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No it isn't as big as you portrayed it since you can easily look up the numbers. Sure, compared to the rest of the country Miami is the spot for Bahamians, but that would be like me saying antiguans are portrayed dominant group in the Bronx even though in reality Jamaicans make up 60 percent of the islanders in that borough.
In Boston's you'll find every islander in tiny numbers after Haitian, Jamaican, Trini and bajan.
I'm talking antiguans, panama, VI, st kitts, st Lucia, Grenada etc.
You will rarely see any of these small islands in Miami, and to make it worst a lot of the people who attend Miami carnival are out of towners. I know people right here in NYC who are part of the show.
You're making the same argument I made a year or so ago, when we 1st had this argument. Alot of these WI groups have small numbers in the US. I agree. But South Florida is ranked top 5 in most of those populations. If Boston has like 500 or 1000 more of those smaller WI groups than South Florida, than how does that make Boston more divers in it's West Indian population? Miami has just as many Haitians, just as many Jamaicans, more Trinis, more Bahamians, more Virgin Islander-Americans, and more Panamanians. On the flip Boston has more Grenadians, and more Bajans. The other groups are too small for me determine which city has more of them(I could go to a census website and figure it out, but it'll take awhile.) It seems of the larger West Indian groups, South Florida either has just as much as Boston, or more. And out of towners going to Miami for Carnival, is a testament to what South Florida has to offer as far as festivities geared towards West Indians.
Your taking positions way too serious. Look at the actual numbers. There aren't even that much bajans in this country since the population of their nation isn't that high.
Only nations with high numbers in this country is virtually Jamaican, Haitian and somewhat Trini.
That was kinda my point a year ago when we were arguing this. Those West Indian groups exist only in small numbers in the US. And the groups Boston has more of, they barely have more than what exist in South Florida.
Genetic studies prove that the majority of Panamanians are a virtually equally thorough tri racial mixture of white, black, Native American (among other lineages & roots). This genesis & genetic profile sets Panama apart as the most unique among Latin American nations & nations in the region in many ways.
Most blacks that live in Panama today descended from colonial times did not have as much to do with building of the Panama Canal. Most blacks in Panama descend from the slaves that arrived during the Spanish colonial period.
In this video Panamanian professor, historian, anthropologist, ethnographer Dr. Aminta Núñez talks about racial, ethnic, cultural, religious & ethnic diversity with emphasis on Afrodescendencia in the Republic of Panama. She mentions the difference between blacks, which are colonial blacks descendants of the original black Panamanians which arrived during slavery & Spanish colonization in Panama, and she mentions those that came later & more recently from the West Indies. She puts emphasis on Afro colonials / colonial blacks since media and society overlooks their presence & existence at times.
Notice that Aminta Núñez is a descendant of Africans that arrived to Panama during the era of Spanish colonization known colloquially as colonial blacks, Afro colonials, Afro Hispanics, black Hispanics. These blacks are usually monolingual Spanish speakers, practice & follow Roman Catholicism Christianity for their religion (albeit in some cases with occasional syncretism depending on area, regions, locations etc) and usually have Spanish, Latin, & Hispanic surnames & names. She goes through the many areas of Panama. There are a lot of areas that she left out where one can find colonial blacks, but overall this video talks about the pervasiveness of colonial blacks that many Panamanians & outsiders alike overlook or don't realize.
New York City and Boston have the most diverse Caribbean populations in the nation relative to the black populations as whole in their cities.
Boston does not have a more diverse West Indian population than Miami. How do we end up getting into arguments about things that can be proven very easily using data from the Census Bureau? That's about as silly as getting into argument about whether California or Utah has a larger population.
Boston does not have a more diverse West Indian population than Miami. How do we end up getting into arguments about things that can be proven very easily using data from the Census Bureau? That's about as silly as getting into argument about whether California or Utah has a larger population.
I have no idea what the census bureau states but I have lived in both South Florida and Boston, and you definitely feel a bigger West Indian presence in South Florida vs Boston.
With that said Boston has a very influential West Indian community, which was somewhat surprising to me when I first moved to the area. There are 3 (used to be 4) 24 hour West Indian radio stations; 2 yearly Carnival's in Boston & Cambridge; Restaurants that cover much of the Caribbean; People of West Indian heritage serving in city council in both Boston and Cambridge; and the biggest gem which is Tropical Grocery Store, which may be one of the most impressive West Indian grocery stores I have been to in the country. Also having music venues and clubs that are solely dedicated to West Indian music 100% of the time is great as well.
British West Indian population is all NYC. The rest (Spanish and French speaking) is debatable between NYC and Miami.
I agree. Overall, I think it's unanimous NYC is number one. I don't even think there's much of a debate there. Miami more likely than not, is number 2. What's really interesting, is the rapid growth of Atlanta's West Indian community. Atlanta(much like it's Piedmont sisters NC, and VA) get all the fallout from Florida and NYC(Half-backs). We may see the Piedmont region altogether become a new haven for Black-Diaspora.
I have no idea what the census bureau states but I have lived in both South Florida and Boston, and you definitely feel a bigger West Indian presence in South Florida vs Boston.
With that said Boston has a very influential West Indian community, which was somewhat surprising to me when I first moved to the area. There are 3 (used to be 4) 24 hour West Indian radio stations; 2 yearly Carnival's in Boston & Cambridge; Restaurants that cover much of the Caribbean; People of West Indian heritage serving in city council in both Boston and Cambridge; and the biggest gem which is Tropical Grocery Store, which may be one of the most impressive West Indian grocery stores I have been to in the country. Also having music venues and clubs that are solely dedicated to West Indian music 100% of the time is great as well.
Yeah, Boston has always been a haven for WI immigrants. Til this day it's still recognized as such. I'm pretty sure historically, Boston was the larger magnet for WI's than South Florida was. But like most conflicts that happened in Latin-America and The Caribbean in the 70's, 80's, and 90's, Miami/South Florida took alot of what would've been immigrants to New York, NJ, Boston, and Philly. I feel South Florida became a haven for many of the poorer West-Indian sub-groups, but then began to attract middle-class immigrants and wealthy ones as time went on.
British West Indian population is all NYC. The rest (Spanish and French speaking) is debatable between NYC and Miami.
i would lean more to NYC for Spanish speaking West Indians because Dominicans and PRs are few in number compared to other Spanish speaking groups in Miami. And NJ (NYC metro) has a large number of Cubans still
i would lean more to NYC for Spanish speaking West Indians because Dominicans and PRs are few in number compared to other Spanish speaking groups in Miami. And NJ (NYC metro) has a large number of Cubans still
Dominicans are large in number in central Miami, Alapattah to be exact. But, you're right about PR's.
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That's about as silly as getting into argument about whether California or Utah has a larger population.
