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Question:
How far back does your family go back in New York City?
My great-great grandfather was living in Manhattan according to the 1900 Census.
After he died, my great-grandmother and the 8 kids moved to Corona, Queens, where my parents lived when I was born (1960s)
Wondering if there's anyone with deeper roots than mine.
Location: Vinings/Cumberland in the evil county of Cobb
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Quote:
Originally Posted by queensgrl
Question:
How far back does your family go back in New York City?
My great-great grandfather was living in Manhattan according to the 1900 Census.
After he died, my great-grandmother and the 8 kids moved to Corona, Queens, where my parents lived when I was born (1960s)
Wondering if there's anyone with deeper roots than mine.
Paternal
Grandparents from Virginia lived NYC
Dad born in VA, raised in NYC
Maternal
One of my Great-Grandfathers from Oklahoma moved to NYC to go back to Africa with Marcus Garvey on the Black Star Line. Obviously he never made it back. Great-Grandmothers family French Canadian moved Poughkeepsie then NYC. I assumed they were ex-slaves that escaped to Canada
Mother's father (Grandfather) from St. Ann Jamaica, emigrated to NY at the age of 5 (like 1910 or1911)
Ma Dukes born and raised in Bed-Stuy Do-or-Die
Me, born in LA, raised in Southside Jamaica Queens, moved to Atlanta 2 years ago. Ethnicity - African
Question:
How far back does your family go back in New York City?
My great-great grandfather was living in Manhattan according to the 1900 Census.
After he died, my great-grandmother and the 8 kids moved to Corona, Queens, where my parents lived when I was born (1960s)
Wondering if there's anyone with deeper roots than mine.
Thats deep, the problem is that most native born blacks of New York state are mixed with blacks who came up to New York during first and second great migrations. Every Black American I came across in NYC all had some sort of southern heritage you can easily hear it in their speech.
Grandparents from Virginia lived NYC
Dad born in VA, raised in NYC
Maternal
One of my Great-Grandfathers from Oklahoma moved to NYC to go back to Africa with Marcus Garvey on the Black Star Line. Obviously he never made it back. Great-Grandmothers family French Canadian moved Poughkeepsie then NYC. I assumed they were ex-slaves that escaped to Canada
Mother's father (Grandfather) from St. Ann Jamaica, emigrated to NY at the age of 5 (like 1910 or1911)
Ma Dukes born and raised in Bed-Stuy Do-or-Die
Me, born in LA, raised in Southside Jamaica Queens, moved to Atlanta 2 years ago. Ethnicity - African
that's really interesting about your great-grandfather. i think some of my maternal grandfather's family went to Liberia.
Thats deep, the problem is that most native born blacks of New York state are mixed with blacks who came up to New York during first and second great migrations. Every Black American I came across in NYC all had some sort of southern heritage you can easily hear it in their speech.
yeah. my dad was born in VA but grew up here and my mom was born and raised here. i have family with southern characteristics to their voices but my mom's speech is influenced by who she grew up around -- southern blacks, italians and jews. she has an interesting sound.
I'd say probably half have at least one parent from the West Indies or Africa. I meet a lot of West Indian-African hybrids here. I remember the New York Times a few years back saying that 1 out every 2 blacks in NYC are of West Indian or African descent.
I'd say this as well
Growing up many of my friends (including myself) had either one parent from The Caribbean or Africa but we all identified as being AA for the most part regardless of our cultural backgrounds.
One of my parents was born and raised here but has very strong roots in the south. Her side of the family came here during the migration from the south.
Thank you... Someone who knows what he's talking about... That whole mass exodus of Black people flocking to areas down south has slowed down and I know of a number of people after leaving deciding that Down South isn't for them whether it be cause of boredom or outright racism down south... I laugh when I see people talk about the racism up here like it's anything comparable to down south... Sure, you have some areas that are fairly mixed down south but the vast majority of the neighborhoods down there are still pretty backwards compared to over here... I knew a friend that got married a couple years ago to a woman from North Carolina and decided to move down South to where she lived in Hickory (He was haitian, she was mixed but looked black) and if you would see the outright racism they experienced when they went to restaurants or walked in public it was pretty disgusting... I remember when we went down there for the wedding me and a few friends of mine went to a steakhouse and we stood in there for five minutes realized the place wasn't for us at all and we left and they had already keyed our car...
Over here sure you have people that have their ill feelings towards black or hispanic folk but they're not gonna call you a n**** or s*** over here because they know better... Down south they just don't care and alot of people that move down there because they feel that the city isn't too accepting of black folk realized how things over here weren't as bad and end up moving back... I know of a few friends of mine that after moving down there ended up hating it and decided to move back... Same thing with some Puerto Rican people that moved to Florida as well...
I'm talking to one guy now who thought Florida was the new place to be for Puerto Ricans but is now considering moving back because he's unhappy down there... When we talk about Blacks and Puerto Ricans leaving this city in droves, you have to talk in past tense because that time has passed... What you see now isn't people flocking to other cities but rather other middle class areas within the city and if there is a case of a black or Puerto Rican family moving down south it is the exception nowadays and not the rule... That exodus movement happened from about 95-08...
Yeah, the exodus has slowed, because there is NO ONE left, except the underclass. Take Brooklyn, which I know intimately, WHERE are there a single middle class or better AA neighborhood?? Styvesant Heights still exists, but is waning under pressure from gentrification. Other than this there is NO black bourgoise neighborhoods left!
Middle class, black Brooklyn, Flatbush, from Prospect Park to The Junction to Carnarsie, including the whole of East Flatbush, is virtually, if not literally, Hatian and/or West Indian.
Moving back! To where? NYC? Most middle class AAs have abandoned NYC for the South or the suburbs/exurbs of Jersey.
As far as Racism, just examine Long Island, suburban wonderland, blacks are roughly 1 to 3% of the population, shunning 'white ethnic racisim'!!!
Moving back to what? The Ghetto?
Sorry to say this, but if you are an urban underclass black, having moved South, yet maintaining an 'urban underclass' manner and mentality, then yeah, I don't think the 'southern thing' is working out for you. Particularly, now there is no need to run from the crack epidemic.
Blacks who have successfully moved South and have NO desire to move back are the educated black middle and upper classes. These are the folks who have successfully transisted. Move back, to what? Is there a SINGLE majority black upper middle suburb (not an enclave) ANYWHERE?
Atlanta has MANY, DC/Maryland a virtual County, North Carolina has places where blacks and whites live side by side in suburban bliss.
Are they places in the South of entrenched racial attitudes? Absolutely! Don't move to these areas!
The blacks who unsuccessfully transist are the less formally educated, people with the 24/7 hip hop gear, ebonics, and who adhere to the mentality that speaking and dressing properly is being WHITE!
That's right! These folks are NOT having a good time, trading one ghetto for the next! Racism? Yeah, pop into some restaurant down South dressed and acting like some reject from a Rap video, and YEAH! You are going to receive some negativity, like you just dropped from MARS!
Can't make an impression in a restaurant, you won't be making an impression in a job interview nor on the job.
Move back to the ghettoes of NYC, enjoy the ahhhhhh non racist hood (really)? That is IF there is a 'hood' left which hasn't been gentrified by Transplants!! So, the Projects it is, wonderful. The last bastion of the African American in NYC? The exception being those who have taken their degrees and transisted to Manhattan! An amazing number now living all over Manhattan.
Frankly, it is simply a matter of Class. The colorline is fast becoming the classline.
Yeah, the exodus has slowed, because there is NO ONE left, except the underclass. Take Brooklyn, which I know intimately, WHERE are there a single middle class or better AA neighborhood?? Styvesant Heights still exists, but is waning under pressure from gentrification. Other than this there is NO black bourgoise neighborhoods left!
There were never "black bourgoise" neighborhoods in NYC. Within the established AA middle/working class neighborhoods, there were always enclaves of slightly higher wealth and professional status (i.e., doctors, lawyers, business owners, high-level civil servants), like Strivers Row in Harlem, Addesleigh Park in St. Albans, Queens, Stuyvesant Heights in Bed Stuy, Brooklyn.
These neighborhoods still exist and are still primarily AA. Since AA professionals can live anywhere now, these neighborhoods don't have the strong draw that they used to, and when the old folks moved out, their younger equivalent chose not to move in behind them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jcoltrane
Moving back! To where? NYC? Most middle class AAs have abandoned NYC for the South or the suburbs/exurbs of Jersey.
Also LI, Westchester and many people have gone north and east to Rockland, Ulster, Dutchess & Putnam Counties. Much more house for your money in these areas.
I have a number of AA friends who have moved to California, Chicago, and Texas. All professionals with advanced degrees who left for job opportunities.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jcoltrane
Blacks who have successfully moved South and have NO desire to move back are the educated black middle and upper classes. These are the folks who have successfully transisted. Move back, to what? Is there a SINGLE majority black upper middle suburb (not an enclave) ANYWHERE?
I have some friends who want to move back. They left to raise their kids in a different environment but with empty nests, they want to return to the city, and the opportunity for more cultural activities. Even people in ATL say there isn't enough there to satisfy their interests.
I know MANY retirees who left and have no interest in returning. They are the people who used to live in the middle class AA NYC neighborhoods that I mentioned above.
As far as Racism, just examine Long Island, suburban wonderland, blacks are roughly 1 to 3% of the population, shunning 'white ethnic racisim'!!!
Blacks who have successfully moved South and have NO desire to move back are the educated black middle and upper classes. These are the folks who have successfully transisted. Move back, to what? Is there a SINGLE majority black upper middle suburb (not an enclave) ANYWHERE?
Uh, where do you get 1-3%? Nassau is at 10.5% and Suffolk is at 6.8%.
As for Black upper-middle class suburbs, there aren't any ones with a Black majority, but what's wrong if they just blend into other upper-middle class areas. Within the city limits, there's areas like Jamaica Estates and pockets like queensgrl mentioned like Addesleigh Park. Outside the city limits, you have areas in Teaneck, West Orange, South Orange, Wheatley Heights, neighborhoods in northern Mount Vernon and parts of Northwest Yonkers, and areas just outside White Plains that have a decent-sized AA population. Just because they didn't segregate themselves doesn't mean they're not around.
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Thank you... Someone who knows what he's talking about... That whole mass exodus of Black people flocking to areas down south has slowed down and I know of a number of people after leaving deciding that Down South isn't for them whether it be cause of boredom or outright racism down south... I laugh when I see people talk about the racism up here like it's anything comparable to down south... Sure, you have some areas that are fairly mixed down south but the vast majority of the neighborhoods down there are still pretty backwards compared to over here... I knew a friend that got married a couple years ago to a woman from North Carolina and decided to move down South to where she lived in Hickory (He was haitian, she was mixed but looked black) and if you would see the outright racism they experienced when they went to restaurants or walked in public it was pretty disgusting... I remember when we went down there for the wedding me and a few friends of mine went to a steakhouse and we stood in there for five minutes realized the place wasn't for us at all and we left and they had already keyed our car... 
