AP® African American Studies review sheet from Aim for Five (aimforfive.com/african-american-studies/units/3/3-17)
Unit 3 · Topic 3.17
3.17 Afro-Caribbean Migration
Between 1899 and 1937, more than 140,000 Black immigrants from the Caribbean came to the United States, settling mostly in New York and Florida. They added new languages, religions and radical political ideas to African American communities, sometimes causing tension but also creating new blends of Black culture.
Key terms
- Afro-Caribbean migration
- West Indian immigrants
- Panama Canal
- Harlem
- Black radicalism
Why Afro-Caribbeans came
People of African descent from the Caribbean had been coming to North America since the 1600s, when enslaved people from Barbados, Jamaica and other British colonies were brought to the mainland colonies. After the Haitian Revolution, refugees settled in cities like New Orleans, Philadelphia and New York (2.12).
In the early 1900s, migration grew. The First World War hurt Caribbean economies, which depended on exporting crops like sugar. The expanding US role in the region, including the building of the Panama Canal, which employed many Caribbean workers, connected islanders to the US. Afro-Caribbeans came for economic, political and educational opportunities.
Where they went and what they brought
More than 140,000 Afro-Caribbean immigrants arrived between 1899 and 1937. Most settled in New York, especially Harlem and Brooklyn, and in Florida, especially Miami.
They increased the diversity of Black communities in the US. Many were Catholic, Anglican or Episcopalian, unlike most Black Southerners, who were Baptist or Methodist. Many came from non-English-speaking islands and spoke Spanish, French or Haitian Kreyòl. Some arrived with more schooling, and many had grown up in societies where Black people were the majority, including in skilled trades and professions.
Tension and blending
Their arrival sometimes created tension with African Americans, over jobs, cultural differences and stereotypes each group held about the other. Over time, though, Afro-Caribbean and African American communities blended, creating new forms of Black culture in food, music, religion and politics.
The required essay by Wilfred A. Domingo, a Jamaican-born writer, appeared in Opportunity in 1924. That year, Congress passed a law sharply restricting immigration, and Domingo wrote about what the new limits meant for West Indian immigrants and for Black communities in the US.
Radical ideas
Afro-Caribbean intellectuals helped radicalize Black thought in the twentieth century. Many came from places where Black people were the majority and had experience with Black empowerment and self-government, and they brought that confidence to American movements. Important figures included Claude McKay (Jamaica), the poet of 'If We Must Die' (3.6); Arturo Schomburg (Puerto Rico), the collector and historian (3.15); and Marcus Garvey (Jamaica), founder of the UNIA (3.18).
Others were street-corner speakers and editors in Harlem. Hubert Harrison, born in St. Croix, was a writer and speaker sometimes called the father of Harlem radicalism, and he influenced both Garvey and A. Philip Randolph. Cyril Briggs, from Nevis, founded the African Blood Brotherhood, which called for Black self-defense and liberation.
Worked examples
Try each one yourself first, then open the solution.
- Example 1
Explaining an effect
Explain one way Afro-Caribbean migration affected African American communities in the early twentieth century.
Show the solutionHide the solution
- Step 1: Choose an effect: religious and linguistic diversity, tension, or radical politics.
- Step 2: Explain how it happened.
- Step 3: Give a specific example or figure.
Answer: Model answer: Afro-Caribbean immigrants helped radicalize Black politics in the US. Many had grown up in majority-Black societies and brought ideas of Black empowerment with them. Jamaican-born Marcus Garvey, for example, built the UNIA in Harlem into the largest pan-African movement in African American history.
Common mistakes
- Assuming all Black Americans share the same background. Afro-Caribbean immigrants brought different languages, religions and histories.
- Thinking Caribbean migration began in the 1900s. People of Caribbean origin had arrived since the 1600s.
- Ignoring the tensions. Relations between groups included both conflict and cooperation.
On the exam
- Link this topic to the Harlem Renaissance and Garvey; many key figures were Caribbean-born.
- Be ready to explain why and where Afro-Caribbeans migrated, with numbers and places.
Connected topics
Videos
Check yourself
3 questions on 3.17 Afro-Caribbean Migration. Pick an answer to see if you got it, and why.
Between 1899 and 1937, more than 140,000 Black immigrants arrived in the United States from the Caribbean, most settling in New York and Florida. In 1924, the Jamaican-born writer W. A. Domingo published an article opposing new immigration restrictions. He argued that West Indian newcomers strengthened Black communities and that African Americans should not support limits aimed at them.
Passage written for this practice set, including a summary of W. A. Domingo, "Restricted West Indian Immigration and the American Negro," Opportunity, 1924 (no quotation)
Afro-Caribbean migration to the United States in this period was driven mainly by
Domingo's article most likely responded to
Which of the following best describes how Afro-Caribbean immigrants changed African American communities?
0 of 3 answered