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The Caribbean, a vacationer’s dream destination, is undoubtedly beautiful. 

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The Caribbean, a vacationer’s dream destination, is undoubtedly beautiful. 

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The people, in all the ethnic variations, are just as beautiful. Though the history is somewhat difficult to envision. Imagining calm seas bringing boats with shackled Africans and the green plains packed with cane, Black slaves and White men with whips is nearly impossible. Today, slavery no longer exists. The contemporary society of the Caribbean has evolved to host more subtle forms of oppression within communities. The Black Lives Matter movement in the United States of America is an organization which seeks freedom, liberation and justice for Black lives, globally. On July 13, 2013, this movement was founded by Alicia Garza, Opal Tometi and Patrisse Cullors to eradicate white supremacy and prevent violence against Black communities. The Black Lives Matter movement is relevant to past and present Caribbean society. The relevance is observed in the contemporary society through systemic and structural racism in educational institutions, police brutality, colourism and identity issues and finally, internalized racism due to Eurocentric values.

“We are working for a world where Black lives are no longer systematically targeted for demise” (“BlackLivesMatter.com”).

The murder of Trayvon Martin in April 2012, and the acquittal of his murderer George Zimmerman a year later resulted in a collective outrage which fueled the formation of this movement. Inspiration from organizations such as the Dream Defenders, who protested the acquittal occupied the Florida State Capitol for “30 nights and 31 days” (“DreamDefenders.org”).

“We see ourselves as part of the global Black family” (“BlackLivesMatter.com”)

ALL BLACK LIVES MATTER. The movement includes all black lives, regardless of the age, gender identity or expression, sexual identity, nationality, economic status, ability or disability, immigration status or location of that person. The dismantlement of cisgender privilege, sexism and misogyny is also enacted by this movement. Black Lives Matter deviates from heteronormative thinking and aims to be family friendly and accepting to family types that are not the typical Western nuclear family (“BlackLivesMatter.com”)

Caribbean Chattel Slavery led to issues of identity, racism, colourism and classism within Caribbean society. The type of slavery is where “one person has absolute power over the life, fortune and liberty of another” (Styer 2). Slaves were treated as property and were below the bottom rung of the social ladder. The slaves had no rights and were not allowed to marry, and the children inherited the status of being a slave. “In Trinidad and Tobago as everywhere else, corporal punishment (usually flogging) was a routine aspect of plantation discipline” (Brereton 3). The enslaved, mainly the women were also sexually assaulted by the plantation owners, which in some cases resulted in “mixed” children, or “mulattos”. The “mulattos” were given jobs inside of the houses and were thought to be a higher class than the regular slaves, which brought about the issue of colourism and classism.

Brereton also notes that under the conditions of chattel slavery, “black on black” violence was also encouraged in the form of fighting, wife beating and corporal punishment of children (5). In the contemporary Caribbean society, violence in predominantly Black communities, in the form of fighting and gang activity continues to be an issue in the Caribbean. “Where there were plantation overseers there are now police officers” (Beckles). Police brutality against Black persons, such as the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020, continues to affect Black communities today. The use of excessive force by the police, such as with the murder of the three men by the police in Morvant, Trinidad.

The Black Lives Matter movement is relevant with respect to chattel slavery because in this kind of slavery, Black persons were condemned to a life of violence and extortion where they were not allowed to express their cultures and traditions, while being assaulted and divided into social classes based on the shade of brown of their skin. The movement is dedicated to preventing violence and police brutality within Black communities and uniting under the fact that all black lives matter, regardless of the shade of one’s skin.

Systemic and structural racism in educational institutions existed both colonially and in the contemporary society of the Caribbean. Historically, the enslaved were only given access to the necessary education needed to work on plantations. Following emancipation, the education of Africans was carried out by the church. Eurocentric education, such as Shakespeare, and religion was taught. The White class went to England to study, mulattos were taught in local secondary schools. Most Black children only attended school up to the elementary level as school was not required. Black students were often bullied by the white teachers and their mulatto peers (Charles 159). The examinations taken were created in England.

Contemporary education saw prestige secondary schools maintaining the status. However, after independence, the curriculum was still foreign. Examinations were set in Jamaica, but employers did not consider it to be as relevant as the European exams. Foreign education was better in quality than local education. Privileged children, either from economic status or skin tone, attended the prestige schools while the rest attended random government schools (Charles 159). Systemic racism was seen by certain African hairstyles being banned. “The Fourth Form student, Clivia Jones, claimed that on Friday, Sister Petronella Joseph, principal of Corpus Christi College, Diego Martin, advised her she should take the braids out of her hair by yesterday or she would not be able to come back to the school” (Campbell).

Black Lives Matter advocates for equality regardless of economic and social standings. The movement does not specifically pertain to educational institutions in the Caribbean, as the education system in the United States of America is different from that in the Caribbean. However, the movement is relevant to the fight against systemic and structural racism embedded within a  society or institution.

“Nothing too black nuh good” (Charles 153).

Internalized racism of the enslaved Africans was a consequence of  Eurocentric values and standards of the plantation society. Eurocentrism is the interpretation and judgement of the world’s many cultures through a European, or Anglo-American perspective.  In terms of beauty standards, historically in the Caribbean, European features such as blue eyes, blonde hair and light skin were more desirable than African features. Many Afro- Caribbean women straighten their hair and “shortly after gaining independence from Britain in 1962, a young black Jamaican woman tore up a picture of herself because she appeared to black in the picture (Charles 153). Today, Eurocentric beauty standards are prominent on social media and the internet in general. Maloney concluded that there is always a desire “to belong” in people and that social media takes advantage of this desire. Through internalized racism, women are sold the idea of a Eurocentric standard of beauty (4).

The Black Lives Matter movement is relevant to the problem of internalized racism in the Caribbean historically and contemporarily because of the aim to eradicate the idea of white supremacy amongst Black persons. Black persons can be empowered by this movement to stand together and be comfortable and proud of their bodies, without the need to conform to a European beauty standard. The movement allows Black persons to see themselves as equals to their European counterparts.

On the contrary, the extent to which the Black Lives Matter movement is relevant to the Caribbean can be questioned. The movement advocates for Black lives. However, the Caribbean contains many different ethnic groups who negatively impacted by white supremacy. In Trinidad, Hindus and Muslims founded their own schools because Catholic schools refused the students due to their religion. Other ethnic groups such as the Chinese, Indians and Syrians were also brought to work on plantations. One can argue about the genocide of the native Americans when Christopher Columbus came. Thus, in terms of the Caribbean, instead of saying “Black Lives Matter” one can say, “All Caribbean Lives Matter… against white supremacy”.

All lives do matter and this movement is not disputing that fact. Instead, it is a matter of equality, justice and equity. Put simply, if on an entire street filled with houses, one caught fire. It would not be necessary to pour water an ALL the houses, but only on the one that caught fire. This does not mean the rest of houses were less important but did not require water as there was no fire. This is equity. Giving what is needed. Chattel slavery and the racism that resulted from chattel slavery inhibited the identity and growth of African people in a more significant way. The cultural identity of the enslaved were taken from them and replaced with mental and physical abuse and violence. The oppression of African heritage and pride is something that must be dismantled as it still exists in the contemporary societies of the world. Black Lives Matter is about fighting against oppression for those who need it.

The Black Lives Matter movement is relevant to Caribbean history and the current reality and will continue to be as long as any remnants or consequences of slavery remains in the societal structures of the world. The influence of Eurocentric values on Afro-Caribbean women and men is a result of unconscious, internalized racism. Enslavement of Africans prevented the development of African culture withing the Caribbean and catalysed many contemporary problems, such as colourism, classism and systemic and structural racism. Systemic racism led to the discrimination of persons with darker skin or lower economic standings and affected access and comfort at educational institutions within the Caribbean. Black Lives matter movement is relevant to the Caribbean as plantation societies in both America and the Caribbean left behind the same lasting effects on society.