Who are Jamaicans?

As an avid reader of the Washington Post for the past thirty years, I have come to appreciate its highly professional and respected positions opposing racial and ethnic profiling. However, the Post seems to have been victim of the hysteria surrounding the sniper attacks and has engaged in what I am forced to regard as "nationality profiling". I refer specifically to the Post's portrayal of the juvenile partner of John Muhammed, the contemptible Lee Malvo, who happens to be Jamaican by birth. Unfortunately, each time Malvo’s name was mentioned, his nationality was appended. This unfortunate aberration was compounded by the article "Second Jamaican in Sniper Case, New Suspect in New Jersey" (Sunday Post, 27th October 2002) depicting the arrest of a co-owner of the car driven by Muhammed. To interpret this unfortunate series of reports as depicting a Jamaican national behind every bush would be pure drivel. It is ironic that, while this negative image of Jamaicans was being portrayed the Governor of New Jersey, in recognition of the important contributions of Jamaican immigrants to his State, on 26th October, issued a proclamation honoring Jamaica’s National Heroes and Heroines.

I could easily take a position criticizing the Post for these unfortunate indiscretions and deviation from its norms. I choose instead to enlighten as to who we are as Jamaicans and descendants of Jamaicans, living in the United States. My wife and I having raised three Jamaican-American children from birth to adulthood in the United States, most of their lives in Montgomery County, and who suffered with other families the fear and anxiety of the ordeal.

I pause here to express my deepest sympathy and respect to the victims and their families, also immigrants and children of immigrants, one of who was my fellow compatriot.

Like other Jamaican immigrants, we are proud of our heritage. Being a part of America and America a part of us, Jamaicans have been emigrating to the United States for centuries. There is historical evidence that a Jamaican, Samuel Francis, fought in and supported the American War of Independence, and was cited by George Washington "for constant friendship and attention to the cause of our country and freedom". Jamaicans have fought and died to secure and protect America’s freedom.

As to who we are, let me answer by saying: we care for Americans from the cradle to the grave - as housemaids and childcare providers in thousands of American households, and as care-providers for the elderly in their homes and in nursing homes across America. We are teachers and professors in America’s schools and universities. We staff America’s hospitals as nurses, doctors, pharmacists, technicians and administrators. We participate in the building of America’s grand edifices as architects, engineers, tradesmen and construction laborers. We participate in the political life of America as voters and representatives in local, state and national governments. As lawyers and judges, we help defend the rights of the disadvantaged and prosecute those who transgress.

In support of these claims, space limiting, I cite only a few examples: In academics and in civil and human rights, Jamaica gave to America: Dr. Kenneth B. Clark, often called "the scholar of the civil rights movement", best known for research cited by the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education; Marcus Mosiah Garvey, who was cited by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as "the first man, on a mass scale, to give millions of Negroes a sense of dignity and destiny"; Cleveland Robinson, trade union leader and civil rights activist, helped to organize, and served as administrative chair of, the historic march on Washington in 1963; and John Brown Russworm, co-founder and editor of the first Black newspaper in America, Freedom’s Journal, is regarded as the father of the Black press in America.

In entertainment and sports, there is Harry Belafonte, singer, actor, civil and human rights activist of international acclaim. Our many actors, actresses, entertainers and professional models grace the airwaves and television screens. Our amateur and professional athletes include Patrick Ewing, former NBA great and a member of the first U.S. Dream Team in the 1988 Olympics. Many others have made, and continue to make significant contributions in boxing, basketball, track and field, baseball, soccer and football.

I point to major contributors in business and the professions, including, as President and CEO of one of the largest Black-owned businesses in America, Bruce Llewellyn also served as Director of the OPIC under President Carter; and Bert Mitchell, founder and managing partner of the largest Black-owned Public Accounting Firm in the USA, was the first Black to be elected President of the American Association of Certified Public Accountants. Many more go unmentioned here.

Hundreds of Jamaicans and descendants of Jamaicans have played important trailblazing roles in government service and politics. These include: James Watson - first Black to be elected Judge in the State of New York; Barbara M. Watson - the first woman and the first Black to achieve the rank of Assistant Secretary of State, serving under Presidents Johnson, Nixon, Ford, and Carter; Sheila Jackson Lee, a Member of the House of Representatives from Texas; and Secretary of State Colin Powell, who has served with great distinction at the highest levels in the U.S. military and in service to four U.S. Presidents.

The foregoing represents a mere microcosm of the significant contributions of the hundreds of thousands of Jamaicans living and working in America. Jamaicans contribute daily to the strength and greatness of America. We should recognize that every society at some stage of history spawns the likes of Lee Malvo, which is atypical and should not be confused with the norm. Jamaicans remain a warm, friendly, industrious, law-abiding people wherever found in the Diaspora. Jamaica, as a country, remains a welcoming, safe and most hospitable destination for all Americans.

Curtis A. Ward, Esq.

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