Diversity In Black America

The one downside of being a person of Caribbean origin (i.e. Afro-Caribbean) is the lack of decent West Indian/Caribbean restaurants in the Southland. Now a study which analyzes census data reveals the extent of the diversity among "Black" populations in the USA and explains why this unhappy result. Look at the Top 10 Metropolitan areas with Afro-Caribbean populations:

Metropolitan      Afro-Caribbean Population
Area                   1990       2000
New York, NY           403,198    566,770
Miami, FL              105,477    153,255
Fort Lauderdale,FL     55,197     150,476
Boston, MA             40,825     62,950
Nassau-Sufolk, NY      32,210     60,412
Newark, NJ             29,818     55,345
W. Palm Beach, FL      20,441     49,402
Washington, DC         32,440     48,900
Orlando, FL            14,872     42,531
Atlanta, GA             8,342     35,308

Notice there are no west coast cities on the list. I have been to excellent West Indian/Caribbean restaurants in New York (Brooklyn!), Newark, DC, Atlanta and Miami (mostly cuban--which is NOT the same thing).

Here are some other interesting facts from the report "Black Diversity in Metropolitan America":

• In 2000 there were over 1.5 million Afro-Caribbean and 0.6 million African people in the USA (compared to 33 million African American).
• Over two-thirds of the Afro-Caribbean and nearly 80 percent of the African population is foreign-born. The percent foreign-born of these groups is higher than that of Asians.
• Educational attainment of Africans (14.0 years) is higher than Afro-Caribbeans (12.6 years) or African Americans (12.4 years) – indeed, it is higher even than whites and Asians. This suggests that black Africans immigrate selectively to the U.S. based on their educational attainment or plans for higher education.

The impact of Afro Caribbean and African immigrants on African American culture has become more noticeable in recent years as one tracks the increasing occurrence of other non-American international influences such as dub, dancehall, bhangra et cetera in contemporary urban (read: Black/African American) pop culture. But really the most important question is: why can't I get a good roti or curry chicken with rice and peas in this town?