Blood Relations: West Indian Immigrants and Urban Community in Harlem, 1920--1930.

During the pre- and post-World War I eras some 100,000 black immigrants from the Caribbean moved to urban centers in the United States. Over half of these settled in Harlem where by 1930 they made up one quarter of the black population. These newcomers, while retaining distinctive qualities of the Caribbean heritage, interacted with a native black population, the majority of whom had simultaneously migrated from the eastern seaboard states. The result of their contacts was the creation of one of the most striking black communities in the world, Harlem of the 1920s. Previous studies have not closely examined the nature of this extraordinary meeting of the descendants of African slaves of the West Indies and the American South. Yet they have often stressed antagonisms and conflicts in native-immigrant contacts and emphasized a devisive rather than a developmental relationship in Harlem. The current study explores the dimensions of the black immigrant presence in Harlem in the context of an urban community they shared a significant role in making. Immigrants migratory backgrounds and patterns of adjustment away from home in Panama and Cuba are explored and predict later Harlem experiences. Their role in the move to Harlem, their purchase of homes as well as the problems all blacks shared--housing, health and work--are explored. The creation of institutions parallel to and together with those of native blacks such as the church, benevolent associations, lodges and fraternal groups is discussed. The interaction of native and immigrants in stepladder speaking, the Garvey movement, business, including the illegal lottery known as "numbers" or "policy" and the literature of Harlem are given detailed consideration. Cooperative relationships and shifting alliances within these areas had positive implications for the community.Ph.D.Black historyAmerican historyEthnic studiesUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/159667/1/8324305.pd