Racism dates back to the time when the Caribbean was still under colonial rule, from the year 1800. Chattel slavery followed, where white people (British plantation owners) would oppress black people (slaves from Africa). To the English, the Africans were not even considered as people with souls and so they could do whatever they wanted to them. This is where the idea of white supremacy came from, where the white people asserted that they were better than the rest. It is easy to see how colorism could arise from these circumstances over time as well. In Trinidad and Tobago, slavery was abolished in 1833 but colonial rule persisted and there are still effects that can be seen in society today.

After chattel slavery, not much was changed really because white people were still ruling. Indentured labourers of all kind were brought in until finally Indian indentureship took hold. This changed the demographic of the Caribbean to now include Englishmen, Africans and Indians as the main groups. The Indians had brown skin that was closer to being white than the Africans and they were also treated better than during slavery so this added to the idea that light skin was better. Sugar cane plantations started failing eventually and indentureship came to an end as well. Caribbean islands began gaining independence from the English and according to the National Library and Information System authority (NALIS)³, Trinidad became independent on August 31^st 1962. This meant that it was no longer a British colony but its population would be forever altered like many other Caribbean countries. 

Due to the history of Caribbean countries, many of the older generations of people in society today still have racial attitudes. It can be seen everywhere, that is how they grew up and how they behave with their children. My own mother for example, she specifically told me not to bring home any black girls, and it is not my mother alone who would discriminate like this. I know many other people who were told similar things by their parents. That generation simply grew up in a different time than children of today where racism not as socially unacceptable as it is now. They were instructed to stay with their own kind and while racism is not publicly tolerated today, that does not mean it does not exist in the public if you understand. 

In schools for example, my brother said that he had a teacher who was of African descent and she only awarded high marks to students who were similarly dark skinned. He, being an Indian like me, did not have dark skin or curly hair and he got low marks, he says the teacher even lost a few of his assignments and this would never happen for any of the African children in his class. When they compared assignments, everyone found that his would be better in every way but still got less marks, all because of the teacher’s preferential treatment to other students of the class. This is just one case, there is one of the opposite spectrum as well where a girl of African descent was not allowed into her school because of her hairstyle. It was a hairstyle that is considered to be normal among negro girls throughout Trinidad but the principal had labelled is as untidy and asked her to change it multiple times. The girl’s parents felt that it was discrimination since her hair was not affecting anyone and the incident found its was onto the news (link to the article is below)⁴. 

This is not the only racial incident to make it onto the news within recent times. Even politicians can make comments that people find to be unacceptable. In September 2018, former prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago Kamal Persad Bissessar referred to the current prime minister (Dr. Keith Rowley) as an Oreo. The former prime minister is Indian while the current is negro and Oreos consist of chocolate cookies which are black and have white cream between them. you can see why the term Oreo would be offensive to some, she basically called him a black man on the outside who behaves like a white man.  I found it quite amusing that the leaders of the country would behave this way but there are many people who were outraged by the comment (the link to the article is below)⁵. 

Racism may be frowned upon but colorism is accepted to an extent even though the concepts are basically the same. The reason for this is probably because the majority of people actually prefer lighter skin because of a variety of factors such as their upbringing being influenced from the time of colonial rule, or because the opinions of their peers were projected onto them over time. Again, my mother is an example of this, where she often says that she needs to lighten up her skin. In the past she would quarrel when I was playing outside and tell me to go back indoors before I get black. I didn’t listen and my skin is more tanned than everyone else in the house but for the past 4 years or so I have barely been outside because I was always studying or just playing videogames and now she would say, “look how he skin getting some color now.” It’s strange how color in her mind is associated with being closer to white, but it just shows that is what she prefers, lighter color skin. 

My cousins were tanned more than me and they used skin lightener cream to make themselves less dark colored. A couple of my friends want to buy some cream to do the same, they don’t like dark skin. Although in their case it might be understandable since it is a tan they got from walking around in university all day, but there are people who were born black and want to be white now. In Jamaica there are people who bleach their skin to the point that they look pale. Cake soap is what they are using, made popular by dancehall music. I don’t normally like dancehall but I listened to the song, “Cake soap by Vybz Kartel,” and I really liked it so I can see how they decided to try the product. In the song Vybz Kartel is using cake soap on his skin so for all the people there who like Vybz Kartel, if they see him using it, they will want to try it and that is where it starts. In a study done on the change in norms to the use of cake soap (Hope, 2011)⁶ concluded that Jamaicans who bleach their skin do it to achieve social mobility because the standard of beauty is defined by European ideals which would include white skin. Some of the bleachers when interviewed stated that they feel good when they use cake soap to look white, or some said they were more beautiful and more attractive to men after bleaching. One said he looks like Michael Jackson after he bleaches and he likes it. Michael Jackson is another case of a black man who bleached and attained a very white skin color, one of the extremes in my opinion, but the fact that Jamaicans are fine with looking like that shows they prefer lighter skin than what they were born with. If white women are more attractive to the men there then that would constitute colorism. This whole process is changing the identity of the bleachers because they are attempting to change their social standing by becoming more popular or successful as they perceive people with white skin to be. This means their social identity is affected as well as their personal identity because they are drastically changing the way that they look. 

The cases of racism in Trinidad would not affect social identity because nobody would use racial discrimination for social mobility as it is not acceptable. Personal identity would actually be influenced in how there are negro girls who flat iron their hair because they think it is better than the curly hair they were born with. There are the arguments that it is easier to deal with but on the other hand they can say that men like straight hair more. 

1.      SCHMID, W. T. (1996), The Definition of Racism. Journal of Applied Philosophy, 13: 31-40. doi:10.1111/j.1468-5930.1996.tb00147.x

2.      https://orbi.uliege.be/bitstream/2268/71196/1/gabrielle_colourism_babelg.pdf

3.      https://www.nalis.gov.tt/Resources/Subject-Guide/Independence-Day

4.      https://newsday.co.tt/2019/09/28/ministry-probes-row-over-st-stephens-schoolgirls-hair/

5.      https://www.guardian.co.tt/news/kamla-slammed-for-calling-pm-an-oreo-6.2.664706.9449d203e4

6.      http://www.jpanafrican.org/docs/vol4no4/HOPE%20Final.pdf