My Name is Tyler Core. My mother and I live in Jamaica. Furthermore, my father is in Brooklyn, New York. Jamaica is an English colony; we face economic hardship and limited rights. We plan to leave for the land of opportunity.

My mother is saving up as much as we can to afford tickets to America. We wish to see my father, and we want better rights, more economic opportunity, and an upward social class. 

We receive letters from my father in Brookyln. He says life is hard and you must work hard for everything as an immigrant. He has a tenement that we can stay in when we save enough to get a ticket to new york. I am excited for the opportunity but very nervous.

 The Trip to New York is long, and the seas are rough. I got seasick multiple times. There isn't much food on the ship, but nevertheless, we arrive and see the landscape for the first time. My mind is flooded with promise, all I've heard about America is free land, endless jobs, and oppurtunty for everyone.

We boarded a steamship called the United Fruit Company ship. These ships would carry goods  and passengers to New York. The loading dock was crowded and bustiling. We faced long waits, and inspections. Everyone was trying to take all their belongings but many people had to leave items. My mother and I took some clothes, the little food we had and our determination.

    When we arrived, we had to go through customs at Ellis Island. This place is huge. I've never seen this many people in one place. I closely follow my mom as we enter the main building. The doctor briefly examined me. Then, a man called my name, and I went to the front desk. The man asked my name and where I'm from. 

    I told him I was from Jamaica, and he then asked for my legal papers and why we were coming there. I handed my papers, explained we were here to meet my father, work, and get better opportunities.

 I was then released and finally able to see my mother again. We then leave and take a ferry to the mainland.  

When we reached land, I was met with feelings of excitement, anxiety, and uncertainty. My Mother and I didn't face a huge language barrier since Jamaica is an English colony. We had a letter with the address to father'sers tenement, so we asked a man for directions. He was a white man in a suit and looked at us with disgust. Though, he ultimately told us how to get there.  

When we arrive, we are overcome with joy, happiness, and a sense of unity. I haven't seen my father in 2 years. He came to America to try and make opportunities for us that we could have never had in Jamaica. He has faced economic hardships here as well. He has struggled to stay afloat as his factory jobbarelyy pays for his food and rent. Nevertheless, we are just happy to be together. Later that next we begin to discuss work.

We agree that we all must work, so that we can save as much money as possible. My parents dream is to be able to send me to school and get educated. Most all African American kids don't go to school and my parents think this is my best chance to be sucssesful. But first, I must find a job to star pulling my own weight. There are many places In the city hiring young immigrants. I went to a retail store owned by a white man. He immediately askes me if Im lost. Instantly fear overcomes me, He then threatens to call the police. I figure a manual labor job is more promising.

I found a factory job a few streets down from our tenement, it is extremely labor intensive and the pay isn't great but its a job. My boss saw me and said " that boy looks strong he'll be a good worker". That was the nicest thing an American has told me since I've been here. 

    The Factory has constant smoke in it making it hard to breath, also most of the machines are unsafe and if you don't pay attention they could seriously harm you. I stay aware at all times and just try to get through the day without making mistakes. If we break equipment money gets taking out of our paycheck every Sunday.

My Mother found a job as a seamstress in the garmet industry part of town. She says many other immigrant girls work there. Back in Jamacia, she would sew up our clothes and for our neighbors. Her boss told her that iff shes was late, she would get money deducted, andif she messeds up her sewing, that's more money deducted. She also works longer hours than I do. My favorite part of the day is dinner time where we all talk about our work experiences. America has its ups and downs.

    We have a ledger to see our expenses, income, and the money that we have saved up. My father had dreams and aspirations to open up a Jamaican restaurant with my mother. We are all sick of the conditions we work in. The bosses pay us bare minimum while taking home boatloads of money. If we could somehow save up enough money to be our own bosses we belive we could live a happier better life. 

    Although our fear is the racism and hate we could and most likely would receive. White restaurant owners don't like having competition with African American people. My father accounted for this first hand as a Black owned restaurant was ransacked and burned to the ground by an angry mom of white men.

    However, their primary focus is sending me to the African Free School, a segregated black only school located in Lower Manhattan. Black kids normally don't have this opportunity is most cities in America but from what I've heard the north has more opputunitys for us. We still have a long way to go before we can follow through with these aspirations but education is my best chance at living a life of sustenance.

While walking to work, I head an interesting man by the name of W.E. D DU Bois speaking to fellow African Americans. He was emphasising the importance of equal rights and higher education for African American people. He also spoke about the gradual progress of African Americans in society. These words moved me more than anything I had ever heard. His ideals were right in line with my thoughts about how our people are treated.

I continued to listen, watching the time so that I was not late for work. He spoke about an organization, the NAACP (Nation Association for the Advancment of Colored Poeple). That he plans to co-found. I knew instantly that this was my calling, and once I started my schooling, I would join. I knew I had to get going and all I could think about while walking to work was the words that this man said and the conviction he had behind them.

    Later than night and the dinner table, we discussed the amount of money wed be able to save .. 3 dollars. My father is getting increasingly mad at his current job, and my mom tries to comfort him, but he's tired of the harassment he gets for being black. I then brought what I heard earlier in the day from Mr Bois, a Harvard-educated man talking about the importance of education for us African Americans.

    My parents loved to hear my enthusiasm when I talked about how our people deserve better and that we can gradually be equal to everyone else in America. I talked about this for the rest of supper. At the end, my mother started to tear up as she exclaimed how proud she was of me. Right there at that moment, they understood how important it was to send me to the African Free School.

I've been at the African Free school for 4 years now. I am turning 18 this year and will now be an adult. I plan to join the NAACP when I finish my schooling. I've fallen in love with English class and writing. In my free time, I write about the conditions that immigrants work in, especially from the African American perspective.  Few students here are activist as belive that we can change the way we are treated. I try at talk to them about how our education can push us forward into society   

    My friend Booker told me about a chapter meeting for the NACCP,  it was taking place on Thursday at the Abyssinian Baptist Church. He told me that they must gain new members and support to stratigize the civil rights efforts. He told me everyone is welcome, and it is a huge community. 

I showed him one of my works that talks about how African Americans need to start their own business, own their own homes, and build up our economics so that we can hire each other and build our community up. This is right at the time of the great migration where our people are moving father north to escape harsh Jim crow laws.