Immigrants from Jamaica keep heritage alive in Jamaica, Queens
Veniece Bolton and her mother, Tamika Edwards, still remember the chill of their first November in Queens.
"That was the first culture shock we had," Bolton said. "My sister got frostbite, and she's like, 'Oh, me wan go back home!'"
The family had left the island of Jamaica to join grandparents in Jamaica, Queens. Winters soon felt warmer within a tight-knit community.
"You can get the Jamaican stuff, the supermarket, the food, and the people," Bolton said.
Now, the pair runs Diamond Laundromat, where they welcome plenty of customers from their native country.
"You run into people every day," Bolton said.
The "Jamaica | Jamaica" exhibit at King Manor Museum
Stories like theirs are now on display just blocks from Jamaica Station at the King Manor Museum. The "Jamaica | Jamaica" exhibit honors Caribbean immigrants who shaped the area.
"Their culture has really influenced the streetscapes, the smells, the sounds, the flavors of the neighborhood," said Kelsey Brow, the museum's executive director.
The exhibit includes artifacts from community trailblazers, including Patricia "Miss Pat" Chin of VP Records.
"I came to New York in 1977 because there was a political unrest in my country, and we settled in Jamaica, Queens because it reminds me of our island of Jamaica," she said.
From Sean Paul to Beenie Man, her family business is credited with bringing reggae, dancehall, and soca to the world.
"People are attracted to Jamaica because of the music," she said.
Historical connection of Jamaica and Jamaica, Queens
Though the Caribbean island and the New York City neighborhood share a name, historians say Jamaica and Jamaica come from different native word origins. In New York, "Jamaica" is derived from the Native American "Yamecah."
"This is Lenni Lenape for 'place of the beaver pelt,'" said Jason Antos, executive director of the Queens Historical Society.
The island's name, on the other hand, comes from the Taíno for "land of wood and water."
Waves of Jamaican immigrants arrived in the U.S. after quota laws were lifted in the 1960s.
Borough President Donovan Richards is one of many Queens leaders with Jamaican roots.
"And people ask me why do I work so hard, because I got Jamaican in my blood. We work like we got nine jobs," Richards said.
Jamaica natives Chef Garfield Clarke and Roy Walters have run Genesis Restaurant for decades, serving oxtail, curry goat, and jerk chicken to people of all backgrounds.
"Jamaican people are very proud," Walters said. "We're not just here for the food. We're not just here for the fashion. We're not just here to work and send money back home. We're here to also invest in the community because the community has been good to us, too."
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