This week we began reading Blood Relations: Caribbean Immigrants and the Harlem Community, 1900-1930 by Irma Watkins-Owens, starting with the first three chapters. The book outlines the history of Southern and Caribbean black immigration to New York City and specifically Harlem. The relations between the people studied are seen through the lens of gender, class and race. These contexts are very important for understanding the demographic and cultural identity of Harlem.

Harlem was initially a white neighborhood, called a “residential heaven” at the time, which experienced extreme changes in its demographic in the early twentieth century. There was a lot of resistance to the influx of black immigrants but with the help of certain organizations and individuals the new comers were able to create a community in Harlem. Real Estate agents, like Philip A. Payton, were key in this. They convinced white landowners to rent to black people and eventually bought up buildings in the area. Churches and African American ministers were very important as well, as they also bought buildings in the area and united the native African Americans and Caribbean blacks in their congregations.

An important historical event that was a very important step in the lead up to migrations to New York City was the construction of the Panama Canal. This is discussed in-depth in the second chapter, “Panama Silver Meets Jim Crow.” The Panama Canal required mass amounts of labor, and drew most of workforce from the black populations of Caribbean colonial states. The mass movement of men for labor and women for domestic work changed the migration situation of the region drastically. It set up the beginnings of transnational networks that later became essential to the formation of the black community in Harlem. Workers would use their “Panama money“ to send family members to New York City. Once the construction of the Panama Canal finished, the laborers needed more work and thus found jobs in Caribbean ports and in New York City. This set into motion the heaviest period of black immigration, between 1911 and 1924.

Something that I found interesting about the movement of Caribbean blacks to the United States was their treatment. Southern blacks and any black person taken for a southern black was, for the most part, treated badly and with no respect. But many anecdotes within the text show how foreign blacks who spoke languages other than English or spoke with an “exotic accent” were treated better. In one striking recounting, a man was arrested and appeared before a judge. When the Judge heard his Jamaican accent, his attitude changed and assumed his innocence. This shows how class and history are really important to race relations. It also shows how relative and arbitrary racism and prejudice can be. It was strange to see this now because the views have shifted, typical attitudes in the United States now tend to lump all black people together into one group. From my observations, I believe that now foreign blacks would be treated worse than native ones. It is interesting how perspectives can change drastically and over a short period of time.

Once the black population was settled in Harlem it became an essential and indispensible hub. The transnational networks were very intricate, connecting laborers in the United States with families back in the home countries. The support went both ways in the networks with lots of correspondence back and forth. This facilitated further movement to Harlem. Within families and Harlem communities, people often gathered resources together to buy houses or to bring people over from the Caribbean. The area then became attractive for middle class and elite African Americans. The will to achieve successful mobility was very high. Many blacks in the community studied to become doctors and other such professions to improve their social standing. There is an anecdote that is a very classic example. An immigrant woman, named Edith Mitchell, volunteered at a hospital during the Second World War. After working there for a while, she became a nurse. She worked hard to send her son to medical school and he ended up becoming a physician. This kind of social mobility is what the immigrants all wanted when they came to the New York City. That is what they were denied in the conditions of their home countries.

The vast international consequences of the neighborhood like Harlem and a city like New York are very interesting. I would like to know more about the global political implications. I am interested in finding out more about the reactions and concerns of the European colonial powers and elites of the Caribbean colonial states as they witnessed their populations leaving in massive numbers. Another thing that I am highly interesting in is Cuban and Puerto Rican cigar makers in New York who where active in anti-imperialist, pro-independence and socialist circles. These issues of imperialism and independence are very important to me and continue to be discussed worldwide.