Tyesha F. Maddox -- Africana Library, Cornell University

Author: Tyesha F. Maddox

Title: Forging a Black Identity: A Comparison of Caribbean American and African American Relations in the U.S. (1838-1924) and (1941-1964)

Degree Date: May 2008

Committee Chairperson: Locksley Eddmondson

Call Number: Thesis DT 3 .5 2008 M333

Description: ix, 103 leaves: ill.; 28 cm.

Abstract: In June 2006 current US President George W. Bush signed a proclamation making June the official Caribbean Heritage Month in the United States. The month was established to “recognize the historic relationship between the people of the Caribbean and the people of the US, as well as to recognize the many contributions of Caribbean immigrants and their descendants to the well-being of America,” illustrating the significance Caribbean migration has had in US history. Caribbean Americans including such prominent Caribbean-born leaders as Prince Hall, John Brown Russwurm, Marcus Garvey and Stokley Carmichael have had a major influence in American history since the nineteenth century.

This thesis will examine the relationships that were forged among Caribbean Americans and African Americans, during the two phases of the first wave of Caribbean immigration (1838-1864, 1865-1924) as compared to those that occurred in the second wave of Caribbean immigration (1941-1964). Through their combined efforts to fight inequality in the US, Caribbean Americans and African Americans were able to form a shared Black identity with similar objectives. This synthesis of cultures and interests the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries led to a shared sense of Black identity and unity among Blacks of different ethnicities in the US. In this way, Blacks from the Caribbean and the United States did not see themselves as separate entities, but as one Black people with common obstacles and aspirations. I argue that these relationships influenced the beginnings of a Pan-Africanism ideal, in which Black Americans (including Caribbean Americans) saw themselves as just that, Black Americans united by common struggles.

In this thesis, I examine the different factors that led to the formation of both Caribbean American and African American identities. I explore the contributions Caribbean Americans have made to American society and culture and how this contribution has further influenced the relationship between these two groups. Finally, I make a comparative analysis of the differences present in Caribbean American acculturation and assimilation into the African American community during these two very different periods of first and second wave Caribbean immigration.


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Print This Page Thesis Abstract Author: Tyesha F. Maddox Title: Forging a Black Identity: A Comparison of Caribbean American and African American Relations in the U.S. (1838-1924) and (1941-1964) Degree Date: May 2008 Committee Chairperson: Locksley Eddmondson Call Number: Thesis DT 3 .5 2008 M333 Description: ix, 103 leaves: ill.; 28 cm. Abstract: In June 2006 current US President George W. Bush signed a proclamation making June the official Caribbean Heritage Month in the United States. The month was established to “recognize the historic relationship between the people of the Caribbean and the people of the US, as well as to recognize the many contributions of Caribbean immigrants and their descendants to the well-being of America,” illustrating the significance Caribbean migration has had in US history. Caribbean Americans including such prominent Caribbean-born leaders as Prince Hall, John Brown Russwurm, Marcus Garvey and Stokley Carmichael have had a major influence in American history since the nineteenth century. This thesis will examine the relationships that were forged among Caribbean Americans and African Americans, during the two phases of the first wave of Caribbean immigration (1838-1864, 1865-1924) as compared to those that occurred in the second wave of Caribbean immigration (1941-1964). Through their combined efforts to fight inequality in the US, Caribbean Americans and African Americans were able to form a shared Black identity with similar objectives. This synthesis of cultures and interests the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries led to a shared sense of Black identity and unity among Blacks of different ethnicities in the US. In this way, Blacks from the Caribbean and the United States did not see themselves as separate entities, but as one Black people with common obstacles and aspirations. I argue that these relationships influenced the beginnings of a Pan-Africanism ideal, in which Black Americans (including Caribbean Americans) saw themselves as just that, Black Americans united by common struggles. In this thesis, I examine the different factors that led to the formation of both Caribbean American and African American identities. I explore the contributions Caribbean Americans have made to American society and culture and how this contribution has further influenced the relationship between these two groups. Finally, I make a comparative analysis of the differences present in Caribbean American acculturation and assimilation into the African American community during these two very different periods of first and second wave Caribbean immigration.

Thesis Abstract