From the West Indies to Eastern Parkway: Caribbean Migration and Diaspora in Brooklyn

[get these nets]

Spoiler: timestamps

Introduction​

0:00

Welcome​

2:58

West Indian vs Caribbean​

4:36

TransAtlantic Slave Trade​

6:50

Caribbean Migration in the US​

8:35

Push and Pull Factors​

11:21

Differences between London and Brooklyn​

19:39

Circuitous paths​

24:11

Job opportunities​

25:31

Malcolm Xs mother​

30:01

Music​

30:59

Melting Pots​

33:09

Food​

34:03

Carnival​

37:26

Passing on Tradition​

40:53

Social Media and Carnival​

44:44

Carnival in the Diaspora​

47:11

Clarifications​

51:24

Caribbean Melting Pot​

55:46

​

Sep 9, 2024
Just as the Great Migration brought waves of African-Americans from the South to the North, a parallel migration came from Afro-Caribbeans moving to the US from the island nations of Jamaica, the Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Haiti, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Guyana among others.

Join three experts and scholars – Fordham University’s Tyesha Maddox, Princeton University’s Joshua Guild, and Center for Brooklyn History Chief Historian Dominique Jean-Louis – as they shine a spotlight on the history of Afro-Caribbean migration to Brooklyn, and the resulting cultural influences on cuisine, music, dance, religion, clothing and more.

From the turn of the century, to World War II, to the years following the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965, millions of West Indian migrants settled in the US. According to census reports, as of 2019 the Caribbean diaspora in the United States comprised more than 8.5 million people. West Indian culture blends Caribbean heritage, African roots, influences from Europe, and traditions that speak to centuries of colonization, emancipation, resilience, and celebration.

We’ll explore how festivals like Brooklyn’s West Indian Day Parade keep this vibrant heritage alive and honor this community and its historic roots.