Emancipation Still Coming

Emancipation Still Coming is based on an Emancipation lecture  given in 2013 by Dr. Robertine Chaderton at the Wesley Methodist Church in Basseterre, St Kitts. It is being presented in 4 parts. Here is Part 1 of the 4-Part Series…

Introduction

It was Isaac Newton who said, “If I have seen further, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants”.  Every one of us has giants in our lives; people who have supported us or given us ideas, inspired us by how they lived and what they faced and overcame. To see further means to see and seize opportunities or to see ways of being of service and to see how to love those around us.

This afternoon, I wish to acknowledge some of the giants in my life (there have been quite a few), first my parents, the late Thomas Alfred Lee and Eva Dunbar Lee, both outstanding educators in the Leeward Islands, secondly the Methodist minister, the late Rev. Leonard Rock of Barbados, thirdly,  and finally my fellow Antiguan and friend Rev. Dr.  Kortright Davis, an Anglican priest (who is no stranger to St Kitts ) , Professor of Theology at Howard University on whose book, ‘Emancipation Still Comin’ the title of this lecture is coined.     

“Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery

None but ourselves can free our minds Redemption Song by Bob Marley  

OVERVIEW

In this  presentation I will deal with the coming of emancipation to us socially as individuals.

THE HISTORICAL FACTS

The British government passed an Act in Parliament in 1833 to abolish slavery in the British Empire. Therefore, on August 1, 1834, all the slaves in the British Empire, which included the Caribbean became free to some degree. If they were under the age of 6 years, they were free immediately, but if they were over 6 years old, they were apprenticed to their former masters, Apprenticeship was abolished on August 1, 1838. To all intents and purposes therefore, Caribbean people in the English-speaking islands have been emancipated for between a hundred and eighty-four years (184) to a hundred and eighty-eight years (188).   

 EMANCIPATION

I share with you the thesis of  Emancipation as put forward by Rev Dr. Kortright  Davis that “emancipation” is the Caribbean word for  ‘liberation’ , not only because it denotes a major Caribbean event, but also evokes a sense of accountability to the Caribbean forefathers in slavery and to their descendants in freedom. It is a major event, and we rejoice on this date by dancing in the streets and entertaining ourselves with Culturama in Nevis, Carnival in Antigua, Crop Over in Barbados,  and it is the date chosen by Jamaica for their Independence.   But can we really say that we have been fully liberated? From my perspective the answer is that we have not been fully liberated; it is a journey, not a  destination. We are further on the road to liberation than when we started  about 184 years ago, but we have not reached the end. 

Emancipation has come in several ways ; among these  are our progress in education and roles of leadership. There are many outstanding Caribbean persons who head  local,  regional and international organizations, financial institutions and private businesses  because of the  level of qualification and expertise acquired. Before emancipation, they would not have had the chance. Women and girls have also been emancipated since they can get the same education as men and boys and hold the same positions 

However, in other aspects of our lives Emancipation  is still coming. We are still bound by imitation, dependence, alienation and persistent poverty.   

I therefore ask you to reflect with me over the next three months on these issues which show that full  liberation has not taken place and at the end of the presentation I trust that  you will identify what you can do to help emancipation to come St Kitts & Nevis and the diaspora.  

Let us begin with the work to emancipate ourselves.

Imitation

When we look at our mirrors each day, whose reflection do we see? The song “The Man in the Mirror” was made popular by the late Michael Jackson. Why is it that everyone could see his beauty except him? He came to despise his dark skin, his beautiful round nose, full lips and his fabulous Afro that was so much him as a young man. His Afro was the envy of people of my generation. Even when he wanted to have children, he chose mothers so that the children had European hair, straight noses and thin lips. We can only explain it as black self-hatred. This is a phenomenon which permeates our Black culture using bleach by some women and men who want to look white.  Some of us would not go near bleach ; many of us really like ourselves as we are. 

Our people are also dissatisfied with their hair and therefore many women of colour are the proud owners of several wigs. I am not suggesting that everyone should have a low maintenance hairdo like mine, but the cornrow hairstyles are a black tradition which can be attractive as well as allow us to show our creativity.  

The perverse use of the media to set the lifestyle of the Caribbean was once referred to as a “weapon of mass distraction” by the late Prof . Rex Nettleford is seen in the copying of some of the negative habits from the US.  The wearing of pants by many  young men and boys below their bottom known as ‘sagging’ is an imitation   from the American prisons. Many persons who do dress this way may not even be aware of its origin.          

We have lost or are losing the art of conversation as the young people are seen everywhere with their earphones in place and are in total oblivion of what is going on around them. Thus, the oral tradition of passing on stories from one generation to the other or simply keeping each other’s company is slowly dying. 

Most of us work hard for our money and it really is our business how we spend it. However, it is interesting to observe that although the use of artificial hair & wigs generates a lot of money by the Black community, the production and distribution is dominated by another ethnic group. Essence magazine reported that the black hair care industry generated billions in annual sales in 2019 ( $2.51 billion in 2018)  

Dependence 

Immediately after emancipation and perhaps up to independence, Caribbean people were known to be resourceful and willing to achieve many things through self-help. It is ironic that since independence there has been a growing dependency syndrome; it is believed that the government must do this, and the government must provide that.  On the other hand,  our leaders may wish to consider the connection with colonialism when they accept handouts from governments, individuals or organisations.  Dependence is a form of colonialism from which we need to be emancipated. The consequence of dependence is that we cannot determine our own priorities, articulate them fearlessly, make our own decisions and stand by the consequences of those decisions. I remember as a child being advised by my mother that sometimes, when gifts are offered, you must be able to say: “Thanks, but no thanks” 

Economic independence can only come to the Caribbean if we work together as a region. When compared to the rest of the world, the Caribbean is small and when we consider St Kitts and Nevis, it is miniscule. Whenever I attend international conferences and try to explain to my fellow delegates where I live or the region where I come from, it is with some amusement when they say, ‘Show us on the map and I have to say, it is very tiny, you will not see the names of the islands….however when I say, ‘Have you heard of Bob Marley? Or have you heard of Gary Sobers , Vivi Richards,  Kim Collins, Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce or Usain Bolt, their eyes light up and they say, ‘oh yes the Caribbean’. We have a lot to be proud of as Caribbean  people. I would be here all night if I started to list the persons in other fields who have made it on the world stage as the best – political leaders like Dr Eric Williams, Norman Manley, Vere Bird and  Robert Bradshaw who had the vision of the West Indies Federation, our Nobel Laureates:- Sir Arthur Lewis, Derek Walcott and others such as Mia Amor Motley, the first female Prime Minister of Barbados,  Wendy Fitzwilliam of Trinidad, a former Miss World,  Dr Valda Henry, the first female Deputy Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, Professor Eudine Barriteau, Feminist Scholar and recently retired Cave Hill Campus Principal  and the late  Dame Edris Bird, an outstanding Educator in Antigua.  

Effective August 1, 2011, the free movement of nationals of the OECS is supposed to have taken effect, yet some countries have not yet passed the Bill in their Parliaments and only Barbados, Guyana and Belize have signed onto the Caribbean Court of Justice headed by Sir Dennis Byron of St Kitts. There is the insistence that the Privy Council is what is preferred although Britain has indicated quite clearly that dealing with our cases is both costly and time consuming.  

 Rather than work together, support local and regional businesses, there has developed an underground economy is the form of drugs, guns and prostitution.  It is a throwback to feudal society, when women are used as ‘drug mules’ to transport cocaine from South America to the metropoles of North America and Europe. Women are still enslaved to the highest bidder when they see prostitution as the way to go for economic reasons. HIV and Aids continues to be high in the Caribbean as sex work is now acceptable as an income earner. 

The Mighty Sparrow’s calypso, 

 “Children go to school and learn well, 

Otherwise later on in life you will ketch real hell

Without an education in your head

Your whole life will  be pure misery, you’re better off dead………..”

 may need to be played at the beginning of each school term  as a reminder of what is expected and what are the consequences. I note however that what is taught needs to be relevant to our society, but that is a discussion for another time and place, except to say that we have our full share of lawyers and doctors, but a dire shortage in all our islands of good artisans (plumbers, electricians, carpenters, welders, mechanics); ironically this is where we excelled in the post emancipation building boom;  we also need chefs who will be prepared to experiment with local foods to produce exotic dishes for locals and visitors alike.   

Liberation starts at school where parents are prepared to spend their money on books so that their children will learn , rather than spending on expensive name brand ‘sneakers’ to keep up with the Joneses or on topping up  their phones so they can gossip.  

In St Kitts & Nevis, the food import bill in the period 2000-2018  was US $76 million , a significant portion  of which comes from outside the region. There are enough fertile countries in the Caribbean which would enable us to feed ourselves, if it were well coordinated.  Several efforts have been made, but we must work together and stay the course. In addition, our young persons must be introduced to local fruits and vegetables early, so that is their first choice for a celebratory meal rather than indulging in the imported  fast foods which are expensive.

It would be incomplete to end this discourse on dependence without mentioning corruption which exists in all segments of our society . It must be emphasized that by accepting a bribe, you are making  your skill or position extremely cheap, and you can be manipulated; it is the dependence mentality upon which corruption feeds.

To end this section on a positive note, let us consider how  the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted  the economic and social lives of the inhabitants of the world. No other single event has affected the globe like this in the past since the Black Death in the mid-1300. Our progress along the continuum towards Emancipation,  can be evaluated by the way in which the tiny country of St Kitts & Nevis was highlighted by CARPHA for the way in which it was able to manage the   pandemic. The Government of St Kitts and Nevis has received global and regional commendation for its management of the ongoing pandemic, over the past two years,  with its “emphasis on ensuring both lives and livelihoods are protected”. The leadership at the level of the Task Force took an ‘all of society’ approach. The approach was successful, not only because of the leadership, but also through the willingness and resilience of the citizens and  residents.