Caribbeans: Numbers & Impact in the US By Annan Boodram December 2001: How Many West Indians live in the United States? In 1994 the New York based Strategy Research Corporation placed that number at 22 million. But neitehr the Caribbean community nor the US Census Bureau has been able to provide a number a number for the entire US. And even when numbers are provided for individual cities or states they tend to be incomplete as a number of Caribbean nationalities and/or ethnicities are excluded from the count. Among those states with significant Caribbean population are Florida, New York, Washington, Maryland, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, California and Minnesota, But smaller pockets can virtually be found in every state. Florida Count The 2000 Census placed the Caribbean population in Florida at 513,693. But that count includes only the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British West Indies, Dutch West Indies, Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and U.S. Virgin. Excluded are Guyana, some of smaller islands and Caribbeans of Indian heritage. The following is a breakdown of the West Indian population in Florida: Brevard 9,091 Broward 162,306 Duval 3,074 Escambia 893 Lee 2,558 Manatee 616 Orange 37,612 Palm Beach 52,339 Pasco 967 Pinellas 1,901 Polk 5,690 Volusia 1,734 Sarasota 879 Seminole 5,768 Hillsborough 19,727 Miami-Dade 163,823 This total does not reflect the statewide total of 513,693 because figures from counties less than 250,000 in size were not released. They were, however, added into the statewide total. The growth of the Caribbean population in Miami is beginning to impact in many areas, from Sunday worship services in Little Haiti to reggae bashes in Miami to "gourmet'' West Indian dining in Hollywood to storefronts in Lauderhill, now affectionately called "Jamaica Hill.'' Flexing their political muscles, Haitians have won political office in the Florida Legislature, and in the cities of El Portal and North Miami, where Joe Celestin this year became the first Haitian-American elected mayor of a large city. Meanwhile Jamaicans, taking political activism to new heights in Broward, sit on the Miramar, Southwest Ranches and Lauderdale Lakes city commissions, as well as in the mayor's office in Lauderdale Lakes. New York Count In New York City the West Indian population is estimated at 589,000 and consists largely of Jamaicans (220,085) and Haitians (147,911). This number too does not include Caribbean Indians and some of the smaller groups. Both the numbers for Florida and New York are disputed by Caribbean leaders, who regard them as much too conservative. They argue that there are probably as many illegal as there are legal Caribbeans and that the illegals are not counted. They also argue that many Caribbeans do not register during census time for varied reasons, including fear and disinterest. Thus in New York City, for example the number has been estimated to be almost 25% of the city's population. And in the tri-state area ­ New York, New Jersey and Connecticut ­ that number is estimated to be over five million. In New York, as in Florida, Caribeans are beginning to make an impact. They now sit in both the state legislators and the city council. The first African-American woman to sit in Congress and to run for the presidency was a Caribbean - Shirley Chisolm. The first non-white chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was a Caribbean - Colin Powell, who is also the first black Secretary of State. The first Black to make it big in Hollywood was Caribbean ­ Sidney Poitier. And Caribbeans have been in the forefront of the civil rights movement - Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, Stokley Carmichael, and the controversial Louis Farrakhan among others. Caribbean music, especially reggae, calypso and chutney are increasingly being played on the airwaves and in nightclubs. The Brooklyn Carnival is perhaps the biggest single outdoor event anywhere. And events such as the Phagwah Parade in Queens and the Islands in the Park concert are becoming city landmarks. In the employment sector, Caribbeans (in the US tri-state area) dominate parts of the health care industry (nursing and health aides) and the power service industry (Con Edison especially). They are significant in the media, construction, domestic service, sales and teaching. In fact earlier this year New York City turned to the Caribbean to help meet the shortfall of teachers in the public education system. However, that experiment seems to be meeting with mixed results as Caribbean teachers allege that they are not given the same treatment as that obtained by teachers from European nations and, in fact, a number of them have already resigned. In the letter section of this issue a Jamaican clergyman in Florida is calling on the Caribbean teachers to sue the New York Board of education because of "grave disappointment and disenchantment".