RACE AND RACISM IN TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO:
A COMMENT
Frances Henry
Introduction
L e word "racism" is very loosely
bandied about here in Trinidad and Tobago.
Yet few people, including the many journalists
who write about it, are aware of the many
complex, subtle and sometimes ambiguous
meanings of this term or the many attitudes,
values, norms, and behaviours that it
describes.
In this short presentation, I want to
do four things:
(\) Provide some of the definitions
and meanings of the term 'racism'
as used in the literature of social
science;
(2)
Note the differences in the ways
in which the term is constructed
here in Trinidad as compared to
abroad ;
(3) Briefly describe some of the form s
it takes and
(4) Raise and possibly answer the
question : is there racism in
Trinidad and Tobago and if so,
what forms does it take.
Definitions and Meanings
Racism involves socially constructed
ideas about race. This means that race as a
biological concept is no longer valid . Racial
differences among people are minor and
insignificant. What is still important is how
difference, whether that be physical
differences such as skin colour or religious
or ethnic differences between people and
societies are viewed, perceived or
constructed. Racism and the ideology upon
which it is based organizes, preserves, and
perpetuates the power structures in a society_
It creates and preserves a system of
dominance based on race and IS
communicated and reproduced through
agencies of socialization and cultural
transmission, such as the mass media, schools
and universities, religious doctrines, symbols
and images, art, music and literature. It is
reflected and regenerated in the very language
we read, write, and speak. The construction
of and belief in a racist ideology helps people
to understand the increasingly complex
societies in which they live. Racist
assumptions and beliefs provide a ready
explanation for the stress experienced by
people who live in a country undergoing rapid
social and cultural change. Racism in society
functions to maintain existing power relations
or the status quo and thus helps to maintain
the hegemonic control of the dominant elite
groups over others. In its simplest definition,
racism is a socially constructed belief that
some peoples and their culture are inferior
and that they are to be excluded from full
participation in society.
racial groups live in the same wlture . The
most obvious example occurs in the United
States where both racial groups are
ethnically American yet do not share equally
in the distribution of wealth , power, and
privilege. So the question must be raised, if
ethnic difference rather than racial difference
is the cause of societal tension , does the term
racism apply? Is it not merely a case of ethnic
tension we are dealing with here rather than
racism? I 'II come back to that question.
Differences in Usage Locally and Abroad
Forms of Racism: How Does it Manifest?
Racism, in the way in which it has
traditionally been researched, applies to the
hegemonic control of white Europeans over
so called native or local colonized
populations; it also refers to the same form
of control exercised over people of colour
who live in the diaspora - in basically white
societies. Racism is normally understood as
a BLACK - WHlTE dynamic.
Because it is an exceedingly complex
manifestation of human behaviour, racism
takes many forms. The context within which
it occurs largely determines the form it takes .
In its simplest form, racism has three
components: individual, systemic, and
cultural or ideological. In individual racism,
a further distinction must be made between
an individual's attitudes and her or his
behaviour. An individual might hold a set of
attitudes about Black people-for example,
they are lazy, unmotivated , or slow These
attitudes may remain at the level ofthought,
or they Inay result in a certain form of
behavior, such as "everyday racism", which
includes small acts like not shaking a Black
person's hand or not sitting next to a person
of colour on a bus or "systemic racism" whi ch
involves the denial of opportunity The acting
out or behavioral component of racism is
called di scrimination.
Here in Trinidad , this usage certainly
applied in earlier times during both slavery
and colonial periods; but today, the main
players are not whites and blacks but two
groups of colour: Blac ks of African origin and
Browns of Indian origin. The difference
between these two groups is not so much one
of colour per se, but of ethnicity and culture.
There are dark Indians and fair blacks and
while these skin colour variations ar e
important as internal status differentiators, the
biological or genetic factor of colour does not
distinguish Indo-and A fro- Trinidadians,
(although some groups in this society do
apparently believe in classical 19th century
genetic inferiority between racial groups) . The
dynamic of difference is one of ethnicity and
culture. Race and ethnicity do overlap at
times, particularly in areas where different
Institution al or systemic racism IS
manifested in the policies, practices, and
procedures of various institutions, which may,
directly or indirectly, consciously or
unwittingly, promote, sustain, or entrench
differential advantage or privilege for people
of certain races. An example of institutional
racism is the common practice of "word-ofmouth recruitment", which generally excludes
certain minorities from the process.
The most over-arching form of racism,
cultural racism resides in cultural symbols
and is expressed through language, religion,
and art. "Cultural racism" refers to collective
and mass beliefs about race that are woven
into the fabric of the dominant culture. In a
Eurocentric environment, the use of the word
"black" to denote something negative or evil
(as in "blackmail") is an example of cultural
racism. Cultural racism is sometimes difficult
to isolate because it is deeply embedded in
the society'S value system. It consists of the
tacit network of beliefs and values that
encourage and justify discriminatory
practices.
Cultural racism creates a "we and they"
mentality, that is, one's own racial group is
considered to be better than other groups.
This ubiquitous tendency to view all peoples
and cultures in terms of one's own cultural
standards and values is known as
ethnocentrism and plays a central role in
racism.
Conclusions
The question rai;ed earlier was : does
raci sm apply to Trinidad? Now that we have
discussed some of those meanings, however
briefly, lets apply these ideas to the situation
here in Trinidad.
First: The main point of contention is NOT
biological race and the inferiorit y or
superiority of one biological group over
another - although certain statements of the
Maha Sabha seem to suggest biological
inferiority.
Second: Racism cannot exist without some
notion or conceptualization of difference
between people: the difference in Trinidad
which creates the tension is one of ethnicity/
culture rather than colour.
Third: Evidence of racism in Trinidad:
I.
Individual racism : people have
biased and stereotyped views of
each other
2 . Systemic or institutional racism :
is discrimination based on
ethnicity evident in employment
practices, housing preferences;
social clubs and other institutional arenas? (Apparently yes,
based on Ryan's research and on
the need for an equal opportunity
commission)
3.
Everyday racism: many ethnic
jokes, comments, insults, small
acts of differential treatment
such as preferring one 's own
ethnic group member in service
such as banks, schools, etc
Andfinally and most related to the topic of
today : raci sm in popular culture such as
calypsos is
4.
Cultural racism : which is
embedded in the value system and
expressed in cultural practices
and performances.
Racism In expressive cultural
productions such as in the creation and
performance of calypsos is one of the most
dangerous forms of racism because it reflects
and feeds back into individual racism. It
reinforces negative stereotypes people have
of each other and it operates at the level of
thoughts, ideas and values. It is the form of
racism most difficult to control, eradicate or
change. In fact, the easiest form of racism to
control is systemic or institutional because
behavior in collectivities can be legislatively
managed by the creation of appropriate
mechanisms. The proposed equal opportunity
bill brought forward by the present
government of Trinidad and Tobago attempts
to control this form of racism. It is noteworthy
that the most attention so far has been paid to
its Section 7 which has been both reviled and
ridiculed. Section 7 attempts to prohibit any
offensive public behaviour and it is a feeble
and rather inadequate way of dealing with
cultural racism. Its inclusion in this bill
warrants serious attention, however, because
it identifies the strength of one of the most
virulent forms of racism . So, in answer to the
question posed earlier, unfortunately Trinidad
and Tobagonian society does fit the paradigm
of a society in which racism, although not of
the traditional kind, is found in a variety of
forms .