Title

Community Organizing by African Caribbean People in Toronto, Ontario

Publication Title

Journal of Black Studies

Publication Date

1-2008

Document Type

Article

DOI

10.1177/0021934707309134

Keywords

African Caribbean, African Canadians, community organizing, Caribbean migrants, Canada, Blacks

Disciplines

African American Studies | Ethnic Studies

Abstract

This article investigates the efficacy of community organizing by African Caribbean migrants in Toronto, Ontario. The author argues that community organizing was an instinctive initiative of African Caribbean people. Historically, Black community organizational agenda, although owing much to its own resourcefulness and fortitude, was intimately connected to the influence and strength of the larger White population. Racism and social exclusions were the major external factors influencing the majority of African Caribbean institutional building. In recreating community, African Caribbean people were influenced by this political milieu. Nevertheless, they were also influenced by their own internal desires and dreams of a better standard of living and a better life for their children. They were also subjected by, for example, their own ideas regarding class, culture, gender roles, family ties, work ethic, and diasporic connections that influenced how they (re)negotiate community.


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