Or what goes on abroad stays abroad.
Well... not always.
1st generation migrants did not leave behind their vales, cultures, ideas... good and bad.
Black Africans and Caribbean’s, both of which were under the influence of colonialism, direct and indirect, slavery, had a skewed sense of self with regards to Euro-centricity, inferiority and superiority.
Some say they didn’t know they were black until they came here.
I don’t believe them.
I think they did.
I think what they didn’t know was that black could be the problem it seemed to be .. when they got here.
Sure... on arrival many began to see their dreams were in reality just dreams, and perhaps felt they had been fed a lie in the colonial schools in the country of their birth, and with that realisation... some changed, others didn’t.
For those who didn’t, many tried to pass their ideas onto the next generation and quite a few were faced with rebellion.
Life from a new lens for this new generation... was incompatible with the old colonial survival paradigms of the 1st.
But it gets murky for me.
The more I look at the state of the Caribbean or Africa ( away from the all inclusive resorts etc) the more I feel a sense of embarrassment, and bewilderment.
Both regions are hocked up and under imperialistic mechanisms of one kind or another.
Countries like Nigeria seem a mess to me, money is god and king and must be obtained by any means necessary. The Caribbean and Africa.. (and yes India etc but I’ll leave that region be for a mo) have a colour caste system, which places white at the top, brown or Indian in the middle and black at the lower sphere.
How did that come about?
Wake up people.
We all know. So why do we maintain this stuff?
The sales of skin bleaching in these regions or home -made whitening tools make me shudder.
I don't judge these women or men.. no.. it's just a symptom of a deeper cause.
Some just cant afford to be black in the spaces that they live.
I get that. I may not like it, but I get it.
I also get that these are all tools used to maintain divisions among people.
Media propaganda.
If poor blacks in these spaces link their 'poverty' to their skin colour, or shade they'll have little time to look at the governments or beyond.
They'll just hate themselves.
they'll fight among themselves.
However.. there are many things I still don't get.
Some second generation Caribbean’s and Africans here in the UK, have carried over things that quite frankly should have stopped with their parent’s generation. But no. ..the legacy continues.
For women, I often see and hear the body used as any other commodity. It’s one of the tools to get what you want. Marry out of poverty, or sexual mobility, seems a viable option.. I guess for some..it’s the only option
Sex sells, but it’s not called prostitution. Its called being smart.
Has feminism died?.
Did it ever include black women?.. really
That’s not just an issue in Africa or the Caribbean I know.. but it’s where my interest lies mainly so my focus is there.
Maybe.. It’s me who’s conflicted. Maybe my lens is skewed also.
Can you be born in the UK and not be Eurocentric ?
Yes, I think you can.
Society will continue to progress.. it's natural
But some things linger for a long long time.
Interesting post Dawna Lee. I can't look at that picture of Sammy Sosa without feeling queasy.
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