Between Race and Ethnicity: Cape Verdean American Immigrants, 1860-1965.

From the Caribbean to the United States: transforming racial and ethnic self-identity

“…Following this involuntary period, the turn of the twentieth century marked the influx of a large number of British West Indians. Between 1930 and 1965, the third wave of immigrants came, followed by the fourth wave, which is still taking place today (Halter, 1993). Slaves brought from the Caribbean to the North, New York specifically, continued to out-number Africans brought from the continent.…”

“…Between 1715 and 1730, the ratio of Caribbean to African slaves was three to one. The largest number of captives came from Jamaica, followed by Africa, Barbados and Antigua (Halter, 1993). Even in Charleston, South Carolina today, much of the Caribbean influence and accents of the people are heavily influenced by the historic presence of Caribbean slaves.…”

“…Many distinguished Caribbean migrants paved the way in nineteenth-century black America in a number of ways. Halter (1993) argues that West Indians were said to play a prominent role politically, economically and intellectually in the leadership and development of many US communities. These immigrants were craftsmen, scholars, teachers, preachers, and doctors.…”

“…Marilyn Halter (1993) argues in 'Between Race and Ethnicity,' one of the biggest failures of all American assimilation theory is that race, if discussed at all, is treated either as a derivative of ethnicity or the terms are used interchangeably, as if they were the same (Gordon, 1964;Handlin, 1973;Higham, 1975;Kallen, 1924;Smith & Edmonston, 1997). Halter (1993) further argues that race and ethnicity are two distinctive entities and the two should not be conflated in the assimilation literature.…”

“…Marilyn Halter (1993) argues in 'Between Race and Ethnicity,' one of the biggest failures of all American assimilation theory is that race, if discussed at all, is treated either as a derivative of ethnicity or the terms are used interchangeably, as if they were the same (Gordon, 1964;Handlin, 1973;Higham, 1975;Kallen, 1924;Smith & Edmonston, 1997). Halter (1993) further argues that race and ethnicity are two distinctive entities and the two should not be conflated in the assimilation literature. Classic assimilationist theory when applied to blacks, as it has been of rural southern blacks following the Great Migration, depicts them as if they were no different from European peasants arriving in northern cities (Banfield, 1974;Glazer, 1971;Handlin, 1962;Lieberson, 1980;Kristol, 1966;Reid, 1939;Wirth, 1928).…”