Caribbean New York: Black Immigrants and the Politics of Race

by Philip Kasinitz

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801426513
Publisher:	Cornell University Press
Publication date:	03/23/1992
Series:	The Anthropology of Contemporary Issues
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.06(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

Editorial Reviews

Kasinitz theorizes that the decision to promote ``race'' or ``ethnicity'' for the Anglophone Caribbean black has been a critical factor in their status in the New York City political arena. Comparing the experiences of post-1965 West Indian immigrants to their predecessors, the author demonstrates the increasing deterioration of Afro-Caribbeans' status and power as African Americans began to assert their political options following the Civil Rights movement. The work is interesting and filled with statistics and interviews, but is undermined by the frequent references (and innuendos) to New York City geography, personalities, and political history without adequate explanation for the non-New Yorker. Recommended only for Caribbean studies and regional collections.-- Suzanne C. Garrison-Terry, Dowling Coll. Lib., Oakdale, N.Y.

Library Journal

Kasinitz (sociology, Williams College) examines how two forces--racial solidarity and ethnic distinctiveness--have helped to shape the identity of New York's West Indian community. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews