Conor Finn

Professor Torres

Jamaican Culture Blog

Jamaican culture in the United States has long been labeled by one certain man. Bob Marley is known throughout North America and his beautiful music is still listened, quite often, by many of us including my two brothers, my father and myself. Bob Marley was the first Jamaican that I ever knew. His songs preached love for one another and emancipation of mental slavery. He was well known for smoking marijuana, however, his beautiful outlook on life spread throughout his fans. Jamaicans in my hometown continue to smile and enjoy the life they have been given.

Bob Marley is a Jamaican that loved the spirit of the mind. Being able to live happily was the only way to live. For my anthropological research assignment I was granted the opportunity to study my friends who taught me how to live life. I was able to see within a culture that has forced me to enjoy what is around me and not to worry about want is not there. Jamaican culture is vibrant in Kennebunk, Maine because our town members accept who they are and attempt to learn from the differences between our cultures. Our town is their summer workplace but their home is always just a few months away. Few Jamaicans permanently settle in Kennebunk because of the love they have for Jamaica. At the end of each August the summer work closes and my Jamaican friends head home.

Conor Finn

Professor Torres

Jamaican Culture Blog

The immigration of Jamaicans to North America is partly due to the violence that has reasserted itself into the public’s eye. The political system in Jamaica has caused social unrest and the renewal of gang violence has caused terrible pain amongst some families in Jamaica. “A renewal of gang violence in Kingston in July 2001 and January 2002 claimed 27 and seven lives respectively.”

 The history of Jamaica has been plagued by oppression and brutal treatment and  in recent years the violence has driven families from their homeland and to the U.S.  

The shores of Kennebunk, Maine grant thousands of Jamaicans places to work in the summer. They have to receive work permits to come to the United States. Each foreigner I spoke to about whether it was worth it or not to come to the states replied enthusiastically it was well worth it! For these workers who come in the summer get to experience the values of America. These Jamaican workers that travel in the summer months are brave and adventurous humans because they leave everything they know back home to experience a new cultural environment. Traveling is something that is much underestimated, and more of the world can learn from my Jamaican friends. In the summertime they choose to come to the United States and work in favorable conditions. They leave their home behind but their culture stays with them because it has been engrained into their souls. 

¹ Jamaica- Culture and History. http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-factsheet/jamaica--culture-amp-history-20081128-6l74.html?page=1. 2009 Fairfax Digital

Conor Finn

Professor Torres

Cultural Blog

Research for this blog has cost lost hours in the library as well as online. Whatever source I read the main attraction for Jamaican culture has stayed on the east coast. New York City has been a recurring hot spot for Jamaicans and there is even a Jamaica New York. The interesting part of this Jamaica in America is that my mother was born in this part of New York City many years ago. She does not remember much of the place she was born, but as time went on her knowledge of the area grew along with her hair, feet, and nose. This area of the city was full of Jamaican culture and when talking about my blog topic with my mother story after story started pouring out of her mouth. The one that caught my attention was the tale of the Jamaican maid that worked for my mother’s family. 

My mother described her as a beautiful women slightly overweight, always bearing a smile. She was the woman that took care of my mother as my grandparents were to busy with their lives. This maid raised my mother to respect others and laugh about everything. My mother has recalled hundred of instances where this particular maid rescued her from the fights between her parents and took care of her when she was sick. This immigrant in some eyes was actually more of a mother than the American who conceived her. 

Conor Finn

Professor Torres

Jamaican Culture Blog

In our Introduction to Cultural Anthropology course we have learned of many different cultures from around the world. We have studied topics ranging from transgendered humans to anthropologists investigating the moral and physical destruction that took place in Guatemala. My approach to investigating Jamaican culture in the United States was influenced by the summer Jamaican friends I have. I believe that when anthropologists study a certain culture their must be a reason there driving them or else they would pursue a career of greater pay. What is forgotten is the uniqueness in which anthropologists have to approach situations. For example Daniel Wilkinson in Silence on the Mountain researched many different topics in regard to the strife that engulfed Guatemala for over twenty years. He had to continuously interview willing participants who found it hard to relive the memories they tried to block out for so long. In researching for my topic Wilkinson was fresh in my mind because when I found it difficult to discover reliable sources knowing how difficult it was for him made me feel better of myself. 

Choosing a topic that I have been interested in for much of my life granted me the chance to investigate a certain group of humans I have seen every summer since grade school. Studying the Jamaican culture has allowed me the chance to relive some of my childhood memories and reminisce of my friends I made that leave back for Jamaica at the end of every summer. 

Conor Finn

Professor Torres

May 1, 2009

For the blogs that have already been completed I wrote much about my personal experiences with Jamaicans in my hometown. Although the personal experience with Jamaicans have granted me much knowledge of their culture, investigating the history of Jamaican immigration to other parts of the United States of America help explain immigration patterns. Over the next few entries a major theme of my writings will be the history of Jamaicansimmigrating to the United States. Jamaicans have long been coming to the United States for greater educational opportunities along with better working conditions. Chicago was one of the first cities to embrace Jamaican culture and grant the children of immigrant workers the chance for higher education. “During the 1950’s and 1960’s, the number of Jamaicans seeking higher education in the United States increased, and schools like Chicago Technical College drew significant numbers to the city.”1

Jamaicans today have more chances to interact with family back home through the internet and other resources. Being able to stay in touch with their home island allows their roots to still grow while staying attached to Jamaica. In addition Jamaicans in America do not diminish the strong ties of family.Coming to America gives the immigrant a chance of proper education and great working opportunities. Being in a recession today could hinder the immigration wave of Jamaicans in our culture, however the strong Jamaican roots that have already been established in cities like Chicago and New York City since the early 1900s will not fade. 

¹ Morrissey, Robert. Jamaicans. The Electronic Encyclopedia of Chicago. 2005 Chicago Historical Society

Conor Finn
Blog Five
Professor Torres
Although having Jamaicans work in the United States during the summer, and in some situations for the rest of their lives is beneficial, employing migrant workers can have negative aspects. Today our country is in a recession and thousands of Americans are being laid off from work. With this happening migrant workers are taking jobs that Americans could be hired for. This situation is hurtful for both Americans and migrant workers because the recession leads to less job hiring for Jamaicans, and in return the culture that comes with these workers is lost. The recession is going to make landing a job extremely difficult, and the future may have less foreign workers than ever before.
Last summer Kennebunk acted and put a restriction upon the number of foreign workers allowed to live and work in the town for the summer. The town has the right to make such restrictions, but it is unfair to the thousands of workers that have been traveling to Kennebunk for years. For future summers the Jamaican culture in Kennebunk will be more intimate around the town. Decreasing the number of Jamaican summer residents will limit the interactions between them and town residents. Ultimately the culture will still be in Kennebunk but due to the recession and the town restrictions the Jamaican influence will not be as great as past years. I hope that the future will be brighter for the economy, summer Jamaican residents, and also the opportunities presented for working Jamaicans.

Conor Finn
Blog Four
Professor Torres
To follow along the last blog I want to give an insight of how Jamaicans affect the town of Kennebunk in the summer. As May turns into June if you live near the port you will constantly see Jamaicans walking to and from work. Most town members do not stop to think of these walking workers. In contrast if I see a Jamaican walking on the road I pull over, roll down my window, and offer them a ride. They smile back at me and say no thank you. It took me awhile to realize that they decline the offer because unlike us lazy Americans, they enjoy a nice summertime walk.
The cultural site is Jamaicans coming to America to find work during the summer, and more in depth is my personal experiences I have had with Jamaicans in my hometown. Jamaicans are not the only foreigners to work in Kennebunk with many workers coming from Russia and other European countries. With this said Jamaicans are the ones that town members can most easily interact with because English is the main language. Some slang terms that I pick up being around my Jamaican friends are “Jah”, “Aks”, and “Ease up”. These are just simple terms that I remember easily picking up when talking with younger Jamaicans.
Being exposed to such a friendly group of people is a blessing to Kennebunk town members. We are able to interact with another culture that spends the summer in Kennebunk.