East of Flatbush, North of Love: An Ethnography of Home

by Danielle Brown

East of Flatbush, North of Love: An Ethnography of Home is an ethnographic memoir that examines life growing up in the West Indian enclave of East Flatbush, Brooklyn. Much of the book centers around music, and it pays homage to a borough that is quickly changing under the specter of gentrification. Author and former Syracuse University professor Danielle Brown, Ph.D., uses music to teach the reader about life in this immigrant community, as well as in her parents' native Trinidad. Recalling the songs of her youth, especially the ones that her mother would sing to her, Brown employs music—from calypso to hip hop—as an educational tool to teach history and to illuminate how the legacy of colonialism and imperialism continues to impact people of color today.

198 pages, ebook

Published December 30, 2015

About the author

Librarian Note: There are several authors in the GoodReads database with this name. Those below have multiple books listed on GoodReads.


Danielle Brown (2 spaces): Children’s books author with the series Josie Dreamz
Danielle Brown (3 spaces): Paralympian who writes inspirations book
Danielle Brown (4 spaces): Author who writes thrillers with her sister Amber Brown
Danielle Brown (5 spaces): cookbooks
Danielle Brown (6 spaces): poetry

Reviews

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

fascinated by an ethnography featuring music- adds so much to the texture of the book and understanding of the topic.

[Mark Peters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please come read this along with me this summer (Trinity Christian College staff/faculty) or fall (in my two Thinking & Writing courses).

And we'll get to talk with Dr. Brown about it, too, in the fall semester!!

[Tesha Elliott · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the best read of 2016. I love books that I can relate too. As a Trinidadian immigrant who on end lived in Brooklyn I loved this. What really hit me was the mention of steelpan and calypso and how it was no appreciated until America appreciated it. Pan was born in a community that has been ignored and continues to be ignored even today. That is so sad. We need to do better. I hope I get to meet this author just to tell her how good this book has been to me.