Where You Live vs. What You Seek: Lens 2 of Caribbean Diaspora Experience Model (CDEM)

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What if access to culture isn’t the same as connection? We dive into lens two of the Caribbean Diaspora Experience model (CDEM) and map how place and personal drive intersect to shape identity; whether you’re surrounded by patty shops and dancehall flyers in Brooklyn or piecing together community in a low-density city in middle of America.

I share a grounded look at density, from high to low and how each environment changes the kind of effort it takes to stay rooted. You’ll hear the difference between ambient culture and intentional culture, why businesses become community anchors, and how motivation shifts across life phases: leaving home, starting a family, chasing opportunity, or confronting moments that make you cling tighter to who you are. We explore the four density motivation quadrants, real stories that span Brooklyn to Wisconsin and even a Paris–Iowa thread, and the inventive ways people adapt. 

The big takeaway is simple and strong: your environment influences your cultural connection, but your intention determines it. That mindset changes how we see one another across the diaspora and how we show up where we live and moving from passive consumption to active stewardship. If you’ve ever wondered whether living far from a cultural center means losing yourself, this conversation offers a roadmap for staying rooted and making roots wherever you are.

If this resonates, share it with a friend, subscribe for the next lens on cultural anchors, and leave a review so others can find the show. Then tell us: where do you land on the density–motivation spectrum?

Missed previous episodes covering CDEM? You can catch up here.

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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:03):
Hello, everyone.
Welcome to another episode ofCarry On Friends, the Caribbean
American Experience.
In this episode, I will betalking about lens two of the
Caribbean Diaspora Experiencemodel, otherwise known as CDEM.
So if this is your first timelistening to this podcast, or

(00:25):
you're just jumping back in, youare catching up, and you may not
have gone back to otherepisodes.
CDEM is a model that I created,and it is a simple way for us to
better understand how Caribbeancultural identity forms,
evolves, and expresses itselfoutside the region in diaspora

(00:45):
communities.
It's grounded in real lifeexperiences, mine, my family's
experiences, my friends, mycommunities, and stories shared
on the podcast.
It offers a simple, relatableway to explore the complexity of
identity outside the Caribbeanregion.

(01:06):
Now, CDEM breaks down a complextopic into six relatable
real-world lenses.
Again, I just want to say it'snot theory, it's a lived
experience model built fromyears of observation,
conversation, and communityinsight.
The model doesn't tell you whoyou should be, it just helps you
to see who you are, where you'vebeen, and how your identity has

(01:28):
grown across time, places, andrelationship, and also how it's
shifting.
So with the sixth lens, lens oneis where you start, shapes the
journey.
And there are six startingpoints identified in the model.
There's also a sublens, what washappening when you started,
which plays a role in thestarting points.

(01:50):
Lens two, which we'll bediscussing a little bit later,
where you live plus what youseek equals how you connect.
Lens three, cultural anchorskeep us rooted.
Lens four, your identity willshift.
That's the point.
And here we also have anothersublens.
How you show your identity alsochanges.

(02:14):
Lens five, cultural identityinfluences how we show up at
work.
And lens six, you're not eitheror, you're both and.
So that was a really quickhigh-level recap.
And I will link to the priorepisodes related to CDEM, which
is an overview episode and adeep dive into lens one.

(02:38):
So today we're doing a deep diveinto lens two, where you live
plus what you seek equals howyou connect.
Because location isn't the endall to all when it comes to
cultural connection.
Instead, your geographiclocation and your personal
motivation, they work togetherto shape how deeply you engage

(03:02):
in Caribbean culture.
And in my experience, theresults might surprise you.
Most people know throughlistening to the podcast that I
moved from Jamaica to Brooklyn.
So I m left Jamaica with mymother and brothers.
And then after a couple ofyears, my mother and brothers
and I, we left Brooklyn and wemoved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

(03:26):
My uncle was already there.
I had cousins already there.
And a few members of thecommunity that I grew up in were
already in Milwaukee.
And so every time I tell peopleI used to live in Milwaukee,
they're like, Milwaukee.
And I said, yes, there was athriving Jamaican community
there.
And people would always besurprised.

(03:48):
Now, I'm not saying Milwaukee isBrooklyn.
However, from living in bothplaces, I have very interesting
observations.
In addition, while living inMilwaukee, I went to college and
met someone who left Jamaica andwent directly to Milwaukee,

(04:10):
which for me, coming fromBrooklyn at the time, I was
like, huh, how did you end uphere?
My uncles had left from otherparts of the U.S.
and ended in Milwaukee.
They didn't get there directly.
So him and his family leavingfrom Jamaica to Milwaukee
directly was also veryinteresting.

(04:32):
So in this lens, I explore thedifferent aspects of geography
and motivation.
So if you live in high-densitylocations like Brooklyn, right?
So I've talked about in Brooklynin the 90s, Caribbean culture
was everywhere, dance hallculture.
There was just a naturalimmersion.

(04:55):
But high density areas providewhat I call ambient cultural
connection.
You don't have to try hard.
It's just everywhere.
Almost every neighborhood youwalk in Brooklyn, there's a
Caribbean something.
There's a Jamaican something.
There's Caribbean cultureeverywhere.
So because of that, it'sambient.

(05:16):
It's always around.
You don't have to really lookfor it.
Like businesses, communityevents, you know, are readily
available in addition to, ofcourse, Caribbean restaurants or
clubs or parties, right?
And it creates a cultural bubblewhere Caribbean identity and
culture feels very normal.

(05:37):
It's almost as if you're stillhome, with the exception,
there's no sun, there's nobeach, right?
So that's an example of a highdensity location.
Medium density locations, theyhave some Caribbean businesses
and cultural events.
Um it requires active seeking ofcultural connections and

(06:02):
cultural maintenance reallyrequires a conscious effort.
What would I say is a mediumdensity location?
I have to think about that as anexample.
Low density locations, you know,they have minimal Caribbean
population with little visiblepresence.

(06:27):
Come to think of it, today todayI would consider Milwaukee a
medium density location becauseof what I've witnessed.
But when I moved there in the90s, it was a low density
location.
And so there's a very smallCaribbean population with

(06:49):
visible presence.
As a matter of fact, I can'teven say Caribbean, it was
Jamaican.
There was intentional creationof cultural spaces and
businesses.
And um cultural maintenancedemands significant personal
initiative to remain connectedto culture.

(07:09):
And I'll give examples of that.
But for him to have thoseJamaican products to sell to us,
he had to drive to Chicago tobuy them and then bring them

(07:36):
back to Milwaukee and resellthem to the Jamaican community
there.
Now, it's a convenience becausenot all of us are going to drive
to Chicago.
If you know anything aboutChicago, the parking there is
almost like paying a secondmortgage.
So no one wants to drive toChicago if they don't have to.
So the convenience of him doingthat, bringing it back, is a

(07:58):
convenience to the Jamaicansthat were in Milwaukee at the
time.
In addition, we had to getreally creative about how we use
products leveraging othercultures around the city.
Motivation factors.
What drives cultural connection?

(08:20):
Cultural connection is driven bywhether you feel your culture is
at risk of being lost, yourfamily expectation, the stage of
life where you are and yourcurrent needs, your connection
to the homeland and, you know,whatever memories you're
connecting to, and maybeexperiences of feeling different

(08:43):
or discriminated against.
Now, your personal motivationwill evolve.
Your motivation to connect willchange across your different
life stages.
And, you know, for me, movingfrom Brooklyn where consumption
of Caribbean culture waspassive, I didn't have to try.

(09:04):
I was in a high school wherethere was Caribbean teachers.
When we had parties, it wasgonna be a Caribbean DJ.
It was just everything to moreintentional in Milwaukee.
Sometimes you can find thatbecause people live in medium or

(09:25):
low density areas where there'snot a lot of Caribbean culture
the way it is in, say, Brooklyn,you will find that they have
really strong connections toculture.
And it's because they've had towork extra hard to build, to
find.
And so they try really hard tomaintain that connection to

(09:46):
culture.
When culture requires effort,people become more intentional
about what they preserve becauseit's just not easily accessible.
So whatever they get access to,they maintain it.
It's almost like a routine.
So living in high-density areaslike Brooklyn, the ease of it

(10:10):
can sometimes lead to taking thecultural connection for granted.
And I didn't realize this untilI left and went to Wisconsin.
In this context, Caribbeanbusinesses become cultural
anchors, which is different fromnatural cultural anchors, right?

(10:32):
Like food and stuff.
So Caribbean businesses becomecultural anchors in these medium
or low density areas.
And that's why anywhere in theworld you can find a Jamaican,
whether it's a Jamaicanrestaurant or something.
And that Jamaican restaurants orbusiness is not only about

(10:52):
commerce and businessopportunity, it's a way to
maintain and hold on to culturein low density areas, especially
when you are very far away.
So there Jamaican business isall the way in Europe.
The tickets from Europe toJamaica are not cheap, right?

(11:12):
So you have to find ways tomaintain a connection to the
culture because it's not likeour friends in Florida who can
pick up and just fly to Jamaicaor the Caribbean quick, quick,
right?
I also want to call to mindSahia Hobb's story.

(11:32):
She was on the podcast a fewepisodes ago.
Sahia is now based in Paris, butin her telling of the story, her
parents left Jamaica for Iowa,the Midwest.
And that is not a frequentmigration pattern.
As I mentioned, my collegefriend, his family left Jamaica

(11:54):
directly for Milwaukee.
And despite being born in Iowa,diaspora born in a low density
area, she maintained strongcultural connections.
Her mother had a strategy, whichwas basically adapting culture
to whatever was available.
She was part of the churchcommunity and they would go hunt

(12:16):
and hunt for pheasants.
Pheasant is a big bird.
And she would curry thepheasant.
And she told the story that theywere like, hmm, when they tasted
the curry pheasant, again, shewas marrying curry, a part of
our culture, with the pheasant.
I asked her how her mother gotcurry and what her mother did

(12:38):
back then, which now they'rebusinesses that do that.
They have family in New York.
And so she would just getpackages of stuff and get sent
to her.
And so that's how she had hersupply.
And to be honest, I do that formy mom.
When my mom comes here, shewants to get a whole bunch of
other stuff.
Even though she gets it overthere, some things over there,

(13:00):
she wants to come here to NewYork and get it.
And there's certain things, ifyou know, someone's coming from
Jamaica, they want it.
It's just different.
Um their attachment to gettingstuff and where it's coming
from.
And, you know, Sahia's story isa perfect example of even if you

(13:21):
are born in a low density area,her parents really tried hard to
make sure they're connected toculture.
And it's really about how youwant to connect and maintain
connection.
So what I did in this lens isyou have a high density and high

(13:41):
motivation.
So you have a deep connection toculture and you are very engaged
in cultural activities.
Then you have high density andlow motivation, which is
passive.
It's it's ambient.
You engage if you want toengage, because it's around.
You don't have to work hard forit, right?
So it's surface levelparticipation.

(14:02):
You're just going about life,you know, care, you know, about
how much you connect because,again, it's just easily
accessible.
And in your mind, you're neverworried about disconnecting
because, you know, there's somany Jamaican and Caribbean
restaurants you can pick from.
It's like close your eyes, spinaround, and wherever your finger

(14:22):
point, that's the store you'regoing into.
You have low density and highmotivation, and this is the
intentional cultural connection,like Sahia and her parents, and
even my uncles in Milwaukee.
And then you have low densityand you have low motivation.

(14:42):
And I've had my friends tell mestories about people they've
met, and, you know, they theywent to places where there
weren't a lot of Jamaicans, wentto low density areas, and there
wasn't really a motivation toremain connected to culture for
whatever the reason is.
So there's culturaldisconnection and a potential

(15:03):
loss of that culturalconnection.
As I mentioned in lens one,there's a starting point that is
diaspora-born and disconnectedto culture, right?
And so it is not my job, yourjob, to judge why people
disconnect from culture.
There, there just could be somany scenarios.

(15:26):
It is our job to understand thatthere are various circumstances
under which people findthemselves disconnected.
Geography, as I'm outlined here,plays a significant role in
disconnection.
Geography plus time of migrationcan compound the disconnection.

(15:46):
So if you think back to theearly 80s and even earlier,
people moving to low densityparts of the US might experience
disconnection, or if they don'texperience it, the children born
to them might experiencedisconnection.
So lens two helps us tounderstand how geography

(16:10):
contributes to this culturalmaintenance or loss.
Some strategies to apply is ifyou're in a high density area,
like I was speaking to acoworker, and in a way, she
acknowledged that she was inthat ambient phase of connecting

(16:30):
to culture because she didn'thave to try.
It's just around.
And so if you're in a highdensity area, it's thinking of
how you can move beyond passiveconsumption to active engagement
in culture.
It could mean do you supportlocal cultural organizations
when they have events?

(16:51):
It could be a variety of thingsbased on the location, the city,
because Brooklyn has verydifferent things from cities in
Florida, you know, FortLauderdale, Miami, you know,
different cities have differentthings.
If you're in low density areas,seek out others, create a

(17:13):
community.
And again, it's usuallycongregating at a business that
becomes an anchor.
The business usually starts asthe hub that begins to attract
different Caribbean peoplebecause all of a sudden someone
says, hey, this new restaurant,and people start to go.

(17:34):
And that is where you can beginto create connection.
Again, as I said before, it'sit's what personally motivates
you.
And at the time when I lived inBrooklyn, it was just like a
thing.
It was a no-brainer.
Going to Milwaukee waseye-opening for me because I had

(17:57):
to work hard.
And I think about as I'm, youknow, recording this, I think
about how much harder my unclesand the guy who set up that
convenience store had to work toget to that place because I came
in as the generation after them,after they've already
established this community, youknow, like in Milwaukee, there

(18:19):
was a sound system that came outof Milwaukee.
I believe it was called Katarak.
And I mean, they were popular atone point.
So they were like popular,clash, and everything.
So here we are, Milwaukee,Wisconsin.
There is a sound system, thereare concerts, there is events,

(18:39):
they they have done many things.
They have clubs, they they tryto bring different people to
come there.
So again, they did a lot of workto get to where it is in 2025
and beyond.
It has grown tremendously.
It went from no Caribbean, noJamaican restaurant to a bunch

(19:01):
of Jamaican restaurants, right?
Um, and so many places to getJamaican cuisine.
Whereas when I was there, thatwasn't really the case.
So as we wrap up, lens two iswhere you live plus what you
seek equals how you connect.
And this lens examines how yourlocation and personal drive to

(19:24):
connect or disconnect fromculture influences your access
and engagement to Caribbeanculture.
Me living in both locations,Brooklyn and Milwaukee, taught
me the difference between accessand connection.
Access does not equalconnection.

(19:44):
And it made me realize thatcultural maintenance and
connection is often aboutintention more than location.
And this understanding shapeshow I approach cultural
connections now.
So maybe when I was younger, Iwould say, oh, you don't live in

(20:05):
Brooklyn.
I mean, yes, you know, living inBrooklyn and being Jamaican or
Caribbean is one thing, but Idon't assume that because
someone now lives in Iowa orMinnesota, where I know
Jamaicans are, or in Alabama, Idon't make the assumption that
they're not as connected toculture because they could be

(20:26):
even more connected to culturethan I am because they are doing
all the things to hold on to theconnection.
So where do you live on thegeographic density spectrum?
Are you in a high density or areyou in a low density?
How motivated are you tomaintain cultural connection and

(20:47):
what drives that motivation?
What's one way you could be moreintentional about cultural
connection in your currentenvironment?
Please let me know.
Reach out on social media.
And I just want you to rememberas we close that your
environment influences yourcultural connection, but your

(21:08):
intention determines it.
So whether you're in the heartof Caribbean Brooklyn or in the
middle of rural America, yourcultural identity can thrive.
It might just look verydifferent.
In the next episode, I'll coverlens three cultural anchors keep
us rooted.

(21:29):
Thank you for listening to thisepisode.
And until next time, walk good.