Eric Walrond

In "Harlem," Walrond compares Harlem, "the black capital of the universe", to the "primitive rhythms of the African jungle" (36). How do you think the culture, the styles, the business of "hot stuff", the "Houses of tolerance", and the cabarets of "Rawlins' Paradise" compare, or don't compare, to the African jungle? Is this actually representative of the "primitive" culture that made black culture popular in the 1920's?

The idea of nationality vs. nationlessness is a recurrent theme we will encounter throughout the course. But, as Walrond depicts, the idea of "home" is quite elusive: in "White Man, What Now?" he catalogs the various kinds of prejudices he encounters on his travels within the Caribbean, and in "The Negro in London" he compares the prejudices the black man may encounter abroad; How do the prejudices vary within the West Indies to England (to America, even). How are they similar? And as a follow-up, why is the "Negro artist" viewed differently than the seamen and other black immigrants that settle in England?

This idea of nationlessness can either create a divide or be a unifying force amongst black immigrants (whether in the Caribbean, America, or in Europe), and as exemplified in "Harlem," black culture is culled from a variety of influences, so how do the immigrants from varying backgrounds establish a divided or a unified culture?

And, for good measure (and for the postcolonial lovers), in both "The Negro in London" and "On England",  Walrond mentions how the British power seems to elicit a sense of pride in the mother country and bring about a sense of nationhood in its colonial rule over Barbadoes (amongst other islands), why do the British instill ideas of national pride in the West Indies, yet look upon a black immigrant with "cold indifference" (49). What might be the reason for the Brits to create a national identity in colonizing the West Indies, to declare a loud proclamation of national existence which does not actually exist (52)? Is it simply to make the inhabitants more "English" than "African" as Walrond exclaims in "White Man, What Now?" (47). What risks does it pose for the West Indians to blindly follow the culture of the English as opposed to creating their own sense of culture or connect back to African culture?