The racial differential
published: Friday | March 7, 2003
THE EDITOR, Sir:
ONE OF the joys of growing up in Jamaica, particularly in Kingston, was the very cosmopolitan nature of the place. Jamaica was never all plain-vanilla, or all chocolate; neither only forest green nor only sky blue. Instead, our cultural, social, intellectual and gastronomic lives were enriched by the wonderful variety of peoples who came to be called Jamaicans.
As children, we were the richer for being able to intermingle, play and associate with schoolmates and friends who were of different racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds. We played with the sons and daughters of the Chinese grocer, the Indian merchant, the Syrian businessman... and with the children of whoever else happened to have washed up on our shores! We did what kids the world over do: we played, we laughed, we fought, we cried and we had fun.
What was true of the children, was true to a lesser but very significant extent of their parents: Despite undeniable areas of racism in our past, Jamaica has been a beacon to the world of racial and ethnic tolerance. We proudly held our island as a shining example to the world of the fact that people of different races and origins could live with each other in peace, harmony and mutual respect. At Independence, we proudly adopted our national motto "Out of Many, One People".
Much has changed in Jamaica over the last fifty years, and undoubtedly, not all of those changes have been for the better. One particularly worrisome change, that does not augur well for the future, is the emergence of articles in the nation's press which, while espousing and affirming racial pride, have the potential to be racially dividing and polarising. Of particular note is one recent article that affirms that black Jamaicans no longer have to be deferential to their brown or white counterparts. Has there ever really been such a thing as a deferential Jamaican?
We all know that some Jamaicans are descended from the black peoples of Africa, while many, if not most, are descended from the brown. Other Jamaicans are brown as a result of intermarriage. Can Jamaica now afford the luxury of tensions and/or conflict between those two groups? Who will win, if fires of tensions and resentment between black and brown Jamaicans are ignited and left to smoulder? Will it be the Black Jamaican... the Brown Jamaican... or will both sides lose?
