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In The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965), Malcolm X briefly discusses his time in Harlem during the 1940s, where he encountered West Indian immigrants. He notes their clannishness, recalling an incident where a West Indian landlord refused to rent him a room, citing a preference for “island folks.” Malcolm interprets this as a form of intra-racial bias, though he attributes it to cultural differences rather than malice. His anecdote underscores how ethnic divisions within Black communities could shape housing access.
The JFK Library’s oral history collection includes a 1970s interview with an African American woman, “Ms. Carter,” who lived in Crown Heights during the 1950s. She recalls applying for an apartment owned by a Trinidadian landlord: “He asked where my family was from, and when I said South Carolina, he said he’d rather rent to someone from Trinidad. It hurt, because we were both Black, but he didn’t see it that way.” Ms. Carter’s story highlights how ethnic identity could override racial solidarity in housing decisions.
Denied By A Trini
The Tamiment Library at NYU holds records from the Harlem Tenants League (1920s–1960s), which advocated for Black renters’ rights. A 1948 memo from the league mentions complaints about West Indian landlords in Harlem who allegedly charged higher rents to African American tenants or refused them outright, preferring Caribbean families.
The Crown Heights History Project, conducted in 1993, includes over forty oral histories from residents of Crown Heights, a neighborhood with significant West Indian and African American populations. One African American interviewee, identified as “Mrs. Johnson” (a pseudonym), recounted her experience in the 1960s: “When I tried to rent an apartment on Eastern Parkway, the landlord, a Jamaican man, told me he only rented to ‘his people’—folks from the islands. I was born in Georgia, raised in Brooklyn, but that didn’t matter. He said he trusted West Indians to pay rent on time.”
The Hartford Migration Project (EPOCH, University of Connecticut)**: Although focused on Hartford, this project includes oral histories from West Indian and African American migrants, some of whom later moved to NYC. A 1980s interview with an African American woman, “Eleanor,” described her experience in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant: “The West Indian landlords on my block would rent to their own before anyone else. They’d say it’s about trust, but it felt like they looked down on us [African Americans]. I had a good job, but I was passed over for apartments because I wasn’t from Jamaica or Barbados.” Eleanor’s narrative points to a pattern of preferential treatment, though she acknowledges the broader context of housing scarcity.
A 1962 Amsterdam News article titled “Caribbean Landlords Under Fire” describes African American tenants in Harlem accusing West Indian property owners of favoring Caribbean renters and charging higher rents to non-Caribbean Blacks. The article quotes an anonymous tenant: “They think we’re lazy or won’t pay. It’s not fair when we’re all struggling.”
In The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965), Malcolm X briefly discusses his time in Harlem during the 1940s, where he encountered West Indian immigrants. He notes their clannishness, recalling an incident where a West Indian landlord refused to rent him a room, citing a preference for “island folks.” Malcolm interprets this as a form of intra-racial bias, though he attributes it to cultural differences rather than malice. His anecdote underscores how ethnic divisions within Black communities could shape housing access.
The JFK Library’s oral history collection includes a 1970s interview with an African American woman, “Ms. Carter,” who lived in Crown Heights during the 1950s. She recalls applying for an apartment owned by a Trinidadian landlord: “He asked where my family was from, and when I said South Carolina, he said he’d rather rent to someone from Trinidad. It hurt, because we were both Black, but he didn’t see it that way.” Ms. Carter’s story highlights how ethnic identity could override racial solidarity in housing decisions.
Denied By A Trini
The Tamiment Library at NYU holds records from the Harlem Tenants League (1920s–1960s), which advocated for Black renters’ rights. A 1948 memo from the league mentions complaints about West Indian landlords in Harlem who allegedly charged higher rents to African American tenants or refused them outright, preferring Caribbean families.
The Crown Heights History Project, conducted in 1993, includes over forty oral histories from residents of Crown Heights, a neighborhood with significant West Indian and African American populations. One African American interviewee, identified as “Mrs. Johnson” (a pseudonym), recounted her experience in the 1960s: “When I tried to rent an apartment on Eastern Parkway, the landlord, a Jamaican man, told me he only rented to ‘his people’—folks from the islands. I was born in Georgia, raised in Brooklyn, but that didn’t matter. He said he trusted West Indians to pay rent on time.”
The Hartford Migration Project (EPOCH, University of Connecticut)**: Although focused on Hartford, this project includes oral histories from West Indian and African American migrants, some of whom later moved to NYC. A 1980s interview with an African American woman, “Eleanor,” described her experience in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant: “The West Indian landlords on my block would rent to their own before anyone else. They’d say it’s about trust, but it felt like they looked down on us [African Americans]. I had a good job, but I was passed over for apartments because I wasn’t from Jamaica or Barbados.” Eleanor’s narrative points to a pattern of preferential treatment, though she acknowledges the broader context of housing scarcity.
A 1962 Amsterdam News article titled “Caribbean Landlords Under Fire” describes African American tenants in Harlem accusing West Indian property owners of favoring Caribbean renters and charging higher rents to non-Caribbean Blacks. The article quotes an anonymous tenant: “They think we’re lazy or won’t pay. It’s not fair when we’re all struggling.”
