Jamaican Families in Hartford, Connecticut, 1940-Present

This project is a sub-project of the The West Indies - Caribbean Region Master Project and Notable West Indian Americans and Canadians.

Hartford, Connecticut, has more generations (4-5) of Jamaicans and Caribbean people. At one time, the mayor was Jamaican. (Philip Bedward, 3-5-12).

Jamaican men first migrated to Connecticut for seasonal work on tobacco farms during World War II as part of an arrangement between the American and British governments. Most of these workers returned home after the fall harvest season. Later, especially after 1962, when Jamaica became independent from Great Britain and restrictive immigration laws were lifted, many workers chose to stay in Connecticut. Family members and other immigrants from the Caribbean followed, and today Greater Hartford has the third largest West Indian population in the country. Like immigrants throughout Connecticut’s history, they have struggled to make a new home while maintaining ties to their homeland. (Photograph of a Migrant Worker).

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How to Contribute

• Please click the "Join Project" button on the upper right of the project page.
• After getting yourself added as a collaborator for the surname, select the profile of the prominent Filipino you wish to add.
• Navigate to the profile. Under the "More Actions" link, choose "Add to Project" and select sub-project to which your ancestor should be included in.
• Include in the "About Me" section a brief biographical sketch, summarizing the person's significant contributions and accomplishments. (Required)
• Include a photograph, if one exists.
• Mark the profile as "public" and not "private". (Required)

SUBGROUPS

Notables

• Ray Damdar is a Jamaican journalist living abroad in Hartford, CT amongst de third largest Jamaican population in Merica. He is constantly amused by his culture and has no odda choice but to comment. Favorite saying " if yuh fling stone inna hog pen, de one who squeal is him it lick."
• Donovan Longmore, JAMAICAN RADIO PERSONALITY
• Glenda G, JAMAICAN RADIO PERSONALITY
• DJ Lex, JAMAICAN RADIO PERSONALITY
• Alandon, LOCAL REGGAE ARTIST
• Don C, LOCAL REGGAE ARTIST
• Gyptian, LOCAL REGGAE ARTIST
• Mayah & Sledge, LOCAL REGGAE ARTIST

See also

• West Indian Day Parade - Brooklyn, NY
• List of Caribbean music genres

Further reading

References

• Comparing Connecticut and Jamaica
• Jamaican American
• Hartford, Connecticut
• Blue Hills, Connecticut Demographics
• Best of Jamaica in Hartford 2011 Winners
• Best of Jamaica in Hartford 2010 Winners
• Best of Jamaica in Hartford 2009 Winners
• Hartford, Connecticut
• Author Traces Toil-filled History Of Jamaican Migrant Workers
• My Summer Under the Tents: Interviews with Migrant Farm Workers in the Connecticut River Valley