States in the mid-20th century. The article followed the son of mixed Jamaican residents, who had roots in Portugal and Scotland, and how he eventually created this large family network in New York City. Bill, the aforementioned son of William and Marie, migrated to New York in pursuit of education. Bill was sort of a prodigy; his family had high hopes for him becoming a doctor and sent as much money as they could so that he can pay for his education. Unfortunately, Bill never did become a doctor. Economic demands led him to marry, start a family of his own and take up a managerial position in a large American firm. Yet, this perceived failure to Bill ended up becoming something much greater for the family. Bill’s position provided the perfect entryway for his family to immigrate to the U.S. With jobs in line for needing family members, Bill was able to spur the movement of much of his family to New York. There, a large family network was established, one where family members chipped in to make sure everyone was taken care of. I think the defining thing about this article is how Olwig paints New York City. Though it was a destination for many West Indian immigrants, New York was only the initial step in further migration for many Immigrants. As expressed through Bill’s family, New York helped many immigrants get settled so they can eventually migrate to where they truly wanted to be, whether it was another state in the United States or even an international locale such as London.
Building off of the family network studied in Olwig’s article, Charles Tilly’s article on Trust Networks in Transnational Migration provided a different perspective on how certain migrating peoples made it in America. His article first introduces remittances. Remittances are basically payments of money sent between people. In the context of this article, remittances are the money sent from and to migrants in America. The amount of money being sent between families is actually much larger than I thought, with the 27 billion dollars sent to Latin American and the Caribbean in 2002 making up 1.6% of the regions gross domestic product that year. These remittances aren’t always sent easily and this is where trust networks come in. Trust networks are exactly what they are called- networks based entirely on trust that serve as conduits for money and goods being exchanged between the regions. Remittances were sometimes delivered through these networks, along with other things such as certain local opportunities. These networks worked so well because many of those involved were risking the same things. If there was not enough cooperation within the trust network, no one received any benefits. As noted in the article, this did lead to some things that aren’t so great about trust networks. The rising exclusivity of these trust networks, due to the immense amount of trust and faith members would have to have in each other, lead to a division between people who were able to take part in these networks and those who did not have the opportunity. Some people were confined to small networks that put great constraints on how they could basically live their lives; limited members meant limited opportunities. In all, trust networks and family networks were immensely helpful in getting newly immigrated people on their feet and involved in American society, though certain divisions and detriments did arise.
