Adichie spoke about reading books based on “white” people with blue eyes which aren’t what people in Nigeria look like. In the Caribbean, growing up, children are also given these books to read. However, Caribbean literature does exist but it takes a backseat to the American books.

            She also spoke about the image of Africa saying that it was of people fighting diseases and poverty. In the case of the Caribbean, the image is a grand tourist destination. Tourists believe that all Caribbean people live beachside, drink from coconuts and dress beach casual all the time. Little do they know that some people live hours away from beaches and some of the beaches aren’t nearly as nice as they are portrayed to be.

            It was also stated that Adichie’s roommate believed that the music in Nigeria was tribal music. This can relate to the Caribbean in that most people outside of the Caribbean believe that Caribbean music is reggae music. However, there are many other genres such as Calypso, Soca and Dancehall.

            In closing, it can be noted that all these “single stories” are mainly based on what the Caribbean is portrayed to be through the media.

            Caribbean Civilisation was a course which exposed me to the different aspects of the Caribbean. The course topics ranged from Caribbean definitions and cultures to religion and family structures to the times of slavery and indentureship. The information in this course was based on events and occurrences thousands of years ago. The lecturers went into great detail to explain how the past events relate to our present-day lives. They explained how many of our traditions today stemmed from the people who migrated to the Caribbean. 

            Not only were the topics being thought new to me but so too was the method of teaching. The information was presented to the students of the University of the West Indies as a whole during online lecturers with lecturers from all over the region. Being able to hear the opinions of students from across the region has changed my previous thoughts on topics being discussed from the course outline.

      Caribbean Civilisation has helped me to understand what our ancestors went through, where they came from, how they handled their difficulties and how our lives can be related to theirs.
       All in all, this course has helped me to understand the Caribbean better and why I should be proud to be from this region. 

            Calypso music originated from Trinidad and Tobago in the early 19^th century. Calypsonians are known for singing about the issues such as politics and crime in their countries making them known.

            Soca or “sokah” music was invented as an improvement of Calypso to represent East Indian culture in the early 1970’s. Soca music spread through the Caribbean the different countries all have their own form of it. Soca music is popular around Carnival. Most songs contain what sounds like dancing instructions which is why soca music is manly played in parties and “fetes.” Some soca artists have begun to sing about love and peace since the Caribbean is losing these traits.

            Both reggae and dancehall originated from Jamaica. Reggae artists use their songs to talk about racism and enslavement of ‘black’ people. They sing about oppression. These artists use their music to express their feelings towards their treatment and labels. Reggae music is an expression of the ‘black’ man in the Caribbean.

            Dancehall, however, is a derogatory form of music used for dancing in clubs(halls) as the name says. Some dancehall however, can be greatly influential to the youths. Songs such as “School” by Vybz Kartel which lyrics say to “study for d test, me no procrastinate,” and “don’t be a donse head” meaning to take your education.

            All these genres relate to the Caribbean people in one way or another, whether it be politically, socially or emotionally. Many singers from foreign countries want their songs to be like Caribbean songs and so they partner with Caribbean artists and make music thereby spreading Caribbean culture in the form of music.

            After the Haitian revolution, Haiti became independent, it was the first ‘black’ republic and as a result had to pay a debt to France. By doing this, Haiti became financially drained which stunted development whereas the Dominican Republic’s development flourished and became sustained.

            The Dominican Republic’s constitution stated that anyone born in the country would have citizenship. However, the constitution changed in 2010 so that only those born on Dominican Republic could gain citizenship. It changed further in 2013 to state that any Haitian immigrant person who already had citizenship would also be striped of it. This led to over 200,000 of Dominican citizens becoming stateless. 

            In order to stay in the Dominican Republic these immigrants would have had to put their names on a registry in which they were given one year to do so. If not, they would have been deported. With this, over 50,000 people were deported. Over 100,00 people resorted to fleeing to Haiti. 

All of this is being done as a form of racism since majority Haiti’s population would have been the descendants of the slaves which were brought during colonization by the French to exploit the country.

The history of Haiti is being repeated in the present day. They are being ridiculed based on their race and it will be a never-ending cycle.