A history of internal migration

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

At this point, I think of New York's black population as being primarily Carribean slash West Indian. Most of my black friends in NYC are 2nd generation American, their parents having immigrated from Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad, etc.

For all intents and purposes, though I know its not exactly true, culturally it feels as though the black population that is descendant from the great migration sorta stops at Philadelphia (at least along the NE Corridor). It obviously holds for Great Lakes cities like Buffalo, Cleveland, Chicago, etc. While Philly has less West Indian migration than NYC, on the surface it seems as though a more significant portion of Philly's black population consists of African Immigrants. Lots of folks from Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Senegal, Nigeria, Cameroon, and the DRC.

Is Newark's black population mostly West Indian or African American? I'm really not sure.

Growing up in Connecticut, it seemed like the black community in Hartford was heavily Jamaican. In Bridgeport, it was pretty evenly split. But New Haven was pretty strongly African-American, without a very large Caribbean component.

Boston is a mix of everything, though Haitians are hugely over-represented. Lots of Dominicans and Cape Verdeans live in black neighborhoods as well, though many of them do not self-identify as black.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by eschaton

But NYC also was one of the only northern cities (along with Philadelphia) with a considerable black community even before the Great Migration.

Chicago would've been in that discussion too, at least in terms of percentages.

Black population 1900:

Philly: 63,000 (4.9%)
NYC: 60,666 (1.8%)
Chicago: 30,050 (1.8%)


Philly's figures are no surprise given its very close proximity to the nation's traditional black belt.


Source: https://i1.wp.com/www.historybeforeu...g?w=1060&ssl=1

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Is Newark's black population mostly West Indian or African American? I'm really not sure.

Newark skews much more African American than NYC, and I suspect they are still the majority in the city.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Is Newark's black population mostly West Indian or African American? I'm really not sure.

I believe Newark proper is quite AA for tri-state standards. But Essex County AA population is pretty West Indian overall. Adjacent towns like Irvington, Hillside, East Orange and Orange are more heavily black West Indian.

[Docere]

Birthplace of Black immigrants in New York State (2018)

Jamaica 226,898
Haiti 126,572
Trinidad and Tobago 73,294
Guyana 60,896
Ghana 35,838
Nigeria 34,671
Barbados 25,836
Grenada 24,732
Africa, ns/nec 14,325
Western Africa, ns 11,875
St. Vincent 13,274
St. Lucia 9,612
West Indies, ns 8,919
Antigua-Barbuda 7,648
Senegal 7,104
Ethiopia 7,008
Caribbean, ns 5,239

[Docere]

Should note that the Census doesn't fully capture the West Indian origin population beyond the foreign born. For example the Jamaican origin population (284,228 in NYS) is similar to the Jamaican-born population. Given the long West Indian presence in NYC, the American-born population of West Indian parentage or ancestry must be at least as large as the immigrant population.

[Antares41]

Originally Posted by Crawford

I have heard AAs claim that Chicago blacks are more "country" in speech/mannerisms than NYC blacks. I don't know the exact context but wonder if the Mississippi roots have some legacy differences relative to the Carolinas roots (or more accurately, Carolinas-Carribean roots).

Having been raised in NYC and going to UW-Madison I immediately noticed the difference and surmised it had to do with the migration pattern. Most of my friends were from Chicago and had relatives in what I referred to as the deep south (Mississippi, Alabama, etc.). I don't often use the term "country" since some people consider it a pejorative, but, their speech was definitely different. I also chuckled at the fact they thought my manner of speech was "proper", something I never was accustomed to hearing in my native Bronx. Side note, relatives on my mother's father side are from South Carolina. My father's side is from the West Indies mainly the Virgin Islands. So, I fully represent the mixture of the two cultures.