The Health and Well-Being of Caribbean Immigrants in the United States is a timely addition to the knowledge base concerning the integration of this population into the fabric of American society. On the eve of the fortieth anniversary of the 1965 Immigration Reform Act, this book examines the relationship between immigrants from the Caribbean and the culture of the United States. This body of work provides resources for scholars and researchers and provides instrumental strategies for use in practice by counselors/social workers, curriculum developers, and immigration analysts. With this book, you will develop a new appreciation for the social capital immigrants bring with them, their adaptation to their new society, and the extent to which their distinctive characteristics promote or hinder their social mobility. Using tables, figures, and graphs, The Health and Well-Being of Caribbean Immigrants in the United States provides thorough analyses of broad-ranging issues and proposes viable solutions to the problems these immigrants face. In this important resource, expert educators, researchers, and community leaders address the unique challenges that affect this population, including: increased infant mortality rates increased HIV/AIDS among the Caribbean community the growing trend of violence and abuse among Caribbean and Caribbean-American youths the special needs of aging and elderly immigrants living in the United States the impact of the 1996 immigration legislation on Caribbean families The Health and Well-Being of Caribbean Immigrants in the United States paints a clear picture of how these citizens are coping with the social, economic, and political aspects of the American way of life. This guide offers new findings and insight into the reality of the diverse immigrant Caribbean population, setting the stage for establishing groundbreaking initiatives to develop better support services. Innovative community-based approaches and culturally specific prescriptive intervention models make this book an integral source for social scientists, human service professionals, and policymakers.

West Indian immigrants to the United States fare better than native-born African Americans on a wide array of economic measures, including labor force participation, earnings, and occupational prestige. Some researchers argue that the root of this difference lies in differing cultural attitudes toward work, while others maintain that white Americans favor West Indian blacks over African Americans, giving them an edge in the workforce. Still others hold that West Indians who emigrate to this country are more ambitious and talented than those they left behind. In West Indian Immigrants, sociologist Suzanne Model subjects these theories to close historical and empirical scrutiny to unravel the mystery of West Indian success. West Indian Immigrants draws on four decades of national census data, surveys of Caribbean emigrants around the world, and historical records dating back to the emergence of the slave trade. Model debunks the notion that growing up in an all-black society is an advantage by showing that immigrants from racially homogeneous and racially heterogeneous areas have identical economic outcomes. Weighing the evidence for white American favoritism, Model compares West Indian immigrants in New York, Toronto, London, and Amsterdam, and finds that, despite variation in the labor markets and ethnic composition of these cities, Caribbean immigrants in these four cities attain similar levels of economic success. Model also looks at "movers" and "stayers" from Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad, and Guyana, and finds that emigrants leaving all four countries have more education and hold higher status jobs than those who remain. In this sense, West Indians immigrants are not so different from successful native-born African Americans who have moved within the U.S. to further their careers. Both West Indian immigrants and native-born African-American movers are the "best and the brightest"—they are more literate and hold better jobs than those who stay put. While political debates about the nature of black disadvantage in America have long fixated on West Indians' relatively favorable economic position, this crucial finding reveals a fundamental flaw in the argument that West Indian success is proof of native-born blacks' behavioral shortcomings. Proponents of this viewpoint have overlooked the critical role of immigrant self-selection. West Indian Immigrants is a sweeping historical narrative and definitive empirical analysis that promises to change the way we think about what it means to be a black American. Ultimately, Model shows that West Indians aren't a black success story at all—rather, they are an immigrant success story.

Despite their growing presence, research on Caribbean and, especially, African immigrants has been scant. The scarcity of writings on these "other" African Americans contributes to the invisibility of these groups. The objective of this project is to broaden our understanding of these other African Americans. A focus on intra-racial dynamics among African Americans is important because of the ever-growing diversity of America's black population. The Other African Americans is an edited volume of original research that provides historical and contemporary information on African and Caribbean individuals and families. Each chapter addresses a particular topical area covering the most salient issues facing these immigrants to the U.S. today.

In Pilgrims from the Sun, Ransford Palmer chronicles the migration of people from the English-speaking Caribbean to the United States, detailing the largely economic reasons for their departure and the cultural reasons for their successful settlement. Close to 700,000 West Indian immigrants and their children live in America today with the greatest concentrations in the New York City and Miami areas. The high value they place on hard work, education, home ownership, private savings, and family loyalty writes Palmer, has helped to rank West Indians among the most socioeconomically successful immigrant groups in the United States. Palmer looks not only at West Indians permanently residing in the United States - many of whom are employed in services, the fastest-growing sector of the economy - but also at temporary residents, in particular farm workers in Florida's sugar industry and students, and at the problem of illegal immigration. He assesses the interrelationship of migration, employment, and trade in the island and U.S. economies, and he argues that only accelerated economic growth in the islands will stem the tide of migration. Despite recent attempts by many Caribbean countries to free up their economies and to create development programs in cooperation with the European community as well as the United States, the promise of higher living standards in America remains too powerful for many West Indians to resist.

Since 1965, West Indians have been emigrating to the United States in record numbers, and to New York City in particular. Caribbean New York shows how the new immigration is reshaping American race relations and sheds much-needed light on factors that underlie some of the city's explosive racial confrontations. Philip Kasinitz examines how two forces--racial solidarity and ethnic distinctiveness--have helped to shape the identity of New York's West Indian community. He compares "new" (post-1965) immigrants with West Indians who arrived earlier in the century, and looks in detail at the economic, political, and cultural rules that Afro-Caribbean immigrants have played in the city during each period.

This book examines the well-being and development of children in black immigrant families (most with parents from Africa and the Caribbean). There are 1.3 million such children in the United States. While children in these families account for 11 percent of all black children in America and represent a rapidly growing segment of the U.S. population, they remain largely ignored by researchers. To address this important gap in knowledge, the Migration Policy Institute's (MPI) National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy embarked on a project to study these children from birth to age ten. Chapters include analysis of the changing immigration flow to the United States; the role of family and school relationships in the well-being of African immigrant children; exploration of the effects of ethnicity and foreign-born status on infant health; and parenting behavior, health, and cognitive development among children in black immigrant families. Contributors include Randy Capps (MPI), Dylan Conger (George Washington University), Cati Coe (Rutgers University-Camden), Danielle A. Crosby (University of North Carolina-Greensboro), Angela Valdovinos D'Angelo (University of Chicago), Elizabeth Debraggio (New York University), Fabienne Doucet (Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development), Sarah Dryden-Peterson (University of Toronto), Angelica S. Dunbar (University of North Carolina-Greensboro), Tiffany L. Green (Virginia Commonwealth University), Megan Hatch (George Washington University), Donald J. Hernandez (Hunter College and City University of New York), Margot Jackson (Brown University), Kristen McCabe (MPI), Lauren Rich (University of Chicago), Amy Ellen Schwartz (New York University), Julie Spielberger (University of Chicago), and Kevin J. A. Thomas (Pennsylvania State University).

This volume examines the phenomenon of mass population migration from the Caribbean to North America and the United Kingdom and the social, cultural, and economic adaptation of the immigrants to their new environments. A central theme of this volume is that twentieth century Caribbean migration is more than the migration of labor in search of jobs; it is also a movement of households and thus affects not only the well-being of family members but also their social relationships. The contributors provide new analytical perspectives on the factors that motivate this movement, and the social, cultural,and economic impact of the movement on the household itself. The volume is divided into three parts. Part I examines the historical movement to the United States and the United Kingdom. The chapters in this section explore the relationship between the character of Caribbean development and the factors motivating the migration of households, the nineteenth century beginnings of twentieth century mass Caribbean migration, and the social and economic experiences of the post-World War II Caribbean immigrants in Britain. Part II looks at the problems of settlement and adaptation in the major urban centers where Caribbean immigrants have tended to concentrate, giving special attention to the status of Caribbean women in the United States and the role of social networks in helping immigrants to adapt to their new surroundings. The final section looks at the problem of illegal migration from the Caribbean to the United States, drawing on data from the annual reports of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Students, researchers, and policy-makers will find In Search of a Better Life an important contribution to the understanding of the total migration process.

In Blood Relations, Irma Watkins-Owens focuses on the complex interaction of African Americans and African Caribbeans in Harlem during the first decades of the 20th century. Between 1900 and 1930, 40,000 Caribbean immigrants settled in New York City and joined with African Americans to create the unique ethnic community of Harlem. Watkins-Owens confronts issues of Caribbean immigrant and black American relations, placing their interaction in the context of community formation. She draws the reader into a cultural milieu that included the radical tradition of stepladder speaking; Marcus Garvey's contentious leadership; the underground numbers operations of Caribbean immigrant entrepreneurs; and the literary renaissance and emergence of black journalists. Through interviews, census data, and biography, Watkins-Owens shows how immigrants and southern African American migrants settled together in railroad flats and brownstones, worked primarily at service occupations, often lodged with relatives or home people, and strove to "make it" in New York.

Very little is written about the Caribbean immigrant experience in America. This story is told through the eyes of two friends of the writer, young Orson Meyers and his aunt, Elsie Meyers. They emigrated from Barbados to America, Elsie in the fifties and Orson in the sixties. Paving the way for the latter, President Lyndon B. Johnson had just opened the doors a bit wider with the Immigration Act of 1965. It was a radical break from the policies of the past which selectively favored those of Northern and Western Europe but now welcomes the skilled and educated indiscriminately. These characters are real people, albeit disguised with fictitious names. Their stories are told with echoes of America's good as well as her failings, of subtle and not so subtle racism, of job and housing discrimination in those early years. “The Lure of America” encapsulates the journeys of one family all the way from Barbados and recaps the days of their early indoctrination that America was that reputed “Shining Light on the Hill”. This is a story of struggle and survival, of disillusion and determination, of failure but also of triumph. Those who overcame the barriers found good fortune in the land they called their Land of Opportunity.