Chapter 1 of Blood Relations discusses the initial push of black natives into Harlem. This began when the rent prices of San Juan Hill- where most blacks in New York City resided- increased rapidly. Furthermore, race riots in the area along with the construction of Penn Station called for a movement out of the section and into somewhere new. Harlem seemed to be the choice black natives took, especially since real estate agents such as Philip Payton influenced white land owners to rent apartments to black tenants. Thus, Harlem began growing as a center of black community. With a growing number of black residents, Harlem began to attract elite members of the black populace, for example, W.E.B. Du Bois who sought to report of the Harlem movement in his newspaper. Other than Native blacks moving into Harlem, there was also a push by caribbean immigrants into upper Manhattan. This emigration was almost completely unrestricted, until 1924 when the United States initiated an immigration quota. Anyhow, by then, of the 328,000 African Americans in the U.S., 224,000 resided in Manhattan, and especially in Harlem. Surprisingly, the caribbean immigrants that moved to the U.S. were favored over native blacks. From accounts, it seemed that white Americans gave selective treatment to foreign blacks, especially those who they heard speak Spanish or French. Odd indeed. No matter, Caribbean Islanders and black natives worked together to form communities. Within those communities, there seemed to be an abundance of women, which wasn’t negative as women were vital in settlement and creating immigration chains. Many immigrants in Harlem assimilated to settled communions and institutions, others however formed their own churches. Politics, however, was not an interest of these incoming immigrants as it was a rarity to see a caribbean islander participating in an election, even local ones.
Chapter 2 of Blood Relations discussed the paths Caribbean Islanders took before coming to the United States. Specifically, there was an inter-immigration between the islands in pursuit of employment. Crop plantations sought to employ the majority of the population on their islands, and as well the populations on other islands. Furthermore, Caribbean citizens themselves were unable to get their own land as the colonial system ensured that freed slaves would become laborers and not land owners. Thus, hard labor was the only choice these islanders had for employment. And when one Caribbean Island had no opportunities, workers turned to other islands. Furthermore, between 1838-1917, some 500,000 Asians were imported to work. This created a tight competition for employment. However, some projects and businesses relieved the tension, specifically the Panama Canal Project and the Sugar estates in Cuba and the Dominican Republic. These work opportunities were also vital in the immigration the islanders took to the U.S.. After the U.S. took over the Panama Canal Project, Jim Crow was further instituted. There was segregation, discrimination, and cruelty in Panama as blacks were not offered housing and were paid in silver instead of gold. Even the lowliest white workers received free housing. Other than working on the canal, Caribbean Islanders, specifically Women, were recruited to Panama for household work. This helped establish Caribbean communities and families in Panama. Some islanders even set up businesses. Some women were unfortunately tricked into coming to Panama and then taken into prostitution. In the canal zone, there was little social mobility. Only Caribbean Islanders people with skills and education had any chance of becoming something other than hard laborers.
After the canal was built, Cuba was the next destination. The United Fruit Company was vital in the emigration of people from island to island as they controlled the plantations and opportunities. In Cuba, Caribbean communities were formed around ports that had a constant movement of ships that brought mail, goods, and people. Islanders sought to maintain touch with their homeland and families. Coming to America from Cuba and other islands was extremely difficult. Not only that, but families had to be separated as the trip was too expensive to afford. Some islands governments, for example the Barbados, set up emigration services to America. This worked by sending mostly women to the United States to create immigration chains. Without such services, getting into America was problematic as there were strict guidelines and rules that were purposefully difficult that immigrants had to meet. Furthermore, transportation on liners was terrible as blacks were segregated and treated miserably. The senate did not help with the struggle of these Caribbean Islanders as a an exclusion act was passed to specifically exclude Black foreigners.
Chapter 3 of Blood Relations discusses the life Caribbean Islanders followed when they finally reached Harlem. Black immigrants that came to Harlem lived in close proximity to black natives. Thus, Harlem offered a greater chance of community than any other place for the incoming immigrants. Churches and black elite sought to expand this black community in Harlem by buying apartment buildings and homes for blacks to rent. This however was only in a compact section of Harlem. This changed in 1920 when whites gave way and began moving out of Harlem allowing the purchase of homes at discounted prices. Thus more of Harlem became further occupied by native blacks and incoming immigrants. Many parts of Harlem even became exclusive to the black elite. For example, “Sugar Hill” on 155 street between St. Nichols and Convent avenue was home to self made black millionaires. Philip Payton, mentioned earlier, continued his pursuit of property management and allowed blacks to continue moving further uptown through his successful real estate ventures. Other black businessmen included Watt Terry, Montsenant Roach, and Soloman Riley who made their millions off stocks. Of course, not everyone could afford the homes Harlem. Thus, “no-interest” loans were implemented within the Harlem community to allow the easier purchase of previously unaffordable homes. There were also fund raising activities on the Caribbean Islands for the purchase of Harlem buildings. Interestingly, female household work was the largest occupation in Harlem. This was due the difficulty in which blacks could attain other jobs, specifically those that required high skill sets. Immigrants of course experienced a greater difficulty to find steady jobs than the black natives, thus institutions like the New York Colored Mission were created to ease the transition immigrants made into American life by offering jobs and lodging. However, blacks still sought social mobility in the city, and that was the main motivation behind their immigration. An example of such motivation was Charles Petioni who struggled with his wife for several years until he was able to earn a medical degree.
The first three chapters Blood Relations offered deep insight about the movement of Caribbean Islanders to Harlem as well as the life black natives led in New York. I was firstly surprised by the selective treatment black foreigners gained over black natives. I was also surprised about the movement Caribbean Islanders experienced undertook from island to island in search of employment. However what wasn’t surprising is the struggle blacks faced in all their actions. I have already learned about the struggles of blacks in the U.S., and now am I aware that the struggle wasn’t exclusive to the U.S.. However, it is motivational to hear the first person accounts Blood Relations offers of the Caribbean immigrants and the stories of the self made millionaires.
