Caribbean Civilization - Portfolio by Jewel Pierre

All it takes is for one single story or idea to start the perfect breeding ground for stereotypes. They usually focus on the negative aspects of a society where Africa is seen as a poor uncivilized, warring ‘country’, when in fact, like others, it has its social ills but a larger than expected population is literate, capable (see image below) and willing to learn. Misinformation, misconceptions and the widespread popularity of Western or American and British novels have a major role to play.

The Re-discovery of Africa is a story quite similar to that of the Caribbean. A foreigner (Christopher Columbus in Trinidad, 1498, John Lok in West Africa, 1561) approaches the land, is unable to explain what he sees as it is different from his norm, and assumes that population is one that needs ‘fixing’ or has not ‘evolved’. Based on the ignorant accounts do these misconceptions fester, as they are put into literature for readers who have not seen for themselves, the truth of the matter.

Another instance is the mentality that ‘outsiders’ have about the Caribbean, that we are just a ‘dot on the map’ or ‘small island people’. This has a rippling effect on how we view ourselves, contributing to our sense of Caribbean identity.

Unit 1 entails what people refer to as ‘pre-history’, where the practices and cultures of a population before a certain era was deemed ‘primitive’. Due to the lack of understanding a specific group of people led to many prejudicial and ignorant terminology including ‘cave men’, assuming that there is no logical explanation for what they are doing.

Chimamanda in her speech spoke about the fact that just because you hear one story about certain place or people, does not mean you should take that information as the whole truth, which should be considered by many.

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