“Diaspora” means the scattering of people from their ethnic roots, enforced or voluntary. Thus the Jamaican diaspora refers to Jamaicans who have left their traditional homelands, the dispersal of such Jamaicans, and the ensuing developments in their culture. Jamaicans can be found in the far corners of the world but the largest pools of Jamaicans exist in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, other Caribbean islands, and all across the Caribbean Coast of Central America.

Details

Over the past several decades, close to a million Jamaicans have emigrated, especially to the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada. This emigration appears to have been tapering off somewhat in recent years, however the great number of Jamaicans living abroad has become known as the "Jamaican diaspora". Due to Commonwealth law and Jamaica's history with Great Britain, most Jamaican emigrants have followed a path first to the UK, and then if they do not remain in the UK, on to other Commonwealth countries such as Canada. Today that trend has changed with more Jamaican emigrants going directly to the United States, Canada, other Caribbean nations, Central & South America (mainly in Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia), and even Africa (most notably Egypt and Ethiopia) without having to pass through the UK first. There has also been emigration of Jamaicans to Cuba and to Nicaragua.

Concentrations of expatriate Jamaicans are large in a number of cities in the United States, including New York City, Buffalo, the Miami metro area, Atlanta, Orlando, Tampa, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Hartford, and Los Angeles. In Canada, the Jamaican population is centred in Toronto, and there are smaller communities in cities such as Hamilton, Montreal, Vancouver and Ottawa. In the United Kingdom, Jamaican communities exist in most large cities where they make up the larger part of the British-Caribbean community. Jamaicans are also present in Ireland, mostly concentrated in Dublin.

New York City is home to a large Jamaican diaspora community, with communities along Flatbush, Nostrand and Utica Avenues in Brooklyn—centred around the neighbourhoods of Prospect Heights, Lefferts Gardens, Flatbush, East Flatbush, Crown Heights, Canarsie, and Flatlands. The Bronx, neighbourhoods and towns such as Wakefield, Eastchester, Baychester, Queens, Westchester County and nearby Stamford, Connecticut also have significant Jamaican ex-pat communities. Flatbush, Nostrand, and Utica Avenues feature miles of Jamaican cuisine, food markets and other businesses, nightlife and residential enclaves.

In Toronto, the Jamaican community is also large. Caribbean areas of the city are located in the neighbourhoods of Rexdale in Etobicoke, Jane and Finch and Lawrence Heights in North York, Malvern in Scarborough, sections of Downtown Toronto, and York, which also includes a Little Jamaica district that is identifiable along Eglinton Avenue West. In recent years, many Jamaicans have been moving out to suburbs such as Mississauga and Brampton. The Jamaican community has had an influence on Toronto's culture. Caribana (the celebration of Caribbean culture) is an annual event in the city. The parade is held downtown on the first Saturday of August, shutting down a portion of Lake Shore Boulevard. Jamaica Day is in July, and the Jesus in the City parade attracts many Jamaican Christians. Reggae and dancehall are popular among Toronto's youth.

London has a strong Jamaican diaspora. An estimated 7% of Londoners are of Jamaican heritage. Many are now at least second-, if not third- or fourth-generation Black British Caribbeans. Also a further 2% of people in London are of mixed Jamaican and British origin, the largest mixed-race group of the country and the fastest-growing.

One of the largest and most famous Jamaican expatriate communities is in Brixton, South London. More large Jamaican communities in London are Tottenham and Hackney in North London, Harlesden in North-West London, and Lewisham in South-East London. The highest concentration of Jamaicans are in the Inner-city South London boroughs.

On the last bank holiday of the year during late August the Annual Notting Hill Carnival takes place in West London which is the second biggest street party in the world after Rio Carnival. It spans areas of West London such as Shepherd's Bush, Ladbroke Grove, White City and of course Notting Hill. Many other Caribbean nations have large communities in this part of London such as Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and Antigua. The Caribbean community including many Jamaicans are involved in the Carnival which starts on Saturday and finishes late on Monday. Jamaicans have many food stalls, soundsystems and floats involved in the procession. Well over a million londoners come to Notting Hill on the Monday. There is also a much smaller carnival called the Tottenham Carnival which takes place in Tottenham during June, approximately 40,000 people attend.

Other Jamaican communities include the areas of St Pauls in Bristol, Chapeltown in Leeds, Moss Side, Longsight and Hulme in Manchester, Toxteth in Liverpool,Burngreave in Sheffield, Handsworth, Lozells, and Aston in Birmingham, and St Ann's, Nottingham. More recently many resort and wild-life management skilled Jamaicans have been trending emigration toward such far-flung nations as Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia. The nation continues to have a severe problem with barrel children--those left on their own by parents seeking a better life abroad.

Locations

United Kingdom

UK - around 500,000 Britons of full Jamaican origin. Located especially in London, Birmingham, Nottingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield and Leeds.

United States

US - around 910,979 especially in New York City (416,000), South Florida and elsewhere.

Canada

Canada - around 231,000 especially in the Toronto metropolitan area (around 160,000), including Brampton (around 31,000).

References