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This portfolio  reflects my opinion on the intolerance and mistrust that the Caribbean is characterized with today and how the key aspects of Caribbean civilization course units  is  linked to  topics being discussed. The Caribbean is a region that is surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and it is a region that has multiple religions and it is multicultural and very diverse.
This  portfolio  will discuss  the issues faced which  causes the region to have intolerance and mistrust at all levels. It highlights 3 objectives that will  explore the history, society and concepts of identity  based on religion perspectives, colorism and politics

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During  colonial slavery in the Caribbean where African slaves was transported to the Caribbean and taken as slaves. Coloured persons came to play because of miscegenation. Miscegenation is a mixture of races, especially with  sexual intercourse between a white person and a member of another race. In Caribbean  history the coloured persons where seen as superior to the blacks  where they were given more privilege and better living conditions because of the coloured having white fathers,   as the blacks were seen as  merely property. this is futher discussed with the topic social stratification  where there is a upper class( the whites), a middle class( coloured) and  lower class( the enslaved black) . (Veeshalla)

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Together with skin bleaching  other ways where there is mistrust and intolerance is with the education system and the justice system.
The education system partakes in colorism acts as persons of the lighter and wealthier community which are for example Syrians were given more oppurtunities when it comes to  education they had the oppurtunity to go to private schools but when it comes to the blacks there only choice was to attend governmental schools, also because the lighter skin was more of an upper class they were seen as superior and they got more favoritism in schools. This is not  as prevalent in the modern society because  the caribbean is seen as moving towards equality as all skin tones is given oppurtunities and colour is not that much of an issue.
The justice  system is also seen as as part of the prejudice  of colorism because they see most or the crime committed to be of the lower class and not the upper class also in situations where there is a crime against the upper class they do everything in their power to belittle and blame the crime on the lower class black community but if the situation was reversed the issue is ignored.

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The Caribbean today is characterized by grave intolerance and mistrust at all levels. This was explored throughout this board where mistrust and intolerance in terms of religion with gay marriage , uneven treatment of religions and colorism was explored with reference to the Caribbean's history

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Mistrust  and intolerance towards Colorism  in the Caribbean 

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Mistrust  and intolerance towards Colorism  in the Caribbean 

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Examples of ways that there is a mistrust is where in Jamaica persons bleach their skin because in the society today it is still seen that white is better so the by bleaching their skin they meet the Eurocentric Standards. “In Jamaica, because of the historical baggage around ideals of beauty prescribed from the European perspective, shades of brown and shades of black” are not seen as beautiful as lighter shades, said Sonjah Stanley Niaah, a senior lecturer at the University of the West Indies. “It goes back to the days when slaves were sold on the auction block,” she said. “The color of the skin was important.” This shows the mistrust as it can be seen that the" blacker the skin" the worst the treatment was and even when it comes to work opportunities the light skin was favoured. Colourism was also expressed by the Jamaican singer Spice as she discussed the issue of Colorism in a song called “Black Hypocrisy" It can clearly be seen that persons with dark skin was frowned upon and was in-tolerated but bleaching was their way of having better opportunities in  a society that was based on Ethnocentric views. In today's society the issue of colorism is still major problem but black persons are slowly becoming more aprreciative towards their skin tone  and are breaking away from the barrier that history created.

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Picture of acceptance of a couple pushing pass judgement 

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Picture of acceptance of a couple pushing pass judgement 

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Photo of family members

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"In today's society  it is questionable whether there has been a shift from racial structures from the past because race and colour polarity still exist.
In Guyana, as well as Trinidad , there is a severe racial tension between major races that inhibit the society. The tension lies with the political groups where there is a division mostly between the Africans and the East Indians.  In Trinidad there is the PNM which stands for the People's National Movement  and UNC which is the United National Congress. The leaders of these political groups use race because race has political purchase; race works in getting votes. According to Dr Sheila Rampersad  in an article  where she discuss the racial tension between politics she said " Politicians are easy targets; it's easy to say they are the ones mobilising racial responses and inflaming Indian /African tensions. Of course, they are blameworthy, doing and saying too much for too long that aggravates tensions and consolidates stereotypes. This   helps identify the  mistrust towards racial groups which makes you wonder if there is any political parties that does not run on corruption and manipulating the puplic to do what they want. This stems back to colorism where the colour of your skin helps place u in a racial group also know as political parties.

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That Indian/African racism and racialism predate Hilton Sandy, that racial baiting has been ubiquitous in T&T politics, and that it is practised by PNM and UNC are by now undeniable truths. So to swelter inside that cocoa house with repetitive back-and-forth accusations of who said what, when, and who responded then but not now and vice versa is unproductive, unhealthy and, quite frankly, unbright.

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Another aspect of mistrust and intolerance in the Caribbean  is  Social Stratification  in terms of Colorism. Colorism  stemmed from the era of plantation society   dated back in the 17th century  where slavery and the plantation  system was created.

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Religion is defined as a fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a group of people.
The dominated religion as mentioned before is Christianity which was dated back to the slavery and colonialism. Although Christianity was seen as the dominate religion because of slavery other religions came to the Caribbean  which were Islam, Hinduism , and various forms of Christianity ( Voodoo, Spiritual Baptiste  Rastafarian etc). As Christianity was the dominant religion it created mistrust towards the other religions in the Caribbean such as  the mistrust towards the Baptist faith. The baptist faith is a religion developed by the African slaves where they are not fully respected because the ringing of the bells, talking in tongues and the sprinkling is seen as "simi dimi" and the government even banned the ringing of the bells in the baptist churches  which shows the level of mistrust towards the religion also it can be seen that when someone of a different religion sees a baptist on the road they would cross the street to avoid walking in their way as they believe that the Baptist would partake in performing "obeah" towards them. This mistrust is because the Caribbean had a stigma that traditional Christianity is the only religion that should be practice because of the influence of the Europeans and the Spanish where it was the religion the held. It also ties back to the saying anything coming from the white is better so Caribbean persons gravitate towards traditional Christianity. The Caribbean see it as misleading because they don't fully understand the religion and they were not really educated on the aspect. the mistrust is also seen in the article  by Caribbean life which further enhance the point being argued (Caribbean Life)
Another example of mistrust is where a person is very skeptical of eating "parasad" from their Hindu friends as they prey on it. This is mistrust because it shows us that because it is not part of the norm, which is basically not part of the Christian tradition it is not accepted and it creates doubts for people because they are discriminating against Hinduism. In today's society the mistrust towards the Baptist faith and Hinduism and even towards the other religions like Voodoo who experience similar treatment to the Baptist,  to a small extent mistrust is not as prominent as before where there is a little more understanding toward ones religion this is because there have been   the declaration of public holidays for most religions to show that they are moving towards equality between religions and across the Caribbean region they are introducing education on the different religions that makes up the Caribbean which helps give the perspective on the laws of human rights where everyone have a rite of free worship.

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Ringing a bell, talking in tongues, lighting a candle or even sprinkling water to release blessings are still considered "simi dimi" or obeah by followers of other religions. This according to one baptist leader who believes that even after 203 years, the faith still has not gained the full respect it deserves.

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Colourism is a form of racial discrimination based on the shade of an individual's skin tone, typically favoring lighter skin.

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mistrust is having doubts about the honesty or ability of someone
( Cambridge)

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intolerance is unwilling to accept views, beliefs or behaviour that differs from their own
(Oxford)

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Intolerance towards religious perspective (gay marriage) 

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Intolerance towards religious perspective (gay marriage) 

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Religion is an aspect that plays an important role in today's society where it helps determine someone's identity  and it helps characterize the Caribbean's beliefs and culture.
Religion goes back to slavery where it was first brought to the Caribbean by  the Europeans and the slaves who where forced into working on plantations. The dominant religion that was instilled into the slaves was Christianity. From knowledge from Caribbean Civilization, it was discussed that during the period of slavery there was a mixture of different persons of different races that came to the Caribbean which they brought different religions and culture which helps characterize  the reason the Caribbean is such a diverse region. The main religion in this period was Christianity. After slavery they adopted Christianity in different forms.  This led to major  mistrust and intolerance.(Media et al.)
An example of this is gay marriage. To a large extent, the  Caribbean  holds a great detest towards anything that goes against there traditional beliefs and  gay marriage is one. In an article by the Religious News Service (RNS) it help express the view that the society believes that the Caribbean  should not legalize gay marriages because it goes against all religious beliefs not only with the Christians but with all other religions. In the article a Trinidadian citizen said that for years he was beaten and bullied by neighbors, strangers and former work colleagues. because he identified himself as gay. He also said, “Since then I have been living in … gated communities where I can feel safe. But I still feel vulnerable.” this shows that citizens are not please with variations from there traditions because of the history, the Caribbean was seen as a Christian society where all the laws was based on Christian beliefs so for gay marriage the come into society today it was seen as an "abomination. " It was something that  was misleading to the citizens because in the bible it talks about God making Adam and Eve for each other not "Adam and Steve"  as some people say so they are very intolerant towards gays.  The same article by RNS also expressed that the leaders of all traditional religions at all levels  came together to speak against the same sex marriage as they said that "the leaders called on the government to amend the country’s Marriage Act to ensure that only a biological man and a biological woman be allowed to marry. It also called on government not to amend the Equal Opportunity Act to accommodate LGBT people. The act prohibits specific forms of discrimination and doesn’t currently offer protection for gays and lesbians. "
In today's society to a small extent  the views  have chance where they are slowly becoming more tolerant to the LGBT community  while on all levels it is still seen as an issue.

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PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago (RNS) - When he was 18, Kerwyn Jordan came out to his family and close friends, and he's been open about his sexuality for the past 26 years. But it has not been easy. Jordan said that for years he was beaten and bullied by neighbors, strangers and former work colleagues.

"Feelings of it linger on," said Jordan. "Since then I have been living in ... gated communities where I can feel safe. But I still feel vulnerable."

In Trinidad and Tobago, same-sex relations are illegal, a remnant of colonial-era laws outlawing sodomy, and the twin-island Caribbean nation does not legally recognize same-sex marriage or unions. A regional study conducted by Caribbean Development Research Services in 2013 found that about 60 percent supported maintaining laws that outlaw same-sex sexual acts.

But Jordan said he is excited about a new ruling that could pave the way for decriminalizing the homosexuality laws. On April 12, Trinidad and Tobago's high court ruled Sections 13 and 16 of the Sexual Offenses Act "unconstitutional, illegal, null (and) void." The law makes buggery (sodomy) illegal, even if it takes place between two consenting adults, with a maximum 25-year prison sentence.

The country's estimated 35,000 LGBT citizens and advocacy groups celebrated the ruling. As Jordan and others prepare to march in the twin islands' first-ever gay pride parade on July 28, more citizens are openly supporting the eradication of laws that criminalize homosexuality.

But many of the country's religious leaders are not celebrating. In response to the ruling, on June 12 religious leaders representing the 90 percent of Trinidad and Tobago's population that is Christian, Hindu or Muslim held a news conference to ask the government to uphold traditional marriage.

Convened by Port-of-Spain Archbishop Jason Gordon, the leaders called on the government to amend the country's Marriage Act to ensure that only a biological man and a biological woman be allowed to marry. It also called on government not to amend the Equal Opportunity Act to accommodate LGBT people. The act prohibits specific forms of discrimination and doesn't currently offer protection for gays and lesbians.

The leaders represented the Catholic Church, Muslim and Hindu communities as well as Seventh-day Adventists, the country's evangelical council and an umbrella group called the Faith Based Network.

Gordon said the religious leaders joined forces because the "fabric of society was at risk." When the United States legalized same-sex marriage, he said, it "infected" Trinidad and Tobago into believing such unions were permissible.

The government has not responded to the religious leaders' request. So contentious is the issue that the new executive of the Inter-Religious Organization of Trinidad and Tobago, the country's main religious governing body, has put the legality of homosexuality on its agenda for discussion and is expected to make an announcement on it in the near future.

The Alliance for Diversity and Justice, an LGBT coalition, released a statement saying the faith leaders had "lost their way." Others took to social media to chide the leaders for targeting the LGBT community.

Winston Mansingh, president of the Faith Based Network, representing 40 religious bodies and community groups, is unfazed by the backlash.

"Their responses does not change the fact that morally and spiritually our position is an accurate one, our position is a healthy one and one beneficial to mankind," said Mansingh.

He stressed that the religious leaders' aim is not to trample on anyone's rights but to protect the institution of the family. He said the April 12 ruling stirred the faith leaders into action.

"The present-day judicial system seems to be trending in this direction," Mansingh said. "We don't come into your room, we don't know what you're doing in there. Why do you need the court to sanction it?"

Colin Robinson, executive director of the Coalition Advocating for Inclusion of Sexual Orientation, said the April 12 triumph was short-lived. He said he is saddened by the religious leaders' response.

"The state is obligated to protect all citizens from discrimination, including in the Equal Opportunity Act, and that faith leaders should call for that not to happen is heartbreaking," said Robinson.

Mansingh said the Faith Based Network and the other religious leaders have always been champions of equality.

"We empathize and recognize that everyone has rights that are based on (the) declaration of human rights. But we believe strongly that the push for gay rights is a separate kind of rights. There is a very, very strategic, well-thought-out plan to camouflage gay rights within human rights," said Mansingh, a pastor.

Jordan said that while the support from some quarters of society for the LGBT community is appreciated, much more needs to be done.

"The voices that are saying that are too silent, they're not as abrasive," said Jordan. "We have leaders in different categories that are too conservative around the issue. A guy getting put out of his home (because he is gay) - it is all of our burden to bear."

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Trinidad and Tobago's religious leaders call on government to uphold anti-LGBT laws

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PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago (RNS) - When he was 18, Kerwyn Jordan came out to his family and close friends, and he's been open about his sexuality for the past 26 years. But it has not been easy. Jordan said that for years he was beaten and bullied by neighbors, strangers and former work colleagues.