Jamaican American
Encyclopedia
Jamaican Americans are Americans of Jamaica
n heritage or Jamaican-born people who live in the United States of America
. American citizenship is not a prerequisite of being a Jamaican American as permanent residents are also given this title.
The largest proportion of Jamaicans live in New York City
which has various of other Caribbean
cultural elements such as food and music. There is also a community of Jamaican Americans residing in Boston
, Philadelphia, South Florida, Los Angeles
, Orlando
, Washington, D.C.
and Connecticut
.
After 1838, Europe
an colonies in the Caribbean with expanding sugar
industries imported large numbers of immigrants to meet their acute labor shortage. Large numbers of Jamaicans were recruited to work in Panama
and Costa Rica
in the 1850s. After slavery was abolished
in the United States in 1865, American planters imported temporary workers, called "swallow migrants," to harvest crops on an annual basis. These workers, many of them Jamaicans, returned to their countries after harvest. Between 1881 and the beginning of World War I
, the United States recruited over 250,000 workers from the Caribbean, 90,000 of whom were Jamaicans, to work on the Panama Canal
. During both world wars, the United States again recruited Jamaican men for service on various American bases in the region.
have occurred — most of these immigrants came from Jamaica. The first wave took place between 1900 and the 1920s, bringing a modest number of Caribbean
immigrants. Official black immigration increased from 412 in 1899 to 12,245 in 1924, although the actualtwice as high. By 1930, 178,000 documented first-generation blacks and their children lived in the United States. About 100,000 were from the British West Indies
, including Jamaica. The second and weakest immigration wave occurred between the 1930s and the new immigration policy of the mid-1960s. The McCarran-Walter Act reaffirmed and upheld the quota bill, which discriminated against black immigrants and allowed only 100 Jamaicans into the United States annually. During this period, larger numbers of Jamaicans migration to Britain
rather than to the United States due to the immigration restrictions.
Apart from Canada, the US houses the majority of Jamaican émigrés in the world. Jamaican immigration to the US increased during the 1960s civil rights era. As many other sources of Caribbean immigration, the geographical nearness of Jamaica to the US increased the likelihood of migration. The economic attractiveness, as well as general Jamaican perceptions of the US as a land of opportunity, explains continued migration flows despite economic downturn in America. Traditionally, America has experienced increased migration through means of family preference, in which US citizens sponsor their immediate family. Through this category a substantial amount of Jamaican immigrants were able to enter mainly urban cities within the U.S that provided blue-collar work opportunities. Jamaican immigrants utilized employment opportunities despite the discriminatory policies that affected some Caribbean émigrés.
Jamaican migration became so large that it caused a national crisis in Jamaica. The exodus has resulted in a serious "brain drain" and an acute shortage of professionals, such as skilled workers, technicians, doctors, lawyers, and managers, in essential services in Jamaica. During the 1970s and early 1980s about 15 percent of the population left the country. In the early 1990s the government began offering incentives to persons with technical, business, and managerial skills to return to Jamaica for short periods of time to aid in management and technical skills training.
At present, Jamaicans are the largest group of American immigrants from the English-speaking Caribbean. However, it is difficult to verify the exact number of Jamaican Americans in this country. The 1990 census placed the total number of documented Jamaican Americans at 435,025, but the high Jamaican illegal alien phenomenon and the Jamaican attitude toward census response may increase that number to 800,000 to 1,000,000 Jamaicans living in the United States. The largest Jamaican community is the Northeast
, mainly in New York
.
ns emigrate to the United States
for many socio-economic reasons. Since the nineteenth century Jamaica has had a very poor land distribution track record. The uneven allotment of arable crown lands and old plantations left farmers without a sufficient plot for subsistence or cash crop farming, which contributed to high unemployment statistics and economic hardship. During the 1970s the standard of living declined due to economic inflation and low salaries. When companies and corporations lost confidence in Michael Manley
's democratic socialist government and his anti-American rhetoric and close business ties to Cuba
, the flight of capital from Jamaica and the shift in U.S. capital investments worsened the situation. Jamaica's huge foreign debt and the International Monetary Fund
's (IMF) restructuring of the economy further exacerbated the island's economic woes in the 1980s and 1990s. An increase in crime, fueled by unemployment
and aggravated by the exporting of criminals from the United States back to Jamaica, forced thousands of Jamaicans to flee the island for safety.
This began when the United States imported Jamaicans to work on various projects in the 1800s and early twentieth century. Before long, Jamaicans saw emigration as an attractive solution to the harsh social and economic conditions on island
. In addition, many Jamaican students and trainees study at American institutions. Not all return to Jamaica upon completion of their studies. Many stay because of the lack of job opportunities back in Jamaica.
and the Northeast
; 4.8 percent in the Midwest; 30.6 percent in the Southern United States
, particularly South Florida; and 5.6 percent on the West Coast
. The New York metropolitan area
and South Florida have the largest number of Jamaican immigrants in the United States and Florida are home to the highest number of illegal Jamaicans whereas most Legal immigrants tend to reside in Brooklyn. Jamaicans refer to Miami metropolitan area and Brooklyn
colloquially as "Kingston
21" and "Little Jamaica" respectively. Large communities of Jamaican immigrants have formed in New York City
and the New York Metro Area, which includes Long Island
and much of New Jersey
and Connecticut
, along with South Florida (centered in and around Miami and Fort Lauderdale) and Philadelphia, which has the second largest Jamaican community in the US. In recent years, many Jamaicans have left New York City for its suburbs, and large Jamaican communities have also formed in Baltimore
, Washington D.C., Boston
and Providence, Rhode Island
.
n festivals celebrate Jamaica's rich musical tradition. In the 1960s, Count Ossie merged native Jamaican, Afro-Caribbean, and Afro-American musical rhythms with rock and other influences to create a distinctively black music called "reggae." This music, which the Rastafarians and Bob Marley
popularized, is a plea for liberation and a journey into black consciousness and African pride. Like calypso
, reggae
began as a working-class medium of expression and social commentary. Reggae
is the first distinctly Caribbean music
to become global in scope. Each August, Jamaica stages its internationally acclaimed music festival
at the Jamworld Center in Portmore. Over the five-day period, the premier music festival of the Caribbean attracts over 200,000 visitors. Each year it features top reggae stars like Ziggy Marley, Jimmy Cliff, Third World, and Stevie Wonder. This is followed immediately by the Reggae
Sunfest
at the Bob Marley Performing Center in Montego Bay. In the post Lenten period, the streets of Kingston come alive to the pulsating sounds of calypso and soca music. For nine emotionally charged days, local and international artists treat revelers to the best of reggae, soca and calypso "under the tents." During this time, thousands of glittering costumed celebrants revel and dance through the streets in a festive mood. The National Mento Yard is kicked off in Manchester in October with a potpourri of traditional and cultural folk forms which have contributed to Jamaica's rich cultural heritage. Many of these cultural events are observed by Jamaican Americans in local public celebrations or in the privacy of their homes.
Many Jamaican Americans have also been very influential and successful in rap music. Famous rappers and DJ's such as DJ Kool Herc
, Busta Rhymes
, Notorious B.I.G., Slick Rick
, and KRS-ONE
are all of Jamaican heritage.
and Dancehall
. There is also others such as "dub poetry" or chanted verses, Ska
, and Rocksteady
, with its emotionally charged, celebrative beat. Jamaican Americans also listen to a great variety of other music such as: jazz
, calypso
, soca
, ska
, rap, classical music
, gospel
, and "high-church" choirs.
The national dish
in Jamaica is ackee
and saltfish (codfish), but curried goat and rice, and fried fish and bammy
(a flat, baked cassava bread) are just as popular and delicious. There are a large variety of dishes that are known for their spicy nature. Patties, which can either be mild or hot and spicy, turtle soup, Jerk chicken, and pepper pot may contain meats such as pork and beef, as well as greens such as okra and kale. Spices such as pimento or allspice, ginger, and peppers are used commonly in a number of dishes. Other Jamaican foods are: plantain, rice and peas, cow-foot, goat head, jerk chicken, pork
, oxtail
soup
, stew peas and rice, mackerel rundown, liver and green bananas, calaloo and dumplings, mannish water (also known as goat head soup), cow cod soup, and hard dough bread and pastries.
Dessert is usually fruit or a dish containing fruit. An example is matrimony, which is a mixture of orange sections, star apples, or guavas in coconut cream with guava cheese melted over it. Other desserts are cornmeal pudding, sweet potato pudding, totoes, plantain tarts, and many other "sweet-tooth" favorites. Coffee and tea are popular nonalcoholic beverages, as are carrot juice, roots, and Irish or sea moss, white rum, Red Stripe
Beer, Dragon and Guinness
stouts are the national alcoholic beverages. In Miami and Brooklyn, especially in the neighborhood of Flatbush
along Flatbush, Nostrand, Utica, and Church Avenues, one sees groceries filled with a variety of Caribbean cuisines, including sugar cane, jelly
coconut
, and yams
.
). Men wear a shirt that is also made of the same fabric. The colors of the national flag are black, green, and gold. However, because of the popularity of the clothes and colors of Rastafari, many people mistake Rastas' colors (red, green, and gold) as Jamaica's national colors. Jamaicans wear their costumes on Independence Day, National Heroes Day, and other national celebrations. In New York City Jamaican Americans participate in the Caribbean Labor day parade in Brooklyn annually and dress in lavish and colorful costumes during the Brooklyn celebration along Eastern Parkway.
, who was born in Panama
in 1909, transported to Cuba, grew up in Jamaica and lived in the United States
.
have also plagued Jamaicans. Crime and economic hardship have taken a heavy toll on the health and life expectancy in Jamaica during the last two decades.
In 1994, the government of Jamaica admitted that most violent crime
s committed in the country are drug related.
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n heritage or Jamaican-born people who live in the United States of America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. American citizenship is not a prerequisite of being a Jamaican American as permanent residents are also given this title.
The largest proportion of Jamaicans live in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
which has various of other Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
cultural elements such as food and music. There is also a community of Jamaican Americans residing in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Philadelphia, South Florida, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, Orlando
Orlando
Orlando is a major city in the U.S. state of Florida.Orlando may also refer to-Places:* in Florida** Orlando, a major city** Greater Orlando, the 27th-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
.
After 1838, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an colonies in the Caribbean with expanding sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
industries imported large numbers of immigrants to meet their acute labor shortage. Large numbers of Jamaicans were recruited to work in Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
and Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
in the 1850s. After slavery was abolished
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
in the United States in 1865, American planters imported temporary workers, called "swallow migrants," to harvest crops on an annual basis. These workers, many of them Jamaicans, returned to their countries after harvest. Between 1881 and the beginning of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the United States recruited over 250,000 workers from the Caribbean, 90,000 of whom were Jamaicans, to work on the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
. During both world wars, the United States again recruited Jamaican men for service on various American bases in the region.
Significant Immigration Waves
Since the turn of the twentieth century, three distinct waves of Caribbean immigration into the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
have occurred — most of these immigrants came from Jamaica. The first wave took place between 1900 and the 1920s, bringing a modest number of Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
immigrants. Official black immigration increased from 412 in 1899 to 12,245 in 1924, although the actualtwice as high. By 1930, 178,000 documented first-generation blacks and their children lived in the United States. About 100,000 were from the British West Indies
British West Indies
The British West Indies was a term used to describe the islands in and around the Caribbean that were part of the British Empire The term was sometimes used to include British Honduras and British Guiana, even though these territories are not geographically part of the Caribbean...
, including Jamaica. The second and weakest immigration wave occurred between the 1930s and the new immigration policy of the mid-1960s. The McCarran-Walter Act reaffirmed and upheld the quota bill, which discriminated against black immigrants and allowed only 100 Jamaicans into the United States annually. During this period, larger numbers of Jamaicans migration to Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
rather than to the United States due to the immigration restrictions.
Apart from Canada, the US houses the majority of Jamaican émigrés in the world. Jamaican immigration to the US increased during the 1960s civil rights era. As many other sources of Caribbean immigration, the geographical nearness of Jamaica to the US increased the likelihood of migration. The economic attractiveness, as well as general Jamaican perceptions of the US as a land of opportunity, explains continued migration flows despite economic downturn in America. Traditionally, America has experienced increased migration through means of family preference, in which US citizens sponsor their immediate family. Through this category a substantial amount of Jamaican immigrants were able to enter mainly urban cities within the U.S that provided blue-collar work opportunities. Jamaican immigrants utilized employment opportunities despite the discriminatory policies that affected some Caribbean émigrés.
Jamaican migration became so large that it caused a national crisis in Jamaica. The exodus has resulted in a serious "brain drain" and an acute shortage of professionals, such as skilled workers, technicians, doctors, lawyers, and managers, in essential services in Jamaica. During the 1970s and early 1980s about 15 percent of the population left the country. In the early 1990s the government began offering incentives to persons with technical, business, and managerial skills to return to Jamaica for short periods of time to aid in management and technical skills training.
At present, Jamaicans are the largest group of American immigrants from the English-speaking Caribbean. However, it is difficult to verify the exact number of Jamaican Americans in this country. The 1990 census placed the total number of documented Jamaican Americans at 435,025, but the high Jamaican illegal alien phenomenon and the Jamaican attitude toward census response may increase that number to 800,000 to 1,000,000 Jamaicans living in the United States. The largest Jamaican community is the Northeast
Northeastern United States
The Northeastern United States is a region of the United States as defined by the United States Census Bureau.-Composition:The region comprises nine states: the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont; and the Mid-Atlantic states of New...
, mainly in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
Reasons for emigrating
JamaicaJamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
ns emigrate to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
for many socio-economic reasons. Since the nineteenth century Jamaica has had a very poor land distribution track record. The uneven allotment of arable crown lands and old plantations left farmers without a sufficient plot for subsistence or cash crop farming, which contributed to high unemployment statistics and economic hardship. During the 1970s the standard of living declined due to economic inflation and low salaries. When companies and corporations lost confidence in Michael Manley
Michael Manley
Michael Norman Manley ON OCC was the fourth Prime Minister of Jamaica . Manley was a democratic socialist....
's democratic socialist government and his anti-American rhetoric and close business ties to Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, the flight of capital from Jamaica and the shift in U.S. capital investments worsened the situation. Jamaica's huge foreign debt and the International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
's (IMF) restructuring of the economy further exacerbated the island's economic woes in the 1980s and 1990s. An increase in crime, fueled by unemployment
Unemployment
Unemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...
and aggravated by the exporting of criminals from the United States back to Jamaica, forced thousands of Jamaicans to flee the island for safety.
This began when the United States imported Jamaicans to work on various projects in the 1800s and early twentieth century. Before long, Jamaicans saw emigration as an attractive solution to the harsh social and economic conditions on island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
. In addition, many Jamaican students and trainees study at American institutions. Not all return to Jamaica upon completion of their studies. Many stay because of the lack of job opportunities back in Jamaica.
Settlement
According to the text of Immigrant America (p. 69), there were 554,897 Jamaican-born people living in the US in 2000. This represents 61% of the approximate 911,000 Americans of Jamaican ancestry. Many Jamaicans are second, third and descend from even older generations as there have been Jamaicans in the US as early as the early twentieth Century. The regional composition is as follows: 59 percent live in New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and the Northeast
Northeastern United States
The Northeastern United States is a region of the United States as defined by the United States Census Bureau.-Composition:The region comprises nine states: the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont; and the Mid-Atlantic states of New...
; 4.8 percent in the Midwest; 30.6 percent in the Southern United States
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
, particularly South Florida; and 5.6 percent on the West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
. The New York metropolitan area
New York metropolitan area
The New York metropolitan area, also known as Greater New York, or the Tri-State area, is the region that composes of New York City and the surrounding region...
and South Florida have the largest number of Jamaican immigrants in the United States and Florida are home to the highest number of illegal Jamaicans whereas most Legal immigrants tend to reside in Brooklyn. Jamaicans refer to Miami metropolitan area and Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
colloquially as "Kingston
Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
21" and "Little Jamaica" respectively. Large communities of Jamaican immigrants have formed in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and the New York Metro Area, which includes Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
and much of New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
and Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, along with South Florida (centered in and around Miami and Fort Lauderdale) and Philadelphia, which has the second largest Jamaican community in the US. In recent years, many Jamaicans have left New York City for its suburbs, and large Jamaican communities have also formed in Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Washington D.C., Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
and Providence, Rhode Island
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
.
US communities with high percentages of people of Jamaican ancestry
The top 25 US communities with the highest percentage of people claiming Jamaican ancestry are:- Blue Hills, ConnecticutBlue Hills, ConnecticutBlue Hills is a community in Hartford County, Connecticut, encompassing the northwest corner of the city of Hartford and the southwest corner of the town of Bloomfield. The Bloomfield portion is listed by the U.S. Census Bureau as a census-designated place . The population of the Bloomfield CDP...
(neighborhood) 23.90% - Lauderdale Lakes, FloridaLauderdale Lakes, FloridaLauderdale Lakes is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 32,593. It is part of the Miami–Fort Lauderdale–Pompano Beach Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is home to 5,564,635 people....
18.80% - Lauderhill, FloridaLauderhill, FloridaLauderhill is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 66,887. It is part of the Miami–Fort Lauderdale–Pompano Beach Metropolitan Statistical Area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010 census....
17.60% - South Floral Park, New YorkSouth Floral Park, New YorkSouth Floral Park is a village in Nassau County, New York, United States. United States. The population was 1,764 at the 2010 census.The Village of South Floral Park is inside the Town of Hempstead.- History :...
15.50% - Miramar, FloridaMiramar, FloridaMiramar is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. The city was named after the Miramar district of Havana, Cuba. As of the 2010 census, the population was 122,041...
15.40% - Bloomfield, ConnecticutBloomfield, ConnecticutBloomfield is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 20,626 at the 2009 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and 0.2 square miles is water.Bloomfield is bordered by Windsor to the...
and Mount Vernon, New YorkMount Vernon, New YorkMount Vernon is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. It lies on the border of the New York City borough of The Bronx.-Overview:...
12.90% - Lakeview, New YorkLakeview, New YorkLakeview is a census-designated place in Nassau County, New York, United States. The population was 5,615 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Lakeview is located at , west of Hempstead Lake State Park....
12.70% - North Lauderdale, FloridaNorth Lauderdale, FloridaNorth Lauderdale is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 41,023. It is part of the Miami–Fort Lauderdale–Pompano Beach Metropolitan Statistical Area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010 census.-History:North Lauderdale was...
11.10% - Uniondale, New YorkUniondale, New YorkUniondale is a hamlet as well as a suburb of New York City in Nassau County, New York, United States, on Long Island, in the Town of Hempstead. The population was 24,759 at the 2010 United States Census.-Geography:...
11.0% - El Portal, FloridaEl Portal, FloridaEl Portal is a village in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The village name is derived from the Spanish phrase for "the gate," after two wooden gates that once stood as a gateway to the village. The population was 2,505 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S...
8.50% - Roosevelt, New YorkRoosevelt, New YorkRoosevelt is a hamlet in Nassau County, New York, United States. The population was 16,258 at the 2010 census.Roosevelt is in the town of Hempstead.-Geography:Roosevelt is located at ....
8.2% - Pembroke Park, FloridaPembroke Park, FloridaPembroke Park is a town in Broward County, Florida, United States. The town took its name from its location along Pembroke Road. As of the 2010 census, the population was 6,102. It is part of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010 census. Close to half...
8.0% - North Valley Stream, New YorkNorth Valley Stream, New YorkNorth Valley Stream is a census-designated place in Nassau County, New York, United States. The population was 16,628 at the 2010 census.-Geography:North Valley Stream is located at ....
and Hartford, ConnecticutHartford, ConnecticutHartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
7.90% - Sunrise, FloridaSunrise, Florida-Overview:Sunrise is a city in southwestern Broward County, Florida, United States. It was incorporated in 1961 by Norman Johnson – a developer whose World Famous Upside-Down House attracted buyers to what was then a remote area...
7.60% - Miami Gardens, FloridaMiami Gardens, FloridaMiami Gardens is a Miami suburban city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city name comes from one of the major roadways through the area, Miami Gardens Drive. According to the 2010 U.S...
6.30% - North Amityville, New YorkNorth Amityville, New YorkNorth Amityville is a hamlet and census-designated place in Suffolk County, New York, United States. Located on Long Island in the Town of Babylon, the population of the CDP was 16,572 at the 2000 census. The area is served by the Amityville Postal District, the Amityville Union Free School...
6.10% - South Miami Heights, FloridaSouth Miami Heights, FloridaSouth Miami Heights is a census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 33,522 at the 2000 census.-Geography:South Miami Heights is located at ....
6.0% - Hempstead, New YorkHempstead (village), New YorkHempstead is a village located in the town of Hempstead, Nassau County, New York, United States. The population was 53,891 at the 2010 census.Hofstra University is located on the border between Hempstead and Uniondale.-Foundation:...
and Elmont, New YorkElmont, New YorkElmont is an unincorporated census-designated place located in the northwest corner of the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, along its border with the borough of Queens in New York City...
5.90% - Lake Park, FloridaLake Park, FloridaLake Park is a town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 8,721 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 9,080.-Geography:Lake Park is located at ....
and Carol City, FloridaCarol City, FloridaCarol City is a former census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 59,443 at the 2000 census.Originally called "Coral City" by developers, pressure from the city of Coral Gables forced a name change to Carol City...
5.80% - East Orange, New JerseyEast Orange, New JerseyEast Orange is a city in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census the city's population 64,270, making it the state's 20th largest municipality, having dropped 5,554 residents from its population of 69,824 in the 2000 Census, when it was the state's 14th most...
, Gordon Heights, New YorkGordon Heights, New YorkGordon Heights is a hamlet in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 3,094 at the 2000 census.Gordon Heights is in the Town of Brookhaven.-Geography:Gordon Heights is located at ....
, Ives Estates, FloridaIves Estates, FloridaIves Estates is a census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 17,586 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Ives Estates is located at ....
, and Golden Glades, FloridaGolden Glades, FloridaGolden Glades is a census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 32,623 at the 2000 census.It is the location for a major highway interchange of the same name which connects the Florida Turnpike, Interstate 95, US 441, State Road 9, and the Palmetto...
5.70% - North Miami Beach, FloridaNorth Miami Beach, FloridaNorth Miami Beach is a Miami suburban city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. Originally named Fulford in 1926 after Captain William H. Fulford of the United States Coast Guard, the city was incorporated in 1927 as Fulford, but was renamed North Miami Beach in 1931. The population was...
5.50% - New Cassel, New YorkNew Cassel, New YorkNew Cassel is a hamlet and census-designated place in Nassau County, New York, United States. The population was 14,059 at the 2010 census.New Cassel adjoins the Village of Westbury and is part of the Greater Westbury area...
5.30% - Bronx, New York and Chillum, MarylandChillum, MarylandChillum is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 34,252 at the 2000 census...
5.20% - Pembroke Pines, FloridaPembroke Pines, FloridaPembroke Pines is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. The city had a population of 154,750 at the 2010 census, making it the second most populous city in Broward County, the tenth most populous in Florida, and the 150th most populous in the United States...
and Wheatley Heights, New YorkWheatley Heights, New YorkWheatley Heights is a Census-designated place in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 5,013 at the 2000 census. The CDP is named after the hamlet in the same general vicinity.-History:...
5.10% - Englewood, New JerseyEnglewood, New JerseyEnglewood is a city located in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 27,147.Englewood was incorporated as a city by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township and the remaining portions of...
5.0%
U.S. communities with the most residents born in Jamaica
Top 50 U.S. communities with the most residents born in Jamaica are:- Melrose Park, FL 19.6%
- Norland, FL 18.5%
- Blue Hills, CT 18.3%
- Lauderdale Lakes, FL 16.9%
- Andover, FL 15.0%
- Lauderhill, FL 14.8%
- Utopia, FL 13.1%
- Palmetto Estates, FL 12.6%
- Miramar, FL 12.5%
- Scott Lake, FL 12.3%
- South Floral Park, NY 12.1%
- Mount Vernon, NY 11.2%
- Bloomfield, CT 11.1%
- North Lauderdale, FL 9.7%
- Fort Devens, MA 9.3%
- Northwest Dade, FL 8.5%
- Uniondale, NY 8.2%
- St. George, FL 8.1%
- East Garden City, NYEast Garden City, New YorkEast Garden City is a census-designated place in the northeast part of the Town of Hempstead, in the central part of Nassau County, New York, along the Hempstead/North Hempstead town line. The population was 6,028 at the 2010 census...
7.7% - El Portal, FL 7.5%
- Silver Springs Shores, FL 7.5%
- Washington Park, FL 7.2%
- North Valley Stream, NY 6.7%
- Sunrise, FL 6.6%
- Harlem, FL 6.4%
- Lakeview, NY 6.2%
- Opa-locka North, FL 6.1%
- Hartford, CT 6.0%
- Roosevelt, NY 5.9%
- Westview, FL 5.7%
- Tangelo Park, FL 5.5%
- Miami Gardens, Broward County, FLMiami Gardens, Broward County, FloridaMiami Gardens was a census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 2,706 at the 2000 census.It was one of the four unincorporated neighborhoods that were incorporated to create the new city of West Park in 2005...
5.5% - Pembroke Park, FL 5.3%
- Lake Park, FL 5.2%
- Ives Estates, FL 5.1%
- North Amityville, NY 5.1%
- Canal Point, FL 5.1%
- Rock Island, FL 5.1%
- Boulevard Gardens, FL 5.0%
- North Miami Beach, FL 5.0%
- Lake Lucerne, FL 4.9%
- Golden Glades, FL 4.9%
- Broadview-Pompano Park, FL 4.8%
- Carol City, FL 4.7%
- East Orange, NJ 4.7%
- Pembroke Pines, FL 4.4%
- Stacey Street, FL 4.3%
- Mangonia Park, FL 4.3%
- Three Lakes, FL 4.2%
- Elmont, NY 4.2%
Music
Many JamaicaJamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n festivals celebrate Jamaica's rich musical tradition. In the 1960s, Count Ossie merged native Jamaican, Afro-Caribbean, and Afro-American musical rhythms with rock and other influences to create a distinctively black music called "reggae." This music, which the Rastafarians and Bob Marley
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...
popularized, is a plea for liberation and a journey into black consciousness and African pride. Like calypso
Calypso music
Calypso is a style of Afro-Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago from African and European roots. The roots of the genre lay in the arrival of enslaved Africans, who, not being allowed to speak with each other, communicated through song...
, reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
began as a working-class medium of expression and social commentary. Reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
is the first distinctly Caribbean music
Caribbean music
The music of the Caribbean is a diverse grouping of musical genres. They are each syntheses of African, European, Indian and native influences, largely created by descendants of African slaves...
to become global in scope. Each August, Jamaica stages its internationally acclaimed music festival
Festival
A festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....
at the Jamworld Center in Portmore. Over the five-day period, the premier music festival of the Caribbean attracts over 200,000 visitors. Each year it features top reggae stars like Ziggy Marley, Jimmy Cliff, Third World, and Stevie Wonder. This is followed immediately by the Reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
Sunfest
Sunfest
Sunfest is the name used for several music and art festivals:* Sunfest, West Palm Beach, Florida* Sunfest, London, Ontario* Sunfest, Bartlesville, Oklahoma* Sunfest, Bucharest, Romania...
at the Bob Marley Performing Center in Montego Bay. In the post Lenten period, the streets of Kingston come alive to the pulsating sounds of calypso and soca music. For nine emotionally charged days, local and international artists treat revelers to the best of reggae, soca and calypso "under the tents." During this time, thousands of glittering costumed celebrants revel and dance through the streets in a festive mood. The National Mento Yard is kicked off in Manchester in October with a potpourri of traditional and cultural folk forms which have contributed to Jamaica's rich cultural heritage. Many of these cultural events are observed by Jamaican Americans in local public celebrations or in the privacy of their homes.
Many Jamaican Americans have also been very influential and successful in rap music. Famous rappers and DJ's such as DJ Kool Herc
DJ Kool Herc
Clive Campbell , also known as Kool Herc, DJ Kool Herc and Kool DJ Herc, is a Jamaican-born DJ who is credited with originating hip hop music, in The Bronx, New York City...
, Busta Rhymes
Busta Rhymes
Trevor Tahiem Smith, Jr., better known by his stage name Busta Rhymes ,Smith is an American rapper, producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the alias Busta Rhymes after NFL wide receiver George "Buster" Rhymes...
, Notorious B.I.G., Slick Rick
Slick Rick
Richard Walters , better known by his stage name Slick Rick is a Grammy-nominated English-American rapper...
, and KRS-ONE
KRS-One
Lawrence Krisna Parker , better known by his stage names KRS-One , and Teacha, is an American rapper...
are all of Jamaican heritage.
Dances and songs
Jamaica's most popular musical forms are ReggaeReggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
and Dancehall
Dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably,...
. There is also others such as "dub poetry" or chanted verses, Ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
, and Rocksteady
Rocksteady
Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966. A successor to ska and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was performed by Jamaican vocal harmony groups such as The Gaylads, The Maytals and The Paragons. The term rocksteady comes from a dance style that was mentioned in the Alton...
, with its emotionally charged, celebrative beat. Jamaican Americans also listen to a great variety of other music such as: jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, calypso
Calypso music
Calypso is a style of Afro-Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago from African and European roots. The roots of the genre lay in the arrival of enslaved Africans, who, not being allowed to speak with each other, communicated through song...
, soca
Soca music
Soca is a style of music from Trinidad and Tobago. Soca is a musical development of traditional Trinidadian calypso, through loans from the 1960s onwards from predominantly black popular music....
, ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
, rap, classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
, gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
, and "high-church" choirs.
Cuisine
National dish
A national dish is a dish, food or a drink that is considered to represent a particular country, nation or region.A dish can become a national dish for a variety of reasons. It can be the national dish because it is a staple daily food for the majority of the population. It can also be the national...
in Jamaica is ackee
Ackee
The ackee, also known as the vegetable brain, achee, akee apple or akee is a member of the Sapindaceae , native to tropical West Africa in Cameroon, Gabon, São Tomé and Príncipe, Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.It is...
and saltfish (codfish), but curried goat and rice, and fried fish and bammy
Bammy
Bammy or bami is a traditional Jamaican cassava flatbread descended from the simple flatbread eaten by the Arawaks, Jamaica's original inhabitants. Today, it is produced in many rural communities and sold in stores and by street vendors in Jamaica and abroad.Bammies have been consumed since...
(a flat, baked cassava bread) are just as popular and delicious. There are a large variety of dishes that are known for their spicy nature. Patties, which can either be mild or hot and spicy, turtle soup, Jerk chicken, and pepper pot may contain meats such as pork and beef, as well as greens such as okra and kale. Spices such as pimento or allspice, ginger, and peppers are used commonly in a number of dishes. Other Jamaican foods are: plantain, rice and peas, cow-foot, goat head, jerk chicken, pork
Pork
Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....
, oxtail
Oxtail
Oxtail is the culinary name for the tail of cattle. Formerly, it referred only to the tail of an ox or steer, a castrated male. An oxtail typically weighs 2 to 4 lbs. and is skinned and cut into short lengths for sale.Oxtail is a bony, gelatinous meat, and is usually slow-cooked, often stewed or...
soup
Soup
Soup is a generally warm food that is made by combining ingredients such as meat and vegetables with stock, juice, water, or another liquid. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling solid ingredients in liquids in a pot until the flavors are extracted, forming a broth.Traditionally,...
, stew peas and rice, mackerel rundown, liver and green bananas, calaloo and dumplings, mannish water (also known as goat head soup), cow cod soup, and hard dough bread and pastries.
Dessert is usually fruit or a dish containing fruit. An example is matrimony, which is a mixture of orange sections, star apples, or guavas in coconut cream with guava cheese melted over it. Other desserts are cornmeal pudding, sweet potato pudding, totoes, plantain tarts, and many other "sweet-tooth" favorites. Coffee and tea are popular nonalcoholic beverages, as are carrot juice, roots, and Irish or sea moss, white rum, Red Stripe
Red Stripe
Red Stripe is a Jamaican lager beer whose logo is a bold, diagonal red stripe. It is brewed by Desnoes & Geddes Limited, originally a soft drink manufacturer incorporated on July 31, 1918, by Kingston, Jamaica natives Eugene Peter Desnoes and Thomas Hargreaves Geddes...
Beer, Dragon and Guinness
Guinness
Guinness is a popular Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin. Guinness is directly descended from the porter style that originated in London in the early 18th century and is one of the most successful beer brands worldwide, brewed in almost...
stouts are the national alcoholic beverages. In Miami and Brooklyn, especially in the neighborhood of Flatbush
Flatbush, Brooklyn
Flatbush is a community of the Borough of Brooklyn, a part of New York City, consisting of several neighborhoods.The name Flatbush is an Anglicization of the Dutch language Vlacke bos ....
along Flatbush, Nostrand, Utica, and Church Avenues, one sees groceries filled with a variety of Caribbean cuisines, including sugar cane, jelly
Gelatin dessert
Gelatin desserts are desserts made with sweetened and flavored gelatin. They can be made by combining plain gelatin with other ingredients or by using a premixed blend of gelatin with additives...
coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
, and yams
Yam (vegetable)
Yam is the common name for some species in the genus Dioscorea . These are perennial herbaceous vines cultivated for the consumption of their starchy tubers in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania...
.
Traditional costumes
Jamaica's traditional folk costume for women is a bandana skirt worn with a white blouse with a ruffled neck and sleeves, adorned with embroidery depicting various Jamaican images. A head tie made of the same bandana material is also worn (see Quadrille dressQuadrille dress
A Quadrille dress is a bespoke dress worn by women in Caribbean countries. The quadrille dress is the folk costume of Jamaica, and Haiti. It is known by a different name in each country. The dress is worn during the quadrille dance.-Jamaica:...
). Men wear a shirt that is also made of the same fabric. The colors of the national flag are black, green, and gold. However, because of the popularity of the clothes and colors of Rastafari, many people mistake Rastas' colors (red, green, and gold) as Jamaica's national colors. Jamaicans wear their costumes on Independence Day, National Heroes Day, and other national celebrations. In New York City Jamaican Americans participate in the Caribbean Labor day parade in Brooklyn annually and dress in lavish and colorful costumes during the Brooklyn celebration along Eastern Parkway.
Sports
A number of Jamaicans and Jamaican Americans have excelled in international competition and carried home many trophies. Sir Herbert McDonald was an Olympian; Donald Quarrie won the 200 and the 4 X 100 meters Olympic Gold Medal; Merlene Ottey won the 200 and the 4 X 100 meters; Some of the world's most outstanding cricketers were Jamaicans; they include: O. J. Collier Smith, Alfred Valentine,Darren Powell, Roy Gilcrist, Michael Holding, Easton McMorris, Franze Alexander, and George HeadleyGeorge Headley
George Alphonso Headley was a West Indian cricketer who played 22 Test matches, mostly before the Second World War. Considered one of the best batsmen to play for West Indies and one of the greatest cricketers of all time, Headley also represented Jamaica and played professional club cricket in...
, who was born in Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
in 1909, transported to Cuba, grew up in Jamaica and lived in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Health issues
There are no documented medical problems that are unique to Jamaicans. In the 1950s and 1960s, polio appeared in some communities but was later contained by medical treatment. Since the 1980s, drug abuse and alcoholismAlcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
have also plagued Jamaicans. Crime and economic hardship have taken a heavy toll on the health and life expectancy in Jamaica during the last two decades.
In 1994, the government of Jamaica admitted that most violent crime
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
s committed in the country are drug related.
Acting
- Shari BelafonteShari BelafonteShari Belafonte is an American actress, model, writer and singer. The daughter of singer Harry Belafonte, she is known for her role as Julie Gilette on the 1980s television series Hotel and as a spokesperson for the diet supplement Slim-Fast during the 1990s.-Personal life:Shari Lynn Belafonte was...
- Michael BenttMichael BenttMichael A. Bentt is a film and television actor and retired heavyweight boxer. Of Jamaican lineage, he was born in East Dulwich, London, but raised in the Cambria Heights section of Queens in New York City...
- Corbin BleuCorbin BleuCorbin Bleu Reivers , known professionally as Corbin Bleu, is an American actor, model, dancer, producer, and singer-songwriter. He performed in the High School Musical film series, the Discovery Kids drama series Flight 29 Down, and the Disney Channel Original Movie Jump In!...
(1989) film/television actor (High School MusicalHigh School MusicalHigh School Musical is a 2006 American television film, first in the High School Musical film franchise. Upon its release on January 20, 2006, it became the most successful film that Disney Channel Original Movie ever produced, with a television sequel High School Musical 2 released in 2007 and...
) - Kim FieldsKim FieldsKim Victoria Fields is an American actress and television director. She is known for her roles as Tootie Ramsey on the NBC sitcom The Facts of Life, and as Regine Hunter on the Fox sitcom Living Single...
- Dulé HillDulé HillKarim Dulé Hill is an American actor and tap dancer. He is best known for his roles as personal presidential aide Charlie Young on the NBC drama television series The West Wing, and as pharmaceutical salesman-private detective Burton "Gus" Guster on the USA Network television comedy-drama Psych...
- Camille McDonald
- Grace JonesGrace JonesGrace Jones is a Jamaican-American singer, model and actress.Jones secured a record deal with Island Records in 1977, which resulted in a string of dance-club hits. In the late 1970s, she adapted the emerging electronic music style and adopted a severe, androgynous look with square-cut hair and...
- Delroy LindoDelroy LindoDelroy George Lindo is an English actor and theatre director. Lindo has been nominated for the Tony and Screen Actors Guild awards and has won a Satellite Award...
- Carl Lumbly
- Wentworth MillerWentworth MillerWentworth Earl Miller III is an English-born American actor; model and screenwriter who rose to stardom following his role as Michael Scofield in the Fox Network television series Prison Break.-Early life:...
- Sheryl Lee RalphSheryl Lee RalphSheryl Lee Ralph is an American actress, singer, and activist.-Personal life:Raised between Mandeville, Jamaica, and Long Island, New York, Sheryl Lee Ralph was born in Waterbury, Connecticut to an African American father and a Jamaican mother. Sheryl attended Uniondale High School in Uniondale, NY...
- Madge SinclairMadge SinclairMadge Dorita Sinclair was a Jamaican American character actress.-Early years:Sinclair was born Madge Dorita Walters in Kingston, Jamaica, to Herbert and Jemima Walters. She was a teacher in Jamaica until 1968 when she left for New York to pursue her career in acting.-Career:In 1978, she starred in...
- Chris SpencerChris Spencer (actor)Chris Spencer is an Jamaican American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He was the first host of the syndicated late night talk show Vibe, based on the magazine of the same name. He has gone on to star in several film projects such as The Sixth Man, Significant Others, and Postal...
- Peter WilliamsPeter Williams (actor)Peter Williams is a Jamaican-born actor currently residing in Canada. The majority of his work has been in television, including the role of the primary villain Apophis in the first four seasons of Stargate SG-1...
- Stephen WilliamsStephen WilliamsSteven or Stephen Williams may refer to:*Stephen Williams , archaeologist at Harvard University*Stephen Williams , former Gloucestershire cricketer*Stephen Williams , former Cornwall cricketer...
- Robert WisdomRobert WisdomRobert Wisdom is an American actor. He is a graduate of Columbia University.-Biography:Wisdom was born in Washington, D.C. to Jamaican parents. He appeared in four of the five seasons of HBO program The Wire as Howard "Bunny" Colvin...
Literature
- Malcolm GladwellMalcolm GladwellMalcolm Gladwell, CM is a Canadian journalist, bestselling author, and speaker. He is currently based in New York City and has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1996...
- Thomas GlaveThomas GlaveThomas Glave is an American author of Jamaican descent who has published widely and won numerous awards. He is also a university professor.- Biography :...
- June JordanJune JordanJune Millicent Jordan was a Caribbean American poet, novelist, journalist, biographer, dramatist, teacher and committed activist...
- Claude McKayClaude McKayClaude McKay was a Jamaican-American writer and poet. He was a seminal figure in the Harlem Renaissance and wrote three novels: Home to Harlem , a best-seller which won the Harmon Gold Award for Literature, Banjo , and Banana Bottom...
- Jody-Anne MaxwellJody-Anne MaxwellJody-Anne Maxwell from Kingston, Jamaica, was the winner of the 1998 Scripps National Spelling Bee at the age of 12. She was the first contestant from outside the United States to win in the history of the competition....
- Joel Augustus RogersJoel Augustus RogersJoel Augustus Rogers was a Jamaican-American author, journalist, and historian who contributed to the history of Africa and the African diaspora, especially the history of African Americans in the United States. His research spanned the academic fields of history, sociology and anthropology...
- Amy Jacques GarveyAmy Jacques GarveyAmy Euphemia Jacques Garvey was the second wife of Marcus Garvey, and a journalist and activist in her own right. She was born to George Samuel and Charlotte Henrietta Jacques, in Kingston, Jamaica....
- Dahlia Welsh
Modelling
- Tyson BeckfordTyson BeckfordTyson Craig Beckford is an American male model and actor, best known as a Ralph Lauren model. He was also the host of both seasons of the Bravo program Make Me a Supermodel.-Biography:...
- Naomi CampbellNaomi CampbellNaomi Campbell is a British model. Scouted at the age of 15, she established herself among the top three most recognisable and in-demand models of the late 1980s and early 1990s, and she was one of six models of her generation declared "supermodels" by the fashion world...
- Karin TaylorKarin TaylorKarin Taylor is a former international fashion model, chosen by Playboy as their Playmate of the Month June 1996....
- Carla CampbellCarla CampbellCarla Campbell is a fashion model represented by IMG in New York. She received her most widespread exposure appearing in the 2006 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue....
- Lisa HannaLisa Hanna-External links:*...
Music
- Afrika BambaataaAfrika BambaataaAfrika Bambaataa is an American DJ from the South Bronx, New York who was instrumental in the early development of hip hop throughout the 1980s. Afrika Bambaataa is one of the three originators of break-beat deejaying, and is respectfully known as the "Grandfather" and the Amen Ra of Universal...
- A-Plus (rapper)A-Plus (rapper)Adam Carter, known by the stage name, A-Plus, is an American rapper and producer. He is one of the founding four members of the Oakland, California-based underground hip hop group Souls of Mischief, and, with Souls of Mischief, a part of the eight-person, alternative hip hop collective, the...
- Alicia KeysAlicia KeysAlicia Augello Cook , better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano...
- Bei MaejorBei MaejorBrandon Green, better known by his stage name Bei Maejor, is a Grammy nominated American recording artist, songwriter and record producer.- Life and career :...
- Busta RhymesBusta RhymesTrevor Tahiem Smith, Jr., better known by his stage name Busta Rhymes ,Smith is an American rapper, producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the alias Busta Rhymes after NFL wide receiver George "Buster" Rhymes...
- Boi1da
- Brick & LaceBrick & LaceBrick and Lace are a Jamaican R&B reggae fusion musical duo consisting of sisters Nyanda and Nailah Thorbourne. Originally Brick & Lace consisted of three sisters Nyanda, Nailah, and Tasha Thorbourne...
- Bushwick BillBushwick BillRichard Shaw , better known by the stage name Bushwick Bill, is a member of the American hip hop group Geto Boys. He was born in Jamaica, but moved to Brooklyn, NY as a young child.- History :...
- DJ GQDJ GQDJ GQ is a Miami-based disc jockey recognized as one of the first to blend Hip Hop and Reggae to create a unique sound. . DJ GQ was born as Gary Hardie in Miami, Florida. DJ GQ has been a sponsored DJ since he was 14 years old and has been the official DJ for Kevin Lyttle, Mr. Cheeks, Akon and...
- DJ DramaDJ DramaTyree Cinque Simmons better known as DJ Drama is an American hip hop artist and the official DJ for Grand Hustle/Atlantic recording artist T.I.....
- Gil Scott-HeronGil Scott-HeronGilbert "Gil" Scott-Heron was an American soul and jazz poet, musician, and author known primarily for his work as a spoken word performer in the 1970s and '80s...
- Harry BelafonteHarry BelafonteHarold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, actor and social activist. He was dubbed the "King of Calypso" for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s...
- Thom BellThom BellThomas Randolph "Thom" Bell is an American songwriter and producer, best known as one of the creators of the Philadelphia style of soul music in the 1970s. He moved to Philadelphia as a child.-Biography:...
- CanibusCanibusGermaine Williams , better known by his stage name Canibus, is a Jamaican-born American rapper. He is a part of supergroup The HRSMN. Canibus rose to fame in the mid-nineties...
- Chubb RockChubb RockChubb Rock is a New York-based rapper who released several commercially successful hip hop albums in the early 1990s...
- Chrystina Sayers
- Chrisette Michelle
- Christopher "Kid" Reid
- Chris BlackwellChris BlackwellChristopher Percy Gordon "Chris" Blackwell is a British record producer and businessman, who was the founder of Island Records, acknowledged as the most successful and groundbreaking independent record company in history. Blackwell has been a music industry mogul for over fifty years...
- Janine the Machine
- MaestroMaestroMaestro is a title of extreme respect given to a master musician. The term is most commonly used in the context of Western classical music and opera. This is associated with the ubiquitous use of Italian vocabulary for classical music terms...
- Luther CampbellLuther CampbellLuther R. Campbell , also known as Luke Skyywalker, Uncle Luke or Luke, is a record label owner, rap performer , and actor...
- Sandra DentonSandra DentonSandra Denton, known as Pepa, is a Jamaican American rap/hip hop artist, actress, and a member of the female rap trio Salt-N-Pepa.-Biography:...
- Travie McCoyTravie McCoyTravie Lazarus McCoy is an American singer and rapper. He is the lead vocalist of the alternative hip-hop band Gym Class Heroes. He released his debut solo album Lazarus on June 8, 2010....
- TygaTygaMichael Stevenson , better known by his stage name Tyga , is an American rapper signed to Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Universal Republic Records. He is of Vietnamese and Jamaican descent...
- Tami ChynnTami Chynn-Early years:Tami Chynn was born in Kingston, Jamaica. Her father, Richard Chin, is of Chinese descent with Cherokee ancestry and her mother, Christine Chin is Afro-Jamaican and British...
- Tessanne ChinTessanne ChinTessanne Chin is a Reggae fusion recording artist, best known for her hit singles Hideaway and Messenger. Hideaway was featured on VP Records' Reggae Gold 2007...
- Dean (rapper)Dean (rapper)-Career:Dean was born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1985. Soccer was his passion until he was introduced to American hip-hop by school friends. Dean migrated to the United States at the age of 17 and instantly began producing music for himself and other artists in the Commonwealth of Virginia...
- Winston GrennanWinston GrennanWinston Grennan was a Jamaican drummer, famous for session work from 1962 to 1973 in Jamaica as well as later in New York City through the 1970s and '80s.-Career:...
- Heavy D
- Grace JonesGrace JonesGrace Jones is a Jamaican-American singer, model and actress.Jones secured a record deal with Island Records in 1977, which resulted in a string of dance-club hits. In the late 1970s, she adapted the emerging electronic music style and adopted a severe, androgynous look with square-cut hair and...
- Ill Will
- Sean KingstonSean KingstonSean Kingston is a Jamaican-American singer. He pursued a music career and debuted in 2007 with the album Sean Kingston.-Early life:...
- Kool DJ Herc
- KRS-OneKRS-OneLawrence Krisna Parker , better known by his stage names KRS-One , and Teacha, is an American rapper...
- ShaggyShaggy (musician)Orville Richard Burrell , better known by his stage name Shaggy, is a Jamaican-American reggae singer and rapper. He is perhaps best known for his 1995 single "Boombastic" and 2000 single "It Wasn't Me"...
- Stephen MarleyStephen Marley (musician)Stephen Robert Nesta "Raggamuffin" Marley is a Jamaican American musician and the son of reggae legend Bob Marley and his wife Rita Marley. He is a five-time Grammy award winner as an artist, producer, and member of Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers.-Life and career:Marley was born in Wilmington,...
- Mims (rapper)Mims (rapper)-Career:Mims graduated from Westbury High School and was born in Westbury Ny enrolled at Nassau Community College. He left the institution after two months of classes to pursue a career in rap music. He began spending time in Harlem with Cam'ron as an acquaintance...
- Renee Neufville
- Notorious BIG
- Sean PaulSean PaulSean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques , who performs under stage name Sean Paul, is a Jamaican pop rap and reggae singer.-1973–1996: Early life:...
- Slick RickSlick RickRichard Walters , better known by his stage name Slick Rick is a Grammy-nominated English-American rapper...
- VadoVadoTeeyon Winfree, or best known as Vado, born on March 13, 1985, is an American rapper from Harlem, New York City. Vado is of Jamaican, St.Vincent and African American descent.-Career:...
Sports
- Jeff CunninghamJeff CunninghamJeff Cunningham is a Jamaican-born American soccer player who played on multiple Major League Soccer teams. He is the MLS all-time leader in goals scored with 134.-College:...
- Don QuarrieDon QuarrieDonald O'Riley Quarrie C.D is a former Jamaican athlete, one of the world's top sprinters during the 1970s....
- Chili DavisChili DavisCharles Theodore "Chili" Davis is the hitting coach for the Oakland Athletics. Davis is a former outfielder/designated hitter who played in Major League Baseball with the San Francisco Giants , California Angels , Minnesota Twins , Kansas City Royals and New York Yankees...
- Simone EdwardsSimone EdwardsSimone Ann-Marie Edwards is a female basketball player who played for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association . The 6'4" Edwards center is known to fans as the "Jamaican Hurricane."...
- Debbie DunnDebbie DunnDebbie Dunn is an American sprinter, who specializes in the 400 metres. Originally from Jamaica, she attended Fairmont Heights High School in Maryland, then Norfolk State University, and became an American citizen in 2004....
- Robin FraserRobin FraserRobin Fraser is a retired Jamaican-born American soccer player. He is currently head coach of Chivas USA in Major League Soccer....
- Sandra Farmer-PatrickSandra Farmer-PatrickSandra Farmer-Patrick is an American athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metres hurdles....
- Patrick EwingPatrick EwingPatrick Aloysius Ewing Sr. is a Jamaican-American retired Hall of Fame basketball player and current assistant coach for the National Basketball Association's Orlando Magic. He played most of his career with the NBA's New York Knicks as their starting center and played briefly with the Seattle...
- Patrick Ewing, Jr.Patrick Ewing, Jr.Patrick Aloysius Ewing, Jr. is an American professional basketball player for the NBA's New Orleans Hornets. He is the oldest son of retired NBA Hall of Famer and New York Knicks legend Patrick Ewing and Sharon Campbell...
- Dwight FreeneyDwight FreeneyDwight Jason Freeney is an American football defensive end who currently plays for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was drafted in the 1st round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He played college football at Syracuse University.-Early years:Freeney attended Bloomfield High School...
- Ben Gordon
- Natasha HastingsNatasha HastingsNatasha Monique Hastings is an American sprint athlete of Jamaican and Trinidadian descent.Hastings began her track career at a very early age and made a first place win at the USATF Junior Olympics in the 400 metres in the Youth Girls division. She attended A...
- Jerome JordanJerome JordanJerome Jordan is a Jamaican professional basketball center. He currently plays for Slovenian club KK Krka.-Collegiate career:Jordan selected Tulsa over North Texas and Stetson, enrolling in the 2006–07 school year....
- Errol KerrErrol KerrErrol Kerr is a downhill skier formerly with the U.S. Ski Team. Kerr is the son of a Jamaican father and an American mother. Kerr started skiing at age 4 and started racing competitively at age 11, and as a child he also raced BMX and motocross. The multi-disciplined Kerr eventually found his...
- Inger MillerInger MillerInger Miller is a track and field sprint athlete, competing internationally for United States. She is the daughter of Lennox Miller, an Olympic champion runner from Jamaica....
- Sanya RichardsSanya RichardsSanya Richards-Ross is a track and field athlete who competes internationally for the United States. She won an Olympic gold medal in the 4×400 meters relay at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, an individual bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics for the 400 m, and a gold medal in the 2009...
- Rumeal RobinsonRumeal RobinsonRumeal James Robinson is a retired American professional basketball player. Growing up in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Robinson graduated from Cambridge Rindge and Latin School and went on to play guard for the University of Michigan...
- Rolando RoomesRolando RoomesRolando Audley Roomes is a former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball primarily as an outfielder from 1988-1990.-Fast Facts:...
- Samardo SamuelsSamardo SamuelsSamardo Samuels is a Jamaican professional basketball player with the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA. He is a 6-foot-9-inch, 265-pound power forward/center who attended college at the University of Louisville....
- Ndamukong SuhNdamukong SuhNdamukong Suh is an American football defensive tackle for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Lions 2nd overall in the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football at Nebraska....
- Devon White
- Jerome WilliamsJerome WilliamsJerome Williams is a former professional basketball player in the NBA, who last played for the New York Knicks. He was a star player on the Magruder High School basketball team...
- Carl LewisCarl LewisFrederick Carlton "Carl" Lewis is an American former track and field athlete, who won 10 Olympic medals including 9 gold, and 10 World Championships medals, of which 8 were gold. His career spanned from 1979 when he first achieved a world ranking to 1996 when he last won an Olympic title and...
- Justin MastersonJustin MastersonJustin Daniel Masterson is a right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Cleveland Indians. Masterson was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the second round of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft. Masterson was rated as the 64th-best prospect going into that year's draft by...
Public service
- Anthony G. BrownAnthony G. BrownAnthony G. Brown is a Democratic Party politician from the State of Maryland and is the current Lieutenant Governor of Maryland. He was elected as Maryland’s eighth Lieutenant Governor in 2006 on a ticket with Governor Martin O'Malley. Both were reelected in 2010. He is the second African...
- Yvette Clarke
- Kamala HarrisKamala HarrisKamala Devi Harris is an American attorney. She is the 32nd and current Attorney General of California following the 2010 California state elections. Harris has worked as an author and a politician and has served as District Attorney of San Francisco since 2004...
- Colin PowellColin PowellColin Luther Powell is an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African American to serve in that position. During his military...
- David PatersonDavid PatersonDavid Alexander Paterson is an American politician who served as the 55th Governor of New York, from 2008 to 2010. During his tenure he was the first governor of New York of African American heritage and also the second legally blind governor of any U.S. state after Bob C. Riley, who was Acting...
- Hazelle P. RogersHazelle P. RogersHazelle P. Rogers is a Lauderdale Lakes, Florida consultant, realtor, and mortgage broker and Democratic politician who serves as the representative for District 94 of the Florida House of Representatives. She was first elected to the Florida House in 2008....
- Shirley ChisholmShirley ChisholmShirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm was an American politician, educator, and author. She was a Congresswoman, representing New York's 12th Congressional District for seven terms from 1969 to 1983. In 1968, she became the first black woman elected to Congress...
- Condoleezza RiceCondoleezza RiceCondoleezza Rice is an American political scientist and diplomat. She served as the 66th United States Secretary of State, and was the second person to hold that office in the administration of President George W. Bush...
- Edward SeagaEdward SeagaEdward Philip George Seaga ON PC was the fifth Prime Minister of Jamaica from 1980 to 1989 and Leader of the Jamaica Labour Party from 1974 to 2005. He served as leader of the opposition from 1974 to 1980 and again from 1989 until January 2005...
- John Brown RusswurmJohn Brown RusswurmJohn Brown Russwurm was an American abolitionist from Jamaica, known for his newspaper, Freedom's Journal. He moved from the United States to govern the Maryland section of an African American colony in Liberia, dying there in 1851....