Following the Northern Star: Caribbean Identities and Education in North American Schools : Caribbean Identities and Education in North American Schools [1 ed.] 9781624176036, 9781624175978

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Copyright © 2013. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved. Following the Northern Star: Caribbean Identities and Education in North American Schools : Caribbean Identities and Education

Copyright © 2013. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved. Following the Northern Star: Caribbean Identities and Education in North American Schools : Caribbean Identities and

EDUCATION IN A COMPETITIVE AND GLOBALIZING WORLD

Copyright © 2013. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

FOLLOWING THE NORTHERN STAR CARIBBEAN IDENTITIES AND EDUCATION IN NORTH AMERICAN SCHOOLS

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Following the Northern Star: Caribbean Identities and Education in North American Schools : Caribbean Identities and

EDUCATION IN A COMPETITIVE AND GLOBALIZING WORLD

FOLLOWING THE NORTHERN STAR

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CARIBBEAN IDENTITIES AND EDUCATION IN NORTH AMERICAN SCHOOLS

GREG WIGGAN AND

JEAN T. WALROND

New York

Following the Northern Star: Caribbean Identities and Education in North American Schools : Caribbean Identities and

Copyright © 2013 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means: electronic, electrostatic, magnetic, tape, mechanical photocopying, recording or otherwise without the written permission of the Publisher. For permission to use material from this book please contact us: Telephone 631-231-7269; Fax 631-231-8175 Web Site: http://www.novapublishers.com

NOTICE TO THE READER

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The Publisher has taken reasonable care in the preparation of this book, but makes no expressed or implied warranty of any kind and assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions. No liability is assumed for incidental or consequential damages in connection with or arising out of information contained in this book. The Publisher shall not be liable for any special, consequential, or exemplary damages resulting, in whole or in part, from the readers’ use of, or reliance upon, this material. Any parts of this book based on government reports are so indicated and copyright is claimed for those parts to the extent applicable to compilations of such works. Independent verification should be sought for any data, advice or recommendations contained in this book. In addition, no responsibility is assumed by the publisher for any injury and/or damage to persons or property arising from any methods, products, instructions, ideas or otherwise contained in this publication. This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered herein. It is sold with the clear understanding that the Publisher is not engaged in rendering legal or any other professional services. If legal or any other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent person should be sought. FROM A DECLARATION OF PARTICIPANTS JOINTLY ADOPTED BY A COMMITTEE OF THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION AND A COMMITTEE OF PUBLISHERS. Additional color graphics may be available in the e-book version of this book.

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Following the Northern Star: Caribbean Identities and Education in North American Schools : Caribbean Identities and

CONTENTS Acknowledgments

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Chapter 1

vii 

Introduction: Social and Historical Context of the Caribbean

1 

Chapter 2

Colonialism, Education and Caribbean Migration

27 

Chapter 3

Education and Cultural Identity

57 

Chapter 4

The Immigrant Experience and Multiculturalism in North America’s Schools

91 

Cultural Context and Investigations of Caribbean Families

115 

Caribbean Identities: Implications for North American Public Schools

155 

Chapter 5 Chapter 6

Poem: Brother Errol and the Examined Life

169 

References

171 

Appendix A

201 

Appendix B

205 

Appendix C

209 

Appendix D

215 

About the Authors

217 

Index

219 

Following the Northern Star: Caribbean Identities and Education in North American Schools : Caribbean Identities and

Copyright © 2013. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved. Following the Northern Star: Caribbean Identities and Education in North American Schools : Caribbean Identities and

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I [Greg Wiggan] wish to thank my very first teacher, Mrs. Lyons, the renowned educator in Sav-la-Mar, Westmoreland, Jamaica, and my last teacher, Dr. Asa Hilliard. I owe my deepest gratitude to these two educators who have had a profound impact on my growth and development. I also wish to thank my mother and father (and Maroon Elder Noel Robinson), who taught me to be firm even when faced by institutional racism and prejudice. And to the ‘Vicker,’ elder ancestor Errol Peynado, and the queen mothers, Mama Scott and Mama “P,” and to the late, Mr. Clinton Scarlett, who was the top librarian in Sav-la-Mar for at least three decades, blessed love. I [Jean Walrond] dedicate this work to the memory of my parents, Horace Eton Walrond and Cosille Walrond, and my brother Keith Michael Earl Walrond. I acknowledge my children Abiona N. P. Roberts and Michelle A. O. W. Nipp and their families.

Following the Northern Star: Caribbean Identities and Education in North American Schools : Caribbean Identities and

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Chapter 1

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INTRODUCTION: SOCIAL AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF THE CARIBBEAN Oh something just now must be happening there! That suddenly and quiveringly here, Amid the city’s noises, I must think Of mangoes leaning to the river’s brink, And dexterous Davie climbing high above, The gold fruits ebon-speckled to remove, And toss them quickly in the tangled mass Of wis-wis twisted round the guinea grass. And Cyril coming through the bramble-track A prize bunch of bananas on his back; And Georgie – none could ever dive like him – Throwing his scanty clothes off for a swim; And schoolboys, from Bridge-tunnel going home, Watching the waters downward dash and foam. This is no daytime dream, there’s something in it, Oh something’s happening there this very minute! [Home Thoughts by Claude McKay]

THE CARIBBEAN: LOCATION, CLIMATE, AND ECONOMIES The Caribbean includes the archipelago of islands that border the Caribbean Sea and the Bahamas. Starting with Cuba at the southern tip of

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Florida of the United States (U.S.), it extends to the twin island nation of Trinidad and Tobago, which is northeastern of Venezuela, South America. Finally, it turns westward to Curacao and Aruba, the area otherwise known as the Greater and Lesser Antilles. The largest islands are Cuba, Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic), Jamaica, Cayman Islands and Puerto Rico, which constitute the Greater Antilles, while the islands from the Virgin Islands to Trinidad and Tobago are known as the Lesser Antilles (Williams, 1994). The Lucayan Archipelago or Turks and Caicos Islands, and Bahamas form the other region that is located in the South Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida. In this book, we expand the definition of the Caribbean to include people from Guyana, South America. Although this area falls outside the geographical region that is traditionally referred to as the Caribbean, the people who live there have social, historical, cultural, political and economic circumstances that are so similar to the rest of the English speaking countries in the region, we have included them in our analysis. In fact, Guyana is the only English speaking country in South America and is located east of Venezuela, north of Brazil and west of Surinam. Geographically, it is located north of the equator, which results in a climate that ranges from hot and humid to mild. The Caribbean has two major seasons, the hot and dry season that extends from January to June, and the wet season that lasts from July to December. Throughout the Caribbean, the northeast trade wind that originates in the Atlantic Ocean, bathes the region during the dry season and provides a cooling effect. During the rainy season, winds can reach speeds of deadly hurricane force, which wreak havoc on the island areas. Historically, the Caribbean islands’ tropical climate fostered economies that featured agriculture, fishing, as well as gold mining (Williams, 1970). However, today the region has evolved into economies that mainly emphasize tourism and entertainment. Exceptions to this are Trinidad and Tobago, whose economy also includes an oil and gas industry, and Jamaica and Guyana, which also produce bauxite.

HISTORY OF THE CARIBBEAN The history of the people of the Caribbean predates Christopher Columbus’ 1492 inaugural entry into the region. Much of the history about the inhabitants of the pre-Columbus “Caribbean” comes from Lovén’s (1935) analysis of Spanish documents, along with his extensive archaeological research in the region. Africans also made voyages to the Caribbean, Central

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3

and South America long before Christopher Columbus, and they created a civilization among the Olmecs and left artifacts, sculptures (busts), and monuments that have been discovered by modern researchers (Van Sertima, 1976). Remnants of the Olmec civilization can still be found in Mexico, as well as throughout Central and South America. Lesley-Gail Atkinson’s work, The Earliest Inhabitants: The Dynamics of the Jamaican Taino, provides some meaningful insights on many of the Tainos who lived in Jamaica. Since Europeans exterminated this group, archaeological findings hold the keys to our understanding of who these people were. Even today, many researchers explore Trinidad and Tobago’s La Brae pitch lake in the southwest region of the island to find artifacts on the Caribs, who lived in the Caribbean before any Europeans came there. Although the Caribs were found throughout the Caribbean, many lived around the La Brae pitch lake in Trinidad, and that area has preserved their artifacts for centuries. From his research, Lovén (1935) concludes that there is no evidence to suggest that people existed in the Caribbean prior to those that Columbus found when he arrived in the region. Fortunately, Columbus’ logbook has survived to give an account of the first European encounter with the people of the Caribbean islands. Columbus’ writing indicates that on Friday, October 12th, 1492, Juan Rodrigo Bermejo, also known as Rodrigo de Triana, was the person who first sighted land, which was the island of Guanahani (San Salvador). Columbus described the people there as being neither Black nor White, but as the color of Canary Islanders. He noted that the inhabitants had a lot of fruits and water, which he used to replenish his dwindling supplies (Cohen, 1969). From the entries in Columbus’ logbook, it was clear that the inhabitants believed in a supernatural being who would someday reveal him/herself and visit them. As a result, the people of Guanahani praised the newcomers and showered them with gifts, thinking that this was possibly a revelation from the deities. Columbus sensing this bit of supernatural confusion and being ever mindful of his mission, took possession of the island in the name of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain, and proceeded to rename it San Salvador (Guanahani). Columbus recalls that his initial benevolence towards the indigenous people stemmed from his desire to enslave them, take their land, and convert them to Christianity (Williams, 1970). Like the people of Guanahani (San Salvador), later the Aztecs made the same blunder with regards to treating European explorers as guests in their country. In 1519, when Hernán Cortés entered Aztec territory, he was welcomed. In true Columbus style etiquette, Cortés pretended to be kind

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towards the Aztecs, even exchanging gifts with them, while eagerly wanting to meet the renowned leader and warrior, Moctezuma. Anticipating a great battle, Cortés prepared himself to use diplomacy at first to get close to Moctezuma so he could capture him and eventually conqueror the Aztec empire. When the two finally met, Moctezuma surrendered the entire empire to the Spanish without a fight. Much like the people Columbus met in San Salvador (Guanahani), Moctezuma gave Cortés all the gold and treasures without any resistance, surrendering everything to Spanish control. There was so much gold and treasures that the Spanish could hardly manage the large cargo, so they were forced to take it in portions. Essentially, Cortés toppled the Aztec empire with less than 500 hundred soldiers, which gave the Spanish a permanent base in Mexico. This is a tragedy that history may never vindicate Moctezuma from, because he never resisted the capture, enslavement, and colonization of his own people and empire. It is possible that Moctezuma thought that Cortés was the epic return of a God, and therefore he felt that he was supposed to be obedient and surrender. This is still a mystery. However, history may never be kind to Moctezuma, who was otherwise a great warrior and Aztec leader who fought fearlessly to consolidate his own empire, but surrendered without resistance to the Spanish. Perhaps there was a secret deal between him and the Spanish, which would have ensured him even greater wealth and power. Well, even if that was the case, he was subsequently captured by Cortés and his soldiers, and later killed by his own Aztec people. Similarly, Spanish explorer, Juan Ponce de Leon, who is credited with leading the expeditions that founded Puerto Rico and Florida, is known for massacring thousands of Caribs, Tainos and other indigenous groups on his travels. Once Ponce de Leon found gold on the island of Borinquen (Puerto Rico), he was given full authority by the Spanish government to colonize, conquer and secure all the gold in the region for Spain. In the case of Columbus (who originally introduced Ponce de Leon to the Caribbean islands), although he found that the people he encountered in San Salvador were culturally different from Europeans of his day, he nevertheless realized that they were familiar with the concept of trade (Cohen, 1969). However, these indigenous people did not place a high value on metal or iron, but they did cherish gold and silver as decorative body adornments. Sensing that the people of San Salvador (Guanahani) did not know the value of gold in Europe, Columbus eagerly collected as much as he could. While he pretended to be friendly with the people he met, he traded them pieces of ornamental glass for gold.

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Generally speaking, the Tainos, Caribs, and Arawaks had never seen nor experienced the kind of devastation and trauma that would be inflicted on them once Europeans entered the Caribbean region. Nevertheless, we make no assumptions that the people who lived in the Caribbean existed in peace and harmony at all times. Groups fought against others and this explained why many wore scars that were the result of local fighting, but the genocide that Europeans imposed on them was unprecedented. Columbus and his sailors did much to demonstrate their military superiority over the native population. Suspecting that the local people had not seen a sword before, Columbus allowed them to handle the object, and he passed it to them blade-first so that they would cut themselves. Building on their fears, Columbus fired a gun and a cannon, which horrified the people and amazed the local leaders (caciques) (Cohen, 1969). By using these military novelties, Columbus and his crew demonstrated that they were technologically more advanced than the locals, which made them fearful. He and his men informed the people that they had weapons that could inflict severe wounds, create deafening sounds, and produce more destruction than they had ever seen. As a result, some of the local groups viewed Columbus with suspicion and fear, while others quickly became trusting and friendly. In fact, some of the native people of Guanahani (San Salvador) made the crucial mistake of informing Columbus that there was a larger island (Cuba) south of them, and offered to travel with him there. On his first voyage, Columbus and his crew travelled to Cuba, Bahamas, and Hispaniola and captured about seven indigenous people who were to travel with them back to Spain as proof of their successful voyage. Lovén (1935) explains that Cuba was the home of the Siboneyes and Guanahatabeyes, groups of native people who were also found in Florida. This supports the theory that the native people of the Caribbean and North America were from the same family tree, and they migrated to the Americas and settled in different areas throughout the region (Lovén, 1935). The first group to arrive was the Guanahatabeyes who settled in Cuba. The second were the Tainos, who lived in the Greater Antilles and the Bahamas, and the Ignéris or Arawaks, who inhabited the Lesser Antilles. The third group was the Caribs, who were the warriors who often battled the Arawaks. The fourth group was River-Arawaks and Maritime Arawaks, who were found in Jamaica [Xaymaca], Trinidad and Tobago, and Guyana. Since the islands were located relatively close to each other, it was easy to foster trade and engage in occasional conflict, and yet far enough so that each group evolved their own unique language, while maintaining a similar culture.

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It is obvious that the indigenous people of the Caribbean were descendants of hunters-and-gatherers, as archaeological mounds show that they created tools, such as spears-tips made of either fish bones or polished stones, and arrows-tips filled with poison. These hunter/gather societies flourished in the Caribbean because vegetables, fish and small game animals were in abundance. The native groups also developed methods for food preparation and preservation. They cultivated cassava root and maize, which along with the coconut palm, proved to be very versatile foods. Cassava root and maize were prepared boiled or ground into flour to make bread. In Guyana, an added feature of the cassava root was created by cooking it into the preservative cassareep, which was used in seasoning and preserving game meats (Lovén, 1935). However, food was not the primary interest of Europeans coming to the region, there was greater curiosity surrounding the prospects of finding gold and creating colonies.

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FLAT WORLD VERSUS THE ROUND WORLD Williams (1970) explains that Columbus’ voyage initiated “the first goldrush in the history of the modern world” (p. 23). We must remember here that the Renaissance epoch in Europe was now replacing the medieval thinking that the world was flat. On a theoretical level, Renaissance scholars were postulating that the world was round. The proposition of a round earth appealed to adventurers and social thinkers of the time, such as Columbus, who felt that this implied that there was potentially another route to India and China, by way of sailing west. However, Ptolemy's maps, which were being used by most sailors, did not have the Caribbean or Americas on them, because most people did not know of their existence. A similar problem was found with the “Wheel map,” which was created by theologians who assumed that the world was flat, and that Jerusalem was the center of the world. With this lack of knowledge regarding the Caribbean and Central and South America, when Columbus made his voyage to the “new world” he believed that he was approaching India and China, and when he landed on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean, he thought for sure it was India. He incorrectly called the Caribbean islands India. Once the Spaniards realized this error, they added west, to name the region "West Indies," since Columbus had sailed west from Spain. Thus, there is no such thing as the “West Indies,” in as much as the name is the result of poor navigation. Additionally, Columbus began calling the indigenous people of the Caribbean

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“Indians,” and that too is inappropriate. As we mentioned, some of the ethnic groups who lived in the Caribbean were the Arawaks, Caribs, and Tainos, whom Columbus erroneously labeled as “Indians.” In this sense, calling the indigenous people of the Caribbean “Indians,” is a kind of derogatory label that is carried over from the colonial period. Nevertheless, discovering a new, safer route to bring spices, jewels, and gold from India to Spain unimpeded by attacks from pirates (as was now the norm with over-land trips), was at the forefront of Columbus’ thinking. However, most of Columbus’ proposed benefactors did not believe it could be done and others felt that they could not stand the risk of funding another expedition where the outcomes were uncertain. Columbus, an Italian, was unable to convince any Italian or Portuguese benefactors to support his mission. His supporters turned out to be King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain, who were staunch Roman Catholics who decided to finance the venture after they realized how profitable the expedition could be. In addition, there was the prospect of expanding the empire by converting indigenous people around the world to Christianity. Seeing the success of the Portuguese’s colonialism, the King and Queen of Spain and the Roman Catholic Pope, set the fate of the people in the Americas.

EUROPE’S ADVANTAGE European countries entering the Caribbean, Central and South America for the purpose of colonization and slavery, came to the region with some notable advantages. These nations had guns and gunpowder, which historically were brought to Europe from China. Guns were a major advantage in warfare, and generally, they ensured military success over countries where spears and bowand-arrows were still the convention. Secondly, there were new international sea routes, which connected trade from Europe, Africa, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. This led to the engineering and building of bigger, lighter ships that could travel greater distances faster. The third advantage was the consolidation of European empires, which was facilitated through the use of religion, namely Christianity. Although there were regular conflicts arising from different denominations, Christianity became a justification for the crusading and enslavement of indigenous groups. While each religion has its own merit and can serve its followers, yet it is important to note that historically, the people who were enslaved and conquered were coerced into accepting the religion of their conquerors (Blyden, 1887/1967). Paralleling

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these events was the Renaissance movement in Europe, which gave rise to a rebirth and renewed interest in arts and sciences from Greek civilization. This was also the time when in the 1500s, Pope Julius II commissioned Michelangelo to render a series of paintings of Jesus Christ. Although there were older paintings of Christ from the second and third century (A.D.) that showed him as having brown-skin and woolly hair, which reflected the origins from the Egyptian drama of the Black Madonna Aset (Isis), and her virgin born son Heru (Horus), who was also born on December 25th (Budge, 1961, 1967; Jackson, 2002), Michelangelo’s rendering showed him as a European (See Ean Begg’s Cult of the Black Virgin). These paintings would be widely disseminated in all the colonial territories where the colonized would learn their new religion. Also during this time, there was a rewriting of history which suggested that civilization began with the Greeks, and that African and Asiatic people were inferior and made no major contributions to the world (Bernal, 1987). This was a rather perplexing pronouncement, considering that two of the oldest universities in the world were founded in Africa, namely the University at the Grand Lodge of Luxor in Egypt, and the University of Sankore at Timbuktu (ben-Jochannon, 1972; Bernal, 1987; Browder, 1992; Hilliard and Middleton, 1988). In fact, even Pythagoras and Newton mentioned that they studied in Egypt (Diop, 1974; James, 1954). Furthermore, the Japanese and Chinese civilizations were at least six centuries older than the Greeks, and yet, the latter was situated as the only place of interest.

SLAVERY AND RELIGION In 1492, with the blessings of Pope Alexander VI, the destiny of the Caribbean people was sealed when Columbus’ voyage was granted funding by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. This laid the foundation for the association of church and state with imperialism (Williams, 1966). Once arriving in the Caribbean, Columbus noticed that the islanders adorned their bodies with gold. He inquired of them about the source of their precious metals. After receiving information regarding where larger amounts of gold could be found, Columbus felt certain that his voyage was a success. He believed that the demand for gold could help strengthen Spain’s economy. Furthermore, realizing that the native people he was meeting had customs and practices that were just above hunter-gatherer status, assured him that their conversion to Christianity was a certainty and an easy task. Thus, much of

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Spain’s focus was on proselytizing indigenous people with Roman Catholicism and extracting gold from the “new world.” Most scholars agree that the Transatlantic Slave Trade played a major role in the early and late development of nations, particularly today’s G8 countries, which include: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States (Du Bois, 1965; Offiong, 2001; Robinson, 2000; Rodney, 1972; Thompson, 1987). To assure its success, religion was infused into the social structure and fabric of free-labor societies. A major player in the slave trade was the Roman Catholic Church, which provided the context and legitimation for invasion, enslavement and colonization of nations. France, England, Spain and Portugal, among other European nations, were able to reconcile their increasing desire for land, gold, silver, and human labor with the savagery of slavery and imperialism, by way of the Church’s justification of war against the evil “pagans,” meaning all those who were not a part of the major Western religion (Du Bois, 1965; Rodney, 1969, 1972). During the slave trade and later under colonialism, in Africa and throughout the world, missionaries were sent to convert and assimilate Yorubas, Igbos, Hindus, Muslims and all others, into Western religion and culture (Blyden, 1887/1967). The missionaries did not hesitate to seek military reinforcement from their respective colonial powers to punish any group who resisted their teachings (ben-Jochannan, 1972). Comparable to the Europeans, a similar theme was seen around the Middle East and Africa when the Islamic crusades began. Much like their missionary counterparts, Muslims proposed to convert the heathens or ‘infidels’ to their religion. Notwithstanding the fact that Christians and Muslims have different religious beliefs, historically one thing was common between the two groups; both rejected everything that was indigenously African. Although these are two equally gracious and compelling religious traditions, most of the enslaved and colonized populations had no real knowledge about their true origins or the literature they claimed to be directly from God. Today, most of northern Africa remains separated from the South, where in the North, Islam is the dominant religion and people of Arab descent have the greatest power and influence. In the Caribbean, Spain had a monopoly on the mining of gold, silver, copper and other minerals in the surrounding areas until 1584, when the policies changed to allow any new mines to be the property of those who had “discovered” them. The Spaniards established a presence in places where there was an abundance of precious metals, or where large-scale cattle ranching and farming could occur (Parry, Sherlock and Maingot, 1987). Meanwhile, sugar

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increased in popularity and production throughout the Caribbean and was soon the mainstay of the economy. Sugar was so influential to the economy of Spain that the Caribbean slave trade rose and fell with the price of sugar (Parry, Sherlock and Maingot, 1987). It is clear that Columbus was responsible for the introduction of slavery into the region. He believed that the fierce Caribs in the Caribbean were wellsuited for slavery and over his four voyages, he took approximately 600 of them back to Spain as slaves, as well as to show tangible proof of his expeditions. If the Spaniards in Spain sanctioned enslavement of the Carib people there, it would of course be acceptable for the Spanish plantation and mine owners to do the same thing in the Caribbean. Parry, Sherlock and Maingot (1987) explain:

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When the King of Spain raised the question of ethics, (sic) the Council of the Indies after consulting theologians and jurists, assured him that ‘there cannot be any doubt as to the necessity of those slaves for the support of the Kingdom of the Indies’; slavery and trading in slaves were ‘long-lived and general custom in the Kingdom of Castile, America and Portugal, without any objection on the part of His Holiness or ecclesiastical state, but rather with the tolerance of all of them.’ (p. 17)

Thus, enslavement was seen as normal in the mining of minerals, as well as in the production of agriculture, which was exported to markets in Europe. However, the native people would stage some of the fiercest battles against plantation owners, and others would commit suicide rather than subject themselves to inhumane and cruel servitude. In addition, many died from the new diseases such as smallpox, typhus, cholera, influenza, diphtheria and measles that the Europeans brought with them into the Caribbean. And, as if these challenges were not enough, disgruntled plantation owners often starved the Arawaks, Tainos and other indigenous groups by burning their crops. Roman Catholic bishop, Dominican missionary and polemist, Bartolomé de Las Casas, devoted 40 years of studying and writing to the atrocities that were being inflicted on the enslaved people by the Spaniards (de Las Casa, 1542/1992). In fact, the atrocities resulted in a cycle of killing off natives, which dwindled the workforce and created greater labor demands on the remaining population. This monstrous behavior continued until de Las Casas’ analysis of the situation surfaced (see de Las Casas’ Destruction of the Indies). The native population decreased rapidly because of the violence, brute-force they experienced, as well as the diseases the Spaniards brought to the

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Caribbean. De Las Casas’ persuasive accounts pressured authorities and led to laws that essentially stated that “all enslaved Indians were to be set at liberty” (Williams, 1970, p. 35). However, de Las Casas recommended that Africans be used to replace the native people of the Caribbean as slaves (Parry, Sherlock and Maingot, 1987). The question conjured up by de Las Casas’ suggestion is: Did the decision to introduce Africans to the plantations in the West stem from a change of heart towards the inhumane treatment of the local population, or was the decision based on the economic reality of a steadily declining labor force? Whatever the true motive, it was clear that both the Spanish government and de Las Casas had their eyes on African labor. This paved the way for the Spanish settlers to look to Africa to capture and enslave Africans as plantation laborers. Parry, Sherlock and Maingot (1987) explain that, “the sixteenth century was not a tender-hearted age. In the “West Indies” (sic) the voices raised on behalf of the Indian, though loud, were largely ineffective. For the Negro, no one spoke at all” (p. 25). Nevertheless, economic success continued unabated in the Americas, and for the first 40 years after Columbus’ entry into the region, it remained primarily in the hands of the Spanish government and the Roman Catholic Church. Later, the British, French and other European nations battled the Spanish in the Americas and the Caribbean for national supremacy. In addition, other European nations sought access to Spain’s acclaimed wealth by unabashedly condoning attacks of piracy that buccaneers, pirates and militias waged on Spanish galleons and settlements. The Spanish battled other European nations to keep most of the Caribbean region, and as today’s world atlas corroborates, they eventually succeeded in holding onto most of Central and South America, as well as the larger islands of Cuba and Hispaniola. Even the islands of Trinidad and Jamaica have had a solid Spanish past. Towns and cities such as Port of Spain, San Fernando, and San José are examples in Trinidad, as Spanish Town and Ocho Rios (Eight Rivers) in Jamaica, respectfully, are examples of the Spanish influence. Visitors today can still see the old capital of Jamaica from the period of Spanish rule. Spanish Town (St. Jago de la Vega) as it is called, still has some of the same municipal buildings that date back to the time of Spanish and British colonialism. In the case of Trinidad, because of its location at the northern tip of South America, the island proved to be a convenient port and concurrent administrative center as it was the last harbor for replenishing supplies before crossing the Atlantic Ocean heading back to Spain. The British, seeing the success of Spain, waged many attacks on the Spanish colonies in an effort to gain control. Spanish admiral Pedro Menéndez

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de Avilés fought Sir Francis Drake and Admiral Lord Nelson, both of Britain, to hold onto Spanish settlements. Parry, Sherlock and Maingot (1987) write that by 1574, “Menéndez had succeeded, if not in making the Caribbean a Spanish lake, at least in making it a dangerous cruising-ground for mere raiders” (p. 39). Eventually, many treaties were signed, allowing the majority of Western Europe to colonize the Caribbean. As other European settlers needed workers for their plantations, they sought them from Africa. Williams (1970) writes:

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Slavery in the Caribbean has been too narrowly identified with the Negro. A racial twist has thereby been given to what is basically an economic phenomenon. Slavery was not born of racism: rather, racism was the consequence of slavery. Free labor in the New world was brown, white, black, and yellow; Catholic, Protestant and pagan. (p.7)

Black enslavement in the Caribbean persisted for many reasons. White Spaniards, who were originally put to work in the Caribbean, lost their liberty only for a short period of time and their servitude status did not descend to their children. White persons had limited rights that were recognized and stipulated into their arrangement as indentured servants. These White servants enjoyed “a limited right to property” (Williams, 1970, p. 18). Regarding White servants in the Caribbean, Williams (1970) noted that “in actual law the conception of the servant as a piece of property never went beyond that of personal estate and never reached the stage of a chattel or real estate” (p.17). Additionally, many of the White servants were also members of the penal system and in no time, the demand for workers in the colonies outpaced the number of servant class Europeans, because of the genocide that was being committed against the Tainos, Caribs and Arawaks. Desiring a larger supply of workers, Europeans would focus their attention on Africa.

RELIGIOUS AUTONOMY AND SLAVERY The enslavement of Africans was an unprecedented event in human history. While all the European nations participated in, and benefited from slavery, the British rose supreme as the masters of the global system. Although Britain had less than 8 million people in its total population in the 1700s, it would use military superiority and ideology [theology], to later dominate more than a third of the entire earth. Paralleling the British’s entry into slavery and

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colonialism was the questioning and challenging of the Roman Catholic Church’s religious autonomy, as well as its global authority as an arbitrator and beneficiary of slavery. In the 14th century, the question of religious authority was so pervasive and profitable, that in Europe, John Wycliffe was persecuted for translating the Bible into English without permission from the Vatican and the Pope. He was labeled a heretic and after he died, Pope Martin V had his remains exhumed and burnt. Like Wycliffe, in the 16th century, William Tyndale was persecuted by the Roman Catholic Church and executed for translating the Bible. He was strangled and burnt for making unauthorized translations, and for teaching interpretations that were not sanctioned by the Pope. Religious authority and persecution was pervasive, and up until the European Renaissance Movement, it left a looming cloud of human regulation and trepidation. For example, around this time, Galileo, through his research, concluded that the earth was not the center of the solar system, which was still a popular belief. Instead, much like the ancient Egyptians documented, Galileo suggested that the sun was the center of the solar system. During this time, the idea of the sun being the center of the universe and that the earth rotates on its axis around the sun was a major paradigm shift, and a subsequent theme of Europe’s Renaissance Movement. However, the ancient Egyptians (Kemites), who had mastered astronomy (Bauval and Brophy, 2011; James, 1954), documented this observation approximately 9,000 years earlier. Nevertheless, the Roman Catholic Church saw Galileo’s findings as challenging its religious authority and the Bible. Therefore, they persecuted him. Galileo was brought to trial, found guilty and his books were banned. Prior to this, in the early 1500s, Martin Luther’s Protestant Reformation Movement challenged the Roman Catholic Church and its teachings, as well as its political and religious power, and social oppression. However, the Pope and the Church would have no part in this, and through the Council of Trent, the Pope attempted to suppress the new denomination that was emerging from Luther’s questioning, and what the Vatican considered as unofficial teachings from the Bible. The Protestant Reformation Movement was historic, because it opened the door for the formation of all other Christian denominations. As new denominations emerged, each one sent their missionaries to proselytize Black people, who were generally believed to be savages. And with the exception of some Quakers, they all participated in slavery. For example, like other missionaries, Moravians (German Protestants) came to places like Jamaica and St. Thomas (Virgin Islands) in the Caribbean to proselytize and start churches. The Moravians also laid their foundation in North America in

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the city of Winston. The Moravian Church purchased approximately 100,000 acres of land, which includes the majority of present-day Winston-Salem, North Carolina (U.S.), and much of Forsyth County (North Carolina) (Crews, 1998). When they wanted to clear fields, farm the land, and erect buildings, they acquired a large population of African slaves (Cox, 2000). Although they preached to their African slaves, segregation and racism remained intact, for Blacks were never to attend the same church as the White Moravians or be buried in the same cemeteries (Crews, 1998). Nevertheless, back in Europe, once the British established its military superiority over the Spanish, the Church of England (Anglican Church) replaced the Roman Catholic Church as the state church. In fact, after Queen Elizabeth’s death in 1603, King Stuart James sought occasion to make a religious impact on the world. King James timed the publication of his version of the Bible [1611] for it to have the maximum effect on his colonial empire, where all the slaves in the empire would learn theology from his authorized version, which was a departure from the literature that the Roman Catholic Church was using in the Spanish and Portuguese colonies. Once the British gained preeminence through their colonialism, the King James Version of the Bible would become the most widely read book in the entire world. Although King James was far from being a truly religious man, having his general appetite steeped in pedophilia, sexual indulgences, and global slavery among other things, he seized the opportunity to bring continuity to his empire through the use of religion. Britain was a Protestant country, while Spain, Portugal, and France remained under the influence of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church. This meant that Britain did not have to govern its colonies via regulations set forth by the Pope, nor did it have to pay tithes to the Roman Catholic Church. These changes clearly shifted power from the Pope and the Roman church, making the British Empire and the Anglican Church autonomous. Learning from the Roman Catholic Church’s strategy, King James desired to proselytize the world to help unify his colonial empire. Despite the fact that the British entered the Transatlantic Slave Trade after the Arabs, Portuguese and Spanish, they had the most methodical and expansive empire. And although numerically they had a small population, they invested greatly in weapons of war, and they would ultimately create the largest empire in the history of humanity. After the historic Berlin Conference [1884-1885], which was led by Britain, the European nations focused their attention on colonizing the continent of Africa. Britain was leading the way towards the colonization of

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Africa, and it was clear that it was the most powerful nation in the world (See Edward Hertslet’s Map of Africa by Treaty Vol. I, Vol. II, Vol. III). By the turn of the 20th century, the British ruled more than one-third of the entire world, an empire that included India, large parts of Asia, Africa, parts of the Caribbean, and all of Australia. In fact, Queen Victoria was once named the Empress of India, a British colony. After Victoria died in 1901, her son, Edward VII continued to expand the British Empire and its colonization agenda. Around this time, under British rule, the average life expectancy for Black people was less than 35 years old. Enslavement had occurred historically, but globally, never has a race of people been enslaved and dehumanized so horrifically that they lost their culture, identity, ways of knowing the world, history, geography, spirituality, and linguistic systems (Cox, 2000; Rodney, 1972; Williams, 1966, 1970). The extent of the hurt endures today and is even more compelling because the Africans and African descendants who were the victims have never received an apology or reparations for this mistreatment. Instead, they are asked to forget that this injustice ever occurred. Western historians have even attempted to blame the Transatlantic Slave Trade on Africans, alleging that Africans enslaved themselves. While the Arabs were already involved in enslaving Africans for at least four centuries before the arrival of Europeans (sometimes with the assistance of dissenting tribal groups), however, clearly, the Transatlantic Slave Trade was masterminded by Europeans, who received all of the wealth created from the global system of slavery and colonialism, which they engineered. In fact, after the Berlin Conference [1884-1885], they would proceed to enslave the entire continent of Africa, with Ethiopia being the only African country that was able to maintain its freedom from European domination (Edward Hertslet’s Map of Africa by Treaty Vol. I, Vol. II, Vol. III).

WIGGAN’S FAMILY TREE1 In addition to this perplexing desire to place the burden of slavery on Africans, another concern is the fact that the very enslavers wrote most accounts of Black people’s enslavement in the West. My [Greg] family history begins in the Caribbean and runs deep into the island of Jamaica, which was a major colony of the Spanish and then the British. In Jamaica, where 1

This Wiggan family tree also includes, Peynados, Vickers, Suckrams, Clarkes, Williams, Palmers, and Matthews.

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indigenous groups like the Tainos, Arawaks, and Caribs lived for hundreds of years before the arrival of Christopher Columbus, once this population began to diminish because of the brutal treatment they endured on the plantations, the colonialists turned their attention to West Africa for free labor. In this way, my family tree reflects the early Arawak connection to the runaway African slaves (Maroons) who formed communities around the island. One of the most famous is the Accompong Town Maroon community in the modern-day parish of St. Elizabeth in the western part of the island. My close friend, Chief Elder Noel Robinson, is a Maroon descendant from St. Elizabeth. I have often gone to the hills of the Maroon town to visit and make several ancestral ‘trods.’ In the neighboring parish of Westmoreland, there on my maternal side of the family, I have traced the name “Peynado” to the Spanish and Portuguese presence on the island during colonialism. Through diligent research, our family has been able to gather information on the Peynados’ entry into Jamaica. This begins with Stephen Charles Peynado, who came to Jamaica as an immigrant in the early 1800s. Stephen Charles had eight children, of which, came Willoughby Charles Peynado (Sr.). Willoughby Charles (Sr.) had four children: Willoughby Charles (Jr.), Noel Peynado, Reginald Peynado, and Gladys Lucille Peynado. In the early-to-mid1800s, all of these Peynados were more or less White European descendants who were born in Jamaica. There were also some Peynados that migrated to the Dominican Republic. These descendants were the late Jacinto Peynado, former President of the Dominican Republic, and the renowned Dr. Don Francisco Peynado, who was a Dominican Republic Ambassador to the U.S. In fact, one of the Jamaican Peynados went to visit Don Francisco in the Dominican Republic after he completed his term as an ambassador. Back in Jamaica, Willoughby Charles (Jr.) was a bookkeeper on the plantations and estates in Westmoreland. Although he was White and enjoyed social privileges that Black plantation workers were not afforded, he seemed to feel at home among the Black and East Indian workers. In fact, he developed a passion for African descent and East Indian women. This would explain the many off-springs of my maternal, Great-grandfather Willoughby Charles, Jr. During the 1960s and 70s, my late Uncle Errol Peynado, travelled throughout most of the island of Jamaica searching for relatives of my grandmother and grandfather. Through his extensive travel, he found many “Vickers,” as well as other Peynados who connected to my grandmother. In the summer of 2010, the last time my Uncle Errol and I sat down together for dinner in Toronto, Canada, where he had been living for more than 30 years, he explained all of his

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findings, as well as many of his personal encounters. During the summers when I visited Toronto, we would catch up on family history and new findings. However, in this final visit he shared some of his most sacred findings and vivid experiences. While my Uncle Errol was in the final stages of his battle with cancer, he opened up the pages of history regarding his own research into our family, as well as his own experiences living a life as a Peynado with distinct African features. This was a beautiful but troublesome combination in a society that had a colonial and neo-colonial caste system, where all things “Black” or from Africa were considered pagan, savage and undesirable. These beliefs were based on ideology, which were enforced by social structures of rewards and denials that were systematically introduced in Jamaica through Spanish and British slavery and colonialism, and whose legacies still endure. My maternal grandfather, Kenneth Peynado, is an off-spring of the union between Willoughby Charles Peynado (Jr.) and Jane Reid, who was a women of African descent. Although Willoughby Charles (Jr.) was married to a White woman named Lena Peynado, he had a sweltering interest in the women who worked on the plantations. He had six White children with his wife Lena, who were all born on the plantations, and then there were at least nine more children with various mistresses. As a bookkeeper, Willoughby Charles (Jr.) was an authority figure with power, and he was generally a pleasant man. My grandfather, Kenneth Peynado, was raised by his mother, Jane Reid, and his grandmother, Henrietta Reid Stewart. Henrietta’s mother was Nanna Stewart, who was captured in Ghana, West Africa from the Ashanti tribe, and brought to Jamaica as a slave. Growing up on the island, Henrietta Reid Stewart shared information with her Grandson Kenneth Peynado, regarding his great-grandmother, the Ashanti, Nanna Stewart. My grandfather, Kenneth Peynado, spent many summers with his father, Willoughby Charles (Jr.), who because of his sexual passions was now an outcast among the White Peynados. Nevertheless, Willoughby Charles (Jr.) made himself comfortable with his new family, as he saw it, among the plantation workers. Eventually, many of Willoughby Charles’ (Jr.) children were able to bond with each other, and he and his grandchildren developed strong ties. Because he was a kind of outcast himself, Willoughby Charles (Jr.) was very open and friendly with the Black and East Indian population, which he made his extended family. Olive toned and perhaps as charming as the Moors who ruled Spain, my grandfather (Kenneth Peynado) married Sarah Vickers (Sarah Peynado), a Black women who was elegant and rotund with all of the qualities of a Matron queen, of perhaps, Yoruba land, West Africa. As mentioned, my family-tree

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reflects the full history of the Arawak, Spanish, British, East Indian, and African influence in Jamaica and the Caribbean region. My maternal grandmother’s (Sarah Peynado) father was Octavius Vickers, who was a short, earth-toned man from the hills of Bird Mountain, which is on the border of Westmoreland and Hanover. One of his daughters, Ira Maud Vickers (Sarah Peynado’s sister), moved to Petersfield (Westmoreland), where she married Samuel A. Suckram.2 The Suckrams came to Jamaica from East India after the British fought and defeated the Spanish in 1655, and assumed control over the island. Later in the emancipation period of the 1830s, the British transported indentured servants from India (which was also a British colony) to Jamaica to work on the plantations. Between 1845 and the early 1930s, the British secured a steady supply of Indian and Chinese workers as new sources of cheap labor in the Caribbean. It is important to note here that the renowned Jamaican spiritual leader and social reformer Leonard Howell, who was one of the first people on the island to teach and preach about Ethiopia-Africa being the birthplace of humanity, as well as introduce the concept of a Black messiah and God; adopted the spiritual name G. G. Maragh or Gangunguru Maragh (Gong) from his observation and time spent with the East Indian indentured workers on the island. For reinterpreting the Bible, teaching about African people’s bondage and exodus, as well as calling on God by an African name, Howell would be beaten, imprisoned and even placed in a mental asylum (See The Promised Key by Leonard Percival Howell). Howell was also called the “The Gong,” which is the same nickname that was given to Robert Nesta Marley (Bob Marley) by his friends. In fact, Bob Marley even named his record company in Kingston, Jamaica, Tuff Gong. While most of Howell’s inspiration came from the fact that Ethiopia remained un-colonized, free from European control, and was home to the oldest human beings, other aspects of his daily life and teachings were influenced by his exposure to the East Indian workers on the island. Like Leonard Howell’s experiences, my family history also reflects the migration dynamics of East Indian workers in Jamaica. My (maternal) grand uncle was Samuel A. Suckram, the son of Charles Suckram, who was a first generation East Indian immigrant to Jamaica. Once he arrived on the island, he perhaps used the English first name Charles, as it was easier for plantation owners to pronounce. Charles Suckram’s wife, Ella, was also from India. They 2

Sarah Peynado’s other sisters include Nancy Vickers, Emeline Vickers (Amy), Charlie Vickers, and Odessa Vickers.

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arrived in Jamaica at the infamous Port Royal harbor. My uncle, Carlton Suckram, explains that Charles Suckram (his grandfather) had a brother that came with him from India to Jamaica, but eventually the two brothers lost touch with each other, as one was forced to work in the eastern part of the island, while the other worked in the west. The main parishes in Jamaica where indentured East Indian plantation laborers worked were: Portland, St. Thomas, St. Mary, Clarendon, and Westmoreland. The separation of the two Suckram brothers probably occurred when they were placed on different plantations. This was something that the family was quite sorrowful about. My great-grand uncle (Charles Suckram) would often cry over his missing brother whom he never saw again. Having obtained a steady flow of cheap labor from India, the British also seized the opportunity to supply its other main colony, Trinidad, with workers. Back in India, the British instituted a caste system that stratified the Indians by skin color and ethnicity, with Black skin generally being the lowest strata. Many of these lower caste Indians were brought to Jamaica, Trinidad and Guyana. On the islands, they were further stratified in the British social system, with Black African being at the very bottom of the society. This color line is still visible in Jamaica and Trinidad, where lighter skin, European, and Asian features are valued over dark skin and African features, because social promotion is premised on Black and African servitude. Many of these Indians practiced Hinduism and Islam in India, but once they arrived in the Caribbean, most of them experienced religious persecution and were forced to accept Christianity. Nevertheless, as a child of Ella and Charles Suckram, Samuel Suckram was one of the first of the Suckrams to marry a woman of African descent. Samuel married Ira Maud Vickers, my grandaunt, or Aunt Vickie as we lovingly called her, and they had eleven children. In Westmoreland, about a fourth of my family is of East Indian descent. While Ira and Samuel Vickers lived in Petersfield, Ira’s younger sister, Sarah Vickers (Sarah Peynado), married Kenneth Peynado, and they had nine children (my mother Norma Wiggan being the oldest). Growing up on the island, my Granduncle Hugh Vickers (my Grandmother Sarah Peynado’s brother) was a kind of self-trained town lawyer and historian. I can remember him riding around the town on his motorcycle to give legal advice, share current events, and sell ice cream. “Mas Hugh” as he was affectionately called, was one of the most well-known people in our community. As mentioned, my Grandmother Sarah Peynado’s father was Octavius Vickers, and her mother was Caroline Palmer. Caroline Palmer had at least

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two sisters, Nora Palmer and Miriam Palmer. The Palmer’s entry into Hanover connects to the infamous John Palmer, who built the Rose Hall Estate in Montego Bay, Jamaica between 1780 and 1790. Palmer was a wealthy Englishman who also owned the Palmyra Estate, which neighbors the Rose Hall Estate. Today, visitors can still visit Rose Hall Estate in Montego Bay, and learn of the legend of Annie Palmer, who was a wife of John Palmer. John Palmer was one of the most powerful men on the island and he owned the most elegant estate [Rose Hall] of his time. Palmer had a number of slaves who built and worked on his illustrious estates and plantations. In 1831, once the Sam Sharpe revolt began in Montego Bay, it became one of the most recognized resistance movements across the entire island. Other slave rebellions were springing up all over the island, which forced the British to act swiftly to end formal slavery. Once the Abolition act was passed in 1833, the following year emancipation was gradually being enacted. As a result, some of the Palmer slaves left the parish of St. James and headed to the neighboring parish of Hanover, where land was available for farming. It was there in Hanover that a settlement developed among the Black Palmers. My maternal Great-grandmother, Caroline Palmer, and her sisters, Nora and Miriam, were among those Palmers who came from Hanover. Miriam Palmer eventually married and took on the last name Clarke. One of Miriam Palmer’s daughters was Beatrice Clarke. Paralleling the history of Jamaica and the Caribbean, in my family, the union between Sarah Vickers (daughter of Caroline Palmer) and Kenneth Peynado sealed up the Arawak, Spanish, East Indian, African connections on the island. Yet, there was more. The name “Wiggan” reflects the British connectivity to the Arawaks, Spaniards, and Africans in Jamaica, which is a part of my paternal family. This part of my family was also from Westmoreland, Jamaica and both families (paternal and maternal) knew each other quite well. Back in England, the “Wiggan” name was most common in Yorkshire and Staffordshire counties (Wiggan, 2007b). The name “Wiggan” begins to appear in Jamaica when the British took control of the island in 1655. The Liverpool port in England was a key point of departure for the Wiggans who were leaving England. In Jamaica, it was the name of plantation owners, overseers and merchants in the central and western region of the island, and they in effect, gave their slaves that last name. Despite this deep history that is rooted in slavery and the colonial past of the Caribbean, my [Greg] childhood was very pleasant, full of fun and laughter with many family members and cousins with whom I explored and played with.

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As a little boy, I could walk from one grandmother’s house to the other in thirty-five minutes. By bicycle, I could arrive even faster. My paternal grandmother, Naomi Scott, was the daughter of Celina Matthews or “Granny C,” as she was affectionately called. Growing up, my Grandmother Scott used to have my sister Ann and I bring porridge to our Great-grandmother “Granny C,” at her little board house on Mailers Avenue in Sav-la-mar, Westmoreland. My other sister, Sharon, would come down at times, as she lived at my maternal Grandmother Sarah Peynado’s house. At this time, “Granny C” had to be in her late 70s, and she was somewhat frail. She was a slender women, short with half Spanish and half Black features. She might remind some people of how the Moors looked in Spain. My father (Austin Wiggan) explains that “Granny C’s” (Celina Matthews) father, Charles Matthews, was born blind.

Celina Matthews and her son Kenneth Boyd. This might explain why he was somewhat like a Ray Charles, a kind of musical prodigy. He would go around the island playing music for the elite

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colonial dignitaries, and as a little girl, my great-grandmother would lead him to the events. “Granny C’s” mother died when she was very young, and her father, Charles Matthews, died when she was around twelve years old. “Granny C” had three children: Naomi Scott, Kenneth Boyd, and Alvin Manny Boyd.3 Although my paternal grandmother’s father surname was Williams, as my grandmother was the daughter of “Pappy Williams,” her mother (“Granny C”) gave her the last name Scott because it was associated with an elite, ethnically mixed class (mulatto), which she resembled. This was one way of helping her daughter gain social promotion in a hyper-racialized British colonial society. My Grandmother Naomi Scott, had two children, Avis and Austin, and their father was Stanley Wiggan. As mentioned, the “Wiggan” name was most likely given to native Africans who were purchased to work as free labor during British colonial times in Jamaica, where lord “Wiggan” was a plantation owner and overseer. One of the earliest of the Black Wiggans was G. G. Wiggan who was also from Westmoreland. After emancipation, G.G. moved to the parish of St. Ann [Birthplace of Marcus Garvey and Bob Marley], while his brother remained in Westmoreland. There in St. Ann, G.G. had a son name Benjamin and another named Alfred. Alfred had a son by the name of Stephen Benjamin Wiggan (Uncle Bosy) who is still alive, while Benjamin had a son named William Wiggan. Over the years, the settlement of Wiggans in St. Ann grew stronger and they began to move around the island to places like Trelawny and Kingston. Back in Westmoreland, my Great-grandfather Edward Wiggan, married Matilda Wiggan, and their children were: Theodore, George, Hersy, Ivy, Doris and Stanley. Stanley Wiggan is my paternal grandfather (my father Austin Wiggan’s father). My paternal grandfather, Stanley Wiggan, left Jamaica for England while three of his children, Copeland, Avis and Austin, were still young. This was a common migration pattern in the Caribbean, where the population often sought greater opportunities in Britain, Canada and the U.S. These patterns of migration are further discussed in chapters 4-6 of this book. Before he left Jamaica, Stanley Wiggan started another family, of which are my beloved aunts Shirley and Sonya, who were born in Jamaica, and uncle Neville of the United Kingdom (U.K.). Back in Jamaica, we had very little knowledge of the other siblings who were now living in England. However, in more recent times the siblings were able to reconnect with each other. While my paternal grandfather (Stanley Wiggan) was away in England, growing up 3

Obadiah Boyd was the father of Kenneth and Alvin Manny Boyd. Obadiah was from Smithfield, Westmoreland.

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in Jamaica, my father spent time with his sister Avis, brother Copeland, mother Naomi Scott, his grandmother “Granny C,” and his maternal grandfather “Pappy Williams.” My Great-grandfather “Pappy Williams” had another child by the name of Rupert Williams. “Pappy Williams” was known for being an Africanized revivalist preacher in the George’s Plane area of Westmoreland. From the parish of Westmoreland, Jamaica, my family’s journey reflects the deep history of the Spanish and British colonial presence on the island, which made Black and Brown a kind of public criminal office. Under the colonial system, the oppressed were taught to despise Africa, African spirituality, all things Black, and to acquiesce social privileges by embracing Europe, its aesthetics and its whitewashed theology, at the expense of indigenous traditions. Internalized domination, intra-group racism and prejudice were some of the most tragic outcomes of slavery and European colonialism. Although the majority of the people in the Caribbean are of African descent while others may have some African heritage, sadly, the tendency is still to vilify Black and Africa even amongst some of its most direct progeny. The skin-bleaching phenomenon is still a crisis in the Caribbean and continental Africa. Although Marcus Garvey’s United Negro Improvement Association and the subsequent formation of the Rastafarian movement aimed to correct much of these misconceptions and belittling of Black culture and African heritage, the social system still privileges European ethos and aesthetics, rather than valuing both cultures equally. Between 1994 and 1995, with only a few months apart, both of my grandmothers transitioned. It was as if they had timed their passing for a symbolic effect on the entire family, allowing us to reconnect, reflect and share, as some members of the family had migrated to Canada, the U.S., and the U.K. Presently, the two oldest serving members of my family are my maternal grandfather, Kenneth Peynado, and my paternal grand aunt, Olga Boyd.4 Through the tides of history, in our family we see the Arawaks, perhaps even the Caribs, and certainly the East Indian, Spanish, British, and African retentions in a complex, diverse web of human suffering and love. May those who come after me find meaning and purpose for their lives, and experience guidance and protection.

4

Olga Boyd was the wife of Kenneth Boyd.

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WALROND’S FAMILY TREE Like Greg, my encounter [Jean] with enslavement came when I visited the Barbados Museum in 1988. I saw concrete and compelling evidence of the way my ancestors were treated. Two documents placed in adjoining rooms juxtaposed the identities of those who were free and those who were enslaved, and the thread linking these dichotomous events was the name “Walrond.” My experience, taken from a previous document, is important to repeat here (Walrond, 2009). The Barbados Museum is housed in a former British army garrison that was built between 1790 and 1853. The area of the museum that aroused my interest was the plantation house and its period rooms. One room was decorated with a secretary bookcase,5 chair, table, and book-keeper’s ledger. My eyes travelled through the glassed window to rest on the table with the opened ledger. Amazed, and with wonderment, I noticed that the ledger’s hand-printed pages listed the plantation’s holdings or assets. Among the assets were horses, various animals, farming implements, tools, and slaves. I peered at the page hoping or longing to notice a name, African or otherwise, which would identify these enslaved Africans. But sadly, this was not to be found. When I entered the map room next door, I observed many interesting maps but focused on an 18th century map of Barbados6 with many names inscribed on it. I realized the names were those of the plantation families who inhabited the island at that time. I decided to see if my family name was on the map and sure enough, I saw the name “Walrond”7 in 6-point font. I called my family over to see what I had discovered, and as I stared at the map, I continued to see even more Walronds. These names had insignias next to them denoting their occupations. The profound realization of the chasm that existed between those two adjacent rooms struck me emphatically: I [Jean] could trace my paternal lineage from Canada, to Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados, but could not 5

Also known as a cabinet-sécretaire, this piece of furniture is “a desk with a cabinet above” (Whiton, 1974, p. 185). 6 The 1710 Map of Barbados was published by George Willdey (fl. c. 1695–1733) and sold at his business The Great Toy Shop next to the Dogg Tavern, the corner of Ludgate Street near St. Paul’s (http://www.antiquemaps.co.uk/chapter15.html). 7 The Walrond and Duke families figured prominently in the colonization of Barbados. Humphrey and Edward Walrond immigrated to Barbados sometime after 1645. Col. Humphrey, described as “exceptionally prominent and disruptive, in the early political affairs of Barbados during the civil war” (“The Duke Family in Barbados,” March 22, 2004), was president of Barbados from 1660 to 1663.

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continue on to any particular African tribe (Walrond, 2008). The genealogical highway was severed in the Caribbean. A deliberate act of de-naming, and renaming was a common practice that was imposed on oppressed and enslaved groups. Another common practice during the enslavement of Africans was the suppression of native religion and drumming, both of which were used to communicate by Africans. Furthermore, as a general rule, they were not permitted to learn to read or write, and the Bible was the only literature they were supposed to acknowledge and believe, which was a most dehumanizing act. Our realization regarding these human atrocities led us to continually question the role that representation plays as a phenomenon in identity development. How does the representation of a people’s past relate to their self-actualization with regards to their land, history and culture? In conclusion, in this chapter we provided a brief background on the history of the Caribbean, its people, and their resistance against colonialism. Additionally, we connected our personal family backgrounds to the history of the Caribbean and Caribbean migration, which is a theme of this book. In the next chapter, we discuss colonialism, post-colonialism, education and migration to North America.

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Chapter 2

COLONIALISM, EDUCATION AND CARIBBEAN MIGRATION

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RIVALING COLONIAL POWERS: DIVIDE AND RULE STRATEGIES During the colonial period of the Caribbean, there were often struggles among rivaling European forces. Due to the unrest in the region, the Tordesillas and Ryswick treaties were signed to foster peace in the Americas. However, this did not stop the wars and vandalisms, which occurred unabated among feuding colonial powers. The Africans and their descendants, who were the pawns in this game, were often used to fight for each colonial power with the presumed hope of gaining freedom and better opportunities based on their loyalty and service in combat. However, those freedoms never materialized. For example, in the late 19th and early 20th century, under the leadership of Queen Yaa-Asantewaa, the Ashanti people of West African waged some of the fiercest wars against the British. Seeking an elite group of soldiers to help them defeat Queen Yaa-Asantewaa, the British recruited Fante fighters (a neighboring tribe in Ghana) and soldiers from the Caribbean, known as the West India Regiment, to help them battle the Ashanti. This is one of the atrocities in history, of how oppressed groups are manipulated and used to help their oppressors fight other oppressed groups. Yaa-Asantewaa was much like Nanny the Maroon, who was sold into slavery in the late 17th century in Jamaica; a queen mother and general of the most feared armed and spiritual warriors. Maroons were largely African and Black slaves who escaped from the plantations and created communities in the

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mountainous regions of the Caribbean and Central and South America, where they were free to practice African cultural traditions (Campbell, 1976; 1988). There were even a few Maroon communities in North America, a region where the Black population was the minority, which made them susceptible to unprecedented forms of White oppression (See Hugo Leaming’s Hidden Americans: Maroons of Virginia and the Carolinas). Nevertheless, Maroons were ex-slaves who used the mountains to create military outposts, which they used to battle plantation owners and help free other slaves. In Jamaica, Queen Nanny the Maroon, and her brothers Accompong, Cudjoe, Quao, and Johnny [who were all sovereigns from the Ashanti tribe in Africa], were among Jamaica’s early royal families. Like Queen Yaa-Asantewaa, Nanny defended her people against slavery and colonialism, and the British often sought the assistance of their slaves to fight her. It is also quite interesting that Nanny the Maroon, like Yaa-Asantewaa, was from the Ashanti tribe in Ghana. Today, Nanny is a national hero in Jamaica and her portrait is inscribed on the country’s five hundred dollar bill.8 The original Nanny Town in Portland, Jamaica, which was named by Nanny, still exists, but it was later renamed Moore Town after Colonial Lieutenant Governor Henry Moore. In spite of this unbecoming renaming of the city, Moore Town was originally called Nanny Town, as it was home to one of Jamaica’s most revered leaders and freedom fighters (See Bev Carey’s Maroon Story and Mavis Campbell’s The Maroons of Jamaica 1655-1796). Through a series of treaties that were signed between 1738 and 1739, the British legally transferred ownership of approximately 500 acres of land in Portland to the Maroons, who had already been occupying the land for more than a half of a century. The Maroons used the land as their home and as a military post to fight British soldiers and colonialists. Even before the treaties were signed, the community was known as Nanny Town. It is also important to note that the British made similar treaties with the Maroons in the western part of the island. In fact, the Accompong Town Maroon community in St. Elizabeth was named after Nanny’s brother Accompong. Seeking to end the ongoing war with the Maroon freedom fighters, the British gave the warriors legal rights to land if they agreed to end the war or even help the colonialists fight other Maroons. From the historic events of 1492, conflict amongst rival colonial powers created opportunities for the Black population in the colonies to fight on the side of a European nation, in hopes of gaining more freedoms (Williams, 8

Although Nanny lived before all of Jamaica’s national heroes, she was one of the last persons to be named a national hero by the government.

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1984). The exception was Cuba, which remained under Spanish control. In the case of Barbados, although the British colonized the island in 1627, prior to that, it went through a period of Portuguese influence. They were the Europeans who actually named the island. There was also Spanish, and even periods of Dutch influence in Barbados. It is important to mention here that in 1619, Dutch slave traders took slaves from the island of Barbados to Jamestown, Virginia in North America,9 which was also a British colony. These were the first Black people who were taken to North America as slaves, which made a permanent historical connection between slavery in the Caribbean and North America. During this time, the Dutch West India Company was a key player in the slave trade, as it supplied slaves to the Portuguese, and even the Spanish and British at times (Raphael, 1983). In Suriname and around the Caribbean, Jewish investors made an impact on the Transatlantic Slave, which was extremely profitable. In addition, through the Dutch West India Company, the Jews in Surname and Brazil created a large slave community (Roth, 1974, Schorsch, 2004, Wiznitzer, 1960). Jewish scholar Jonathan Schorsch has provided some detailed documentation on this in his book, Jews and Blacks in the Early Modern World. The book even includes an appendix with many of the Jewish owned and enslaved Africans in the Caribbean and Central and South America. Among the slave population, Jewish plantation owners taught a theology that suggested that Jews were ‘chosen of God;’ rather than equal members of the human family tree, which began in continental Africa (Raphael, 1983; Schorsch, 2004). Like other slave owners, religious propaganda was used to teach slaves racial inferiority and to justify slavery. Since generally, slaves were not permitted to attend school and were not allowed to learn from anything other than Europeanized theology, some were actually convinced regarding the myth that the deity privileged one racial or ethnic group over all others, that the world was seven thousand years old, that an enslaved foreign people built the great pyramids of Egypt in Africa, and that creation began in Mesopotamia. In spite of a preponderance of evidence that would refute all of these claims, clearly, the enslavement of the mind would prove to be the greatest battle and the most enduring freedom lost by Black people because of slavery. As a result of slavery and colonization, there were various groups of people in the Caribbean who would speak “creolized” French (native West African languages integrated with European languages) at one time, “creolized” English at another time, and “creolized” Spanish, Dutch, and 9

The British colony at James Town, Virginia was named after King James of England.

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Portuguese depending on the ruling colonial state. The colonized were never allowed to learn or study their own African languages and cultural traditions, and this is a misfortune that many people today do not understand. Hence, many Africans are dismayed that some Black Caribbean people do not have a desire to connect to Africa, culturally, spiritually, socially, politically or economically. Furthermore, many people presume that the culture and sensibilities of the Caribs and Arawaks who inhabited the Caribbean before the arrival of Columbus are not important, despite the attempts by current governments and the few remaining ancestors to revive the memories of these people. Today, we must be mindful to ensure that an authentic voice is given to those who have gone before us. A reading of M. C. Forte’s (2005) work and website [2011] can be embraced as an important example of cultural inclusion, and as a small, but significant step towards the preservation of native culture.

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REVOLTS AND DISCONTENT IN THE CARIBBEAN Throughout the period of slavery in the Caribbean, many slaves strove for freedom and self-actualization. Revolts were most common among the African population, and among Blacks who still had African retentions and were not assimilated into plantation life and European culture. Most notable were the Maroons (Runaway slaves) of Jamaica and Guyana, who escaped from the plantations and settled on the hillsides where some still reside today. In Guyana, Cuffy was known for leading some of the greatest uprisings among the slaves. There were also large settlements of Maroons in Surinam, like the Djukas and Saramaccas. From the most remote areas of the country, these Black freedom fighters waged some of the greatest wars against White plantation owners. One of the earliest documented Black slave revolts in the Americas took place on December 6th, 1522 on the island of Santo Domingo (Haiti/Dominican Republic), which was being established as a settlement by Christopher Columbus’ brother, Bartholomew Columbus. In this revolt, the slaves attacked Don Diego, Christopher Columbus’ son, and his men, and destabilized the system of slavery. In the attack, Don Diego barely escaped death. This revolt was the beginning of many more to come on the island of Santo Domingo, and it sent a clear signal to the Europeans that reinforcement was needed. Similarly, in 1760 in Jamaica, a slave known as Tacky led one of the bloodiest revolts on the island. Tacky was generally believed to be a Coromantee Chief from the Guinea area of West Africa (Carey, 1997). He was

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brought to Jamaica as a slave to work on the plantations. After a prolonged period of suffrage, Tacky gathered a group of men and killed several plantation owners. As Tacky and his men fought the colonialists, word began to spread around the island (Gleaner, 1995). The British would eventually seek the assistance of other Blacks to have Tacky killed. In 1823, a similar event took place in Demerara, Guyana when over 12,000 slaves engaged in a revolt that destabilized the country. And again, in 1831 in Jamaica, this time it was Sam Sharpe’s revolt that inflicted the final blow that was needed to force the British to abolish slavery on the island. This and other revolts and bloodshed led to the ultimate abolition of slavery (Williams, 1984, 1994).10 Sam Sharpe’s revolt overlaps with Nat Turner’s revolt in the U.S. Although they were in different places, in 1831, Sharpe and Turner, who were both clergymen, led major uprisings that led to the freedom of their people. Perhaps both men connected cosmologically through suffrage to time their resistance and make the greatest sacrifice towards the abolition of slavery. Subsequently, both men were hung, but Turner’s skin was stripped and removed from his body as a public sign to all slaves who might consider resisting their White plantation owners. In the Caribbean, the most infamous of the slave resistors was Toussaint L’Ouverture, who with a band of Black/African soldiers who were militarily disadvantaged but spiritually motivated, fought to gain liberty and equality for their country. However, the French did not surrender Haiti, the sugar plantation capital of the world, without a fight and they tortured many Africans. James (1963) writes: “The French burned alive, hanged, drowned, tortured, and started again their old habit of burying blacks up to the neck near nests of insects” (p. 360). They also fed Black people’s bodies to dogs so that they could get use to the texture and taste, and attack Blacks on sight (James, 1963). In his book, The Irritated Genie, Jacob Carruthers explains the significance and impact of the Haitian Revolution. He states: The Haitian Revolution is said to have begun on August 22, 1791 when thousands of slaves crudely armed with stolen weapons, various tools and torches, overran and destroyed most of the plantations and besieged the towns of Northern Saint Dominique, the most prosperous 10

The Sam Sharpe revolt set the political stage for emancipation and the ultimate abolition of slavery throughout the British colonies. It was also a pretext for the 1962 independence of Jamaica from British rule. In this way, the 2012 - 50th anniversary of Jamaica’s independence is a culmination of the historical and current struggle for social, economic and political freedom.

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G. Wiggan and J. T. Walrond European colony in the world at that time. Actually, this well planned, sustained offensive was the culmination of nearly three centuries of periodic Black rebellions against the European settlers who imported kidnapped Africans to supply their labor needs. When Blacks were first imported into the island the native population was in the process of being exterminated under the leadership of the relatives of Columbus who first invaded the island in 1492. In fact, the first recorded Black rebellion seems to have occurred on the plantation of a son of Columbus in1522. (9)

Carruthers continues:

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The Blacks who were unable at that time to destroy the European settlements retired to the mountains, made alliances with the remaining natives and settlers and these struggles intensified when in the late 17th century the French took the western part of the island from the Spaniards who had colonized the island first under the name Hispaniola and later San Domingo. The French called their colony Saint Domingue. Haiti or the high place was the native name which was restored by Dessalines after the revolution. (9)

Before the start of the Haitian Revolution, in true African tradition, a high priest named Boukman [Bookman], who was originally from Jamaica, conducted a ceremonial prayer, which invoked the warrior ancestors. Carruthers (1985) explains that the Ogun ceremony began on August 14th, 1791. He states: Ogun was the personification of the Voodun Spirit of Warefare and Iron. The event took place in a forest near what at that time was called Cape Francois, the colonial capital. Bookman (as he was generally known) who was a Voodun priest, planned the launching of the revolution with Ogun’s celebration in keeping with the time tested tradition among African people that human events must be coordinated with cosmological forces and ancestral spirits. The revolution, thus, had its roots in the African Worldview. (21)

Carruthers (1985) cites the August 29th, 1793 letter by Toussaint L’Ouverture, where he encourages his fellow Black Haitians to join him in the armed struggle against the French. L’Ouverture states:

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Brothers and Friends: I am Toussaint L’Ouverture; my name is perhaps known to you. I have undertaken to avenge your wrongs. It is my desire that liberty and equality shall reign in Saint Domingo. I am striving to this end. Come and unite with us, brother, and combat with us for the same cause. Your very humble and very obedient servant,

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Signed: Toussaint L’Ouverture General for the public welfare. (40)

The slave revolt lasted 12 years, in which the Black Haitians defeated the “local whites and soldiers of the French monarchy, a Spanish invasion, a British expedition of some 60,000 men, and a French expedition” (James, 1963, p. ix). Napoleon’s efforts to subdue Haiti ultimately failed. During the battle, the Haitian freedom fighters attacked their White plantation owners and members of the mulatto class (a racially mixed class) who were helping the French facilitate slavery on the island. In the end, more than 180 sugar plantations were burnt and roughly 1,000 coffee farms were destroyed. Haiti, the first free Black republic, gained its independence in 1803. In 1804, the first year of Haiti’s independence, the country’s Governor-General, Jean Jacques Dessalines, stated: CRIMES, that most atrocious, such as were hitherto unheard of, and would cause nature to shudder, have been perpetrated. The measure of their cruelty overflowed. At length the hour of vengeance has arrived, and the implacable enemies of the rights of man have suffered the punishment due to their crimes. My arm, raised above their heads, has too long delayed to strike. At that signal, which the justice of God has urged, your hands, righteously armed, has brought the axe to bear upon the decrepit tree of slavery and prejudice. In vain had time, and more especially the infernal politics of Europeans, defended it with triple brass; you have stripped it of its armor; and have placed it upon your heart, that you may become (like your natural enemies,) cruel and merciless. Like an overflowing and mighty torrent, that bears down all opposition, your vengeful fury has swept away, every obstacle to its impetuous course. Perish thus! All tyrants over innocence, all oppressors of mankind! (127)

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In spite of Haiti’s great struggle for independence, European and North American governments would not recognize this independent Black nation. In fact, later Haiti was forced to pay reparations to the French for damages they incurred during the Haitian Revolution. This once wealthy Caribbean island would even encounter forced occupation by the U.S. It would eventually become the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, and maligned publicly through cultural and religious propaganda surrounding its people’s African retentions. Even prior to the revolution, there was global interest in Haiti because of Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, who is known as the founder of the city of Chicago. Du Sable was born of a Haitian ex-slave and a French sea captain sometime between 1745 and 1750. He was educated in France and travelled to North America in the early 1770s. Passovoy (1982) used communications between Mech Kigee, a Potawatomi Chief, George Rogers Clark, Colonel of the Kentucky Long Knives, General Hamilton, British Lieutenant, Governor of Canada and Commandant at Detroit, and other superiors (as well as excerpts from a recruiting speech by Arendt Schuyler De Peyster and a bill of claim filed by Pierre Durand against the British Government) to provide evidence of de Sable’s existence and prominence in the Chicago trading post area. Du Sable’s presence was recorded because of his eminence, which is related to “the struggle for control of the mouth of the Chicago River, the passage for trade and war between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi” (Passovoy, 1982, p. 3). The Americans and the British were both trying to cut-off food and military supplies from each other. Passovoy (1982) writes that Baptiste Point du Sable, who ran a trading post at the mouth of the river, was arrested by the British because his “trading post [was] stocked with [American] army provisions” (p.3). Du Sable was later freed by an Ottawa Chief (Passovoy, 1982). Although the freedom of Haiti and the subsequent revolts throughout the Caribbean sent a message to the European enslavers that resistance was increasing, they tried everything possible to maintain slavery and colonialism. In 1839, an African named Joseph Cinque was among the slaves who were captured in Africa, sailing on the Spanish ship Amistad, which was heading for North America. Cinque was a Mende warrior from Sierra Leone. As the ship approached the coast of Cuba, Cinque and his colleagues waged a revolt on the ship and demanded that it be sailed back to Africa. Realizing that the ship was seized, the White sailors secretly navigated for Long Island, where later, Cinque and his colleagues were tried for piracy and murder in Hartford, Connecticut. The abolitionists (Anti-Slavery Party) intervened in the court

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case and helped the slaves gain their freedom. Back on the Caribbean islands, the interest in Africa was still strong among the population and some Blacks desired to return to the continent. In 1859, Jamaican, Robert Campbell, gave a public cry for the unification of Africa. Campbell migrated to the U.S. and connected with the Black Nationalist and intellectual leader, Martin Delany. Delany and his associates created the Liberian Exodus Joint Stock Steamship Company to help Blacks who were willing, to repatriate back to Africa. Campbell accompanied Delany on an exploratory trip to West Africa, where they sought a settlement so that Black people in the West could free themselves from slavery and repatriate back to the continent. Campbell documented his voyage in his seminal book entitled, A Pilgrimage to my Motherland. He wrote (1861): On the 24th June, 1859, I departed from Liverpool on board the African S.S. “Ethiope,” Capt. French. On the 2d of July we arrived at Funchal, Madeira; the 4th was spent at Santa Cruz, Teneriffe, four days after leaving which we came in sight of Cape Verde, Africa; the next day we anchored in the port of Bathurst on the Gambia. (9)

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After his voyage, Campbell (1861) concludes: If I am still asked what I think of Africa for a colored man to live and do well in, I simply answer, that with as good prospects in America as colored men generally, I have determined, with my wife and children, to go to Africa to live, leaving the inquirer to interpret the reply for himself. (ii, preface)

Like Campbell and Delany, other Blacks grew weary of prejudice and discrimination and they looked to the continent of Africa for their freedom. Later, in North America, Bishop Henry McNeal Turner, of the African Methodist Episcopal church, organized members of his congregation and took a voyage to explore Sierra Leone and Liberia as a possible home for African Americans. After he returned to North America, Bishop Turner began to spread the message of Black solidarity and repatriation to Africa (Redkey, 1969). Back on the Caribbean islands, the effects of Sam Sharpe’s revolt was still sending shock waves of fear among White plantation owners, and it left many to question the efficacy of slavery, which continued in subtle ways even after the Abolition Act was signed. Seeing all of these atrocities, sentiments against

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slavery was growing among some Whites. Granville Sharp, Thomas Burchell and William Knibb were three notable clergymen from England who helped to spread an abolitionist message regarding slavery. Burchell was the pastor of a Baptist church in Montego Bay, Jamaica, where the freedom fighter Sam Sharpe was the deacon. As mentioned, it was the infamous 1831 slave revolt, which started in December [around Christmas] and lasted for four months, that led to Sam Sharp’s death and the ostracizing of Burchell. Due to their activism and in spite of being White, Granville Sharp, Thomas Burchell, and William Knibb were very unpopular among colonialists and as a result, their lives were often threatened. Nevertheless, the three helped spread the message of abolition and they helped change attitudes about slavery back in Europe. In addition, the Religious Society of Friends, also called Quakers, were instrumental in the struggle to end slavery. Nevertheless, the real activism, work, resistance, battle and bloodshed that ended slavery, came from the slaves themselves and from African freedom fighters throughout continental Africa. Later on, in 1865, in the midst of the Civil War in North America, of which slavery was a central issue, back in the Caribbean, there was another major rebellion and uprising. This time it was George William Gordon of Jamaica, who was a Member of the House of Assembly, and the legendary Paul Bogle (Gleaner, 1995). Both men were friends and members of the Baptist clergy. Gordon used his position as Member of the House of Assembly to decry the treatment of the poor Black population, while Bogle gathered a group of men and took control of the St. Thomas courthouse. In the infamous Morant Bay rebellion, as it was called, more than 600 people were killed, and Paul Bogle emerged as the parish leader for a brief period of time. Sensing that this rebellion could spill over into the entire island, the British brought in troops and even sought the assistance of other Blacks to help them battle Bogle and his men (Gleaner, 1995). In the end, Paul Bogle was captured and hung, and although George William Gordon was not directly involved in the revolt, he was tried for instigating a rebellion. In court, Gordon was found guilty and he was subsequently hung. For roughly three-and-a-half centuries after Columbus’ first voyage, the Atlantic Ocean was the center of global commerce, linking Africa, the Americas, the Middle East, Asia, and Western Europe (Gilroy, 1993). The consequence of this action has been a steady interest in understanding slavery and colonialism, by those whose ancestors were the subjects of this devastating saga. Renowned artist J.M.W. Turner’s painting, “The Slave Ship” [1840], depicts dark images of a sailing vessel in turbulent seas, birds of prey

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hovering above, and dead and dying Africans being tossed overboard to the sharks in the Atlantic Ocean. Even William Shakespeare refers to the savages in the Western world in his play “The Tempest.” These savages he was passively referring to were the Africans who were brought to the West to work as slaves. For more than three hundred years, the slave ships leaving West Africa were filled beyond capacity with Africans chained side-by-side in cramped quarters, where they took a three-month journey across the Atlantic Ocean, with human excrements of all kinds and many dead bodies surrounding them. During this gruesome trip, the Africans were not allowed to come up to the ship’s deck for fresh air, so many succumbed to sickness and death. Only half of the Africans on the ships would make it alive to the Caribbean and North America, and when they arrived, their new life of misery would have just begun. While there is still much debate about how many Africans were taken out of Africa in slavery, during the 350 years of the slave trade, of the estimated 60 million Africans who were removed from the continent, only half of them survived the voyage (see W. E. B. Du Bois’ Suppression of the African Slave Trade to the United States and Americas).

Image: Slave Ship.

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This holocaust of African and African descent people is unparalleled in human history (See John Henrik Clarke’s Christopher Columbus and the African Holocaust). The Spanish were also responsible for bringing to extinction most of the Caribs, Tainos, and Arawaks of the Caribbean islands. Although clergyman Bartolomé de las Casas, in his book, Destruction of the Indies, is credited with bringing attention to the plight of the native population of the Caribbean, he concluded that the colonialists should look to Africans as a new source of slave labor. The British Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 proposed to end slavery in the Caribbean, and in the following year [1834], the act was gradually being enforced. The 1833 abolition act was the culmination of the Sam Sharpe revolt and the centuries of slave uprisings that forced the British to make this crucial decision. However, British colonialism continued around the world until as late as 1997, when Hong Kong was removed from British sovereignty and transferred to China. Slavery was such an important source of capital for European nations, that there would have been no industrial revolution without the wealth that Black slaves created (See Eric Williams’ Capitalism and Slavery). The industrial revolution in Britain brought about innovations in technology and machinery, which decreased the demand for farm laborers. Machines were cheaper to operate, and they could increase production and profits. However, it was the free labor of Blacks that created the wealth that made industrialization possible. In addition, innovations like African American inventor Elijah McCoy’s automatic oil cup, would eventually become standard equipment on locomotives and heavy machinery, which was crucial to industrialization. Even prior to McCoy, African American Benjamin Banneker, through his many inventions, had become one of the finest engineers and surveyors the Western world had ever known. Later, Garrett Morgan’s invention of the traffic signal would revolutionize transportation systems around the world. In spite of these essential Black innovations and contributions, which would help industrialization, generally, all European nations viewed Black people as being lower than human beings. Therefore, most free Blacks did not support the colonial system, which was meant to continue the exploitation of workers. Britain, which was the global superpower, would then invest its resources in recruiting indentured laborers from China and East India to work in the Caribbean. These indentured servants’ working agreement was different from Black slaves. Although they were underpaid, they were paid laborers and they lived in communities where they could maintain their language and culture. Many of the men were able to bring wives from their respective

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countries. On the islands, some of the South Asians continued the practice of polygamy, which increased the number of hands they had to work on farms. Most of these indentured servants did not return to their home country, and today in places like Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Guyana, where many people of East Indian heritage settled, there is still a strong influence on the national culture. It must be noted here that Africans, Black slaves and plantation workers, were never given the same status or privileges as immigrant workers. Although many of the Indians who came to the region were from the southern part of India, and were of lower castes in their home country, when they arrived in the British colonial system of the Caribbean, they were socialized to believe that Blacks and Africans were even lower on the colonial social class ladder (Williams, 1993, 1994).

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ABRAHAM LINCOLN, THE CARIBBEAN AND BEYOND The Caribbean islands were of such interest, that even Abraham Lincoln, when he sought a place to send freed Blacks in the U.S., looked to the island of Haiti and the country of Belize, to explore a program of settlement similar to the American Colonization Society. Magness and Page (2011) state: The colonization of freed slaves, to either Africa or the tropics of Central America and the Caribbean, featured prominently in Abraham Lincoln’s formative beliefs on race and slavery. Enabled by a $600,000 appropriation from Congress, Lincoln aggressively pursued the policy in the early part of his presidency. (1)

They continue: This embrace of colonization underwent little material change between 1858 and his [Lincoln] election to the presidency. Even before the first shots were fired at Fort Sumter, Lincoln directed Elisha O. Crosby, his newly appointed minister to Guatemala, to investigate the prospects of colonization in Central America. In his first year in office Lincoln called upon Congress to fund a larger colonization program. (3)

In April of 1863, more than 400 African Americans were sent to Haiti as part of a colonization effort. However, these African Americans were Following the Northern Star: Caribbean Identities and Education in North American Schools : Caribbean Identities and

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devastated by disease and starvation. Lincoln would later send a ship to bring the survivors back to North America (See Phillip Magness and Sebastian Page’s Colonization after Emancipation: Lincoln and the Movement for Black Resettlement). Lincoln was indeed progressive and he was a maverick of his time. He is often referred to as the great emancipator, which he is to be credited for signing the Emancipation Proclamation that freed the slaves in the South, but not the North. The Emancipation Proclamation was later reinforced and implemented through the passage of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This was a rather strategic move, because in freeing the slaves in the South, it would help to further destabilize the Confederate army and allow Blacks to join the Union in the war. However, the story of Lincoln as the great emancipator needs some re-visitation and contextualization, for it appears that freeing the slaves in the South was more of a political and military move, rather than true benevolence towards Black Americans (Browder, 1992; Thompson, 1987). Lincoln was known for making some of the most disparaging comments about Black inferiority, both intellectually and culturally (Browder, 1992), and it is worth noting that even after emancipation, he supported the colonization of more than 400 Black Americans on the island of Île à Vache of Haiti (Cow Island), as well as in Belize. In the Caribbean, after emancipation [1833], the population on the islands consisted mostly of African descent and mixed race [heritage] people. Whites were few in number because the Black population from the Transatlantic Slave Trade greatly outnumbered the Europeans in the region. Furthermore, many plantation owners were absentee owners who lived in England and throughout Europe. In the 20th century, this paved the way for Black overseers and a Black educated class on some islands. While advanced education was a coveted dream for Blacks in the Caribbean, by the mid-20th century, many were educated and they soon became civil servants, educators and medical workers. Those who received scholarships were able to attend the best universities in Britain, France, Spain and other European countries, and some even returned to the Caribbean. These educated Afro-Caribbean individuals constituted a strata of people who would eventually become members of the governing class. In the 1960s, they would take the islands from crown colony status through federation, to its dissolution, self-government, independence, and finally for some, to republic like status.

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Narratives of Political Independence: Holding on or Moving on The narratives regarding the drive to political independence of the hinterland colonies of the Caribbean were as diverse and complex as the politics of the colonizing nations of Europe. During slavery and beyond, the politics of European colonies ranged from French and Spanish autocracy to some measures of colonial self-government, with respect to Britain, and with other countries such as Holland, positioned somewhere along this continuum. Of important consideration also was the ethnic diversity of the inhabitants in these colonies. For colonies such as Jamaica and Dominican Republic, which changed political status throughout their history, establishing a system of governance was a matter of developing policies in keeping with those of newly independent nations. The people in the hinterland were assumed to be Spanish or British subjects, and once they became independent, some would still pledge allegiance to the former European power. For other colonies such as Trinidad, which changed governments at least three times throughout its history, eventually becoming a British colony, there was more of a challenge. It had a history of Spanish conquistadors whose Roman Catholic religion and institutions were entrenched. In fact, it is most probable that Columbus named Trinidad based on his belief in the “holy trinity,” as the name of the island would suggest. The French would also settle both Trinidad and Tobago. And in the latter half of the 18th century, the Cedula population provided a French plantation class that contributed to the French patois aspect of the language on the islands. With the late arrival of the British in Trinidad, they were forced to deal with a colored or bi-racial population of people, who also had Spanish and French influence and were resistant (Williams, 1970). The overarching fear faced by all colonialists was that slave rebellions on neighboring islands had the potential to cripple their own operations and create chaos on other islands. In spite of this risk, all European countries wanted a stake in the system of slavery and colonialism. To this end, the U.S. acquired Puerto Rico from Spain in 1898. In the case of Cuba, the Cuban civil war philosopher-statesman, José Martí, advocated for the equality of Aboriginal, Black, Mixed-Race and White people as “the purest, most efficacious and transcendental act of the Cuban revolution” (Williams, 1970, p. 407). Through much struggle and perseverance, Cuba finally became a republic in 1902.

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Education and the Caribbean In doing this research, we were forced to reflect autobiographically on our own educational experiences in the Caribbean. In my case, I [Greg] am still in the first generation of school-goers in my immediate family. My parents received very little formal schooling, as education was not a luxury for them under British oppression and colonialism in Jamaica. As mentioned, my mother was the oldest child, so she was often forced to stay home and take care of her siblings. Similarly, my father had to leave school early and begin helping my grandmother provide for the family. In spite of these obstacles, my parents instilled a great deal of commitment and interest in education in their children. In school, the two educators who have impacted me the most are Mrs. Lyons and Dr. Asa Hilliard. With the support of my parents, my grandmother enrolled all of her grandchildren in the basic school of Mrs. Lyons, who was a respected teacher in Sav-la-mar, Westmoreland, Jamaica. Mrs. Lyons was very kind and loving, but she was also firm and held high standards and expectations. Although my parents’ formal education was limited by colonialism, I was made to believe that there was something intrinsically powerful about a quality education and this was somehow related to why my ancestors were denied it. Almost twenty years after being a student of Mrs. Lyons, I was placed in the care of another great educator, my last teacher and mentor, the late, Dr. Asa Hilliard. This time it was in a different country (U.S.) and space, where I trained for my Ph.D. Each year when I return home to Jamaica, I always visit teacher Lyons. Although she is elderly and can hardly see, she always remembers all of Mrs. Scott’s grandchildren. To the best of Mrs. Lyons’ knowledge, I am the only one of her students to have completed a Ph.D. and teach in a major university, and this is something in which she takes great pride. Like Greg, in my [Jean] own experience I can remember my childhood where my parents placed a very high value on formal and informal education. This was evidenced by the emphasis my father placed on the education of my older brother. As children, at about age three, we started attending kindergarten classes. However, what was remarkable was that we started formal schooling at age five, as our parents took advantage of the no “proof of age” policy in school. The only requirement was that a family should demonstrate that a child was ready for school and could handle the curriculum, which we were all capable of doing. The secret behind our ability was the tutoring we received at home. At age five, when my brother started school, my parents paid the principal to provide him with extra-lessons. As the eldest

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child and a boy, he received more of dad’s attention. My father, who was a qualified pharmacist, was well aware that extra tutoring was necessary from a very early age, if we were to acquire the knowledge and discipline necessary to succeed in the various exhibitions and national exams in the Caribbean. In addition, passing scores were needed if we were to gain acceptance to the better secondary and tertiary level schools. Reflecting on the situation, I [Jean] feel my father did not believe he had the skills to tutor my brother so he hired the school principal for that purpose. While I did not receive paid extra-lessons at an early age, my mother provided tutoring at home. It was always expected that I would take my education seriously. I was expected not only to obtain British Caribbean’s Cambridge “O” and “A” Level certificates, but I was also to attend university, preferably abroad, and complete a degree. I not only achieved most of those goals; but after acquiring my Bachelor of Science degree at Concordia University in Montréal, Canada, I did not return to Trinidad. Instead, like many other students from the Caribbean, I [Jean] chose to stay in Canada to provide better opportunities for my family. Regional scholars have also analyzed students’ experiences with education in the Caribbean. In the context of the history of the Caribbean region, education and development are two interrelated, nuanced and complex themes. Beckford (1976), whose thesis contributes to the sociology of Caribbean education, writes that “modern Caribbean society displays structural forms that are a direct legacy of the slave plantation system… This legacy provides the single most important clue for an understanding of contemporary Caribbean society” (p. 30). The cultural framework of Caribbean society is based on cultural pluralism and acculturation towards a dominant White society. Beckford (1976) further contends that “during slavery educational opportunities were restricted” (p. 37), and after emancipation even though access to education improved, it was geared towards skills that were useful on the plantations. However, many Blacks shunned these limited opportunities for second-class citizens, aspiring instead for equal rights and treatment (Miller, 1976). Education was therefore one of the social forces which differentiated those individuals “who had ‘made it’ from those who had not” (Beckford, 1976, p. 38). Caribbean society was highly stratified and education was seen as the principal means by which low socio-economic status Blacks could rise above social class and racial prejudice (Miller, 1976). In the independence period, while farming opportunities existed, most Blacks had no intentions on working the land as cheap laborers. Instead, they moved away from farming and pursued education, with the aspiration that this would lead to a “good” respectable job (Miller, 1976).

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In contrast to the Black population, the former enslavers/colonizers’ views of education for Blacks was premised on restriction, miseducation, and servitude (Woodson, 1933). Education is supposed to enable societal, interpersonal and psychological empowerment, participation in development, and lifelong learning (Friboulet, 2005). However, after denying Blacks in the Caribbean an education for centuries, when it was finally being offered, it reflected the colonialists’ values and motivations. A quote from Nyerere (1968) sums up the purpose of education after slavery and during colonialism. He states: “[Education] was motivated by a desire to inculcate the values of the colonial society and to train individuals for the service of the colonial state” (Nyerere, 1968, p. 269). Each colonial state would selectively educate a few Blacks with the intention of placing them in supervisory or administrative roles in its colonies. An example of this was John Russwurm, a Jamaican, who through the support of the American Colonization Society, became one of the first Black people to receive a college education in the U.S. After completing his training at Bowdoin College in 1826, he later served as a governor in the U.S. colony of Liberia, West Africa (See Greg Wiggan’s Education for the New Frontier, 1867-1945). During colonialism, the colonized population knew that they had to gain a formal education in order to be free from European oppression. However, slaves would only be permitted to learn from the Bible, literature that Europeans introduced them to. They would also learn of a White deity, a White mother of the deity, and a story which suggested that the deity had a privileged or “chosen people” who were loved above all other ethnic groups. Clearly, this was part of the racist propaganda machine that was used to indoctrinate slaves, teach them White supremacy, and servitude on the plantations. Nevertheless, throughout their persistent fight against slavery and colonialism, the colonized had a deep and long yearning for an education. Those who became literate would begin to question and challenge the colonial system. As the literature, our experiences, and those of our research participants will show, Blacks in the Caribbean viewed education as a means for creating real freedom, and reconstructing their social and cultural identities. In this respect, it is difficult to conceive or comprehend if formerly enslaved Blacks would have valued country or state development above their own freedom (Rist, 1997). It must be noted that at emancipation, the emotional associations ex-slaves had with the development of the nation-state were negative psychological reminders of slavery. These reminders pertained to the harsh treatment they received from Europeans, as well as the near eradication

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of native African languages, culture, and ways of knowing, all of which were important for individual and community development. Julius Nyerere’s (1968) definition of development would have been quite fitting to describe the freed slaves’ perspective on the term. He defines development as the state of being where one has acquired the values of a colonial society and is able to be of service to the colonial state. Nyerere (1968) also argues that: “[The] purpose [of education] is to transmit from one generation to the next the accumulated wisdom and knowledge of the society, and to prepare the young people for their future membership in the society and their active participation in its maintenance or development” (p. 268). Given this social context, how should those who live with a legacy of slavery value education as prescribed by the benefactors of their ancestors’ enslavement? As well, how should they establish their own goals for education? On the basis of these understandings, one can appreciate the dilemma that Blacks faced in the Caribbean in terms of development and education. While individual development was desired, national development in terms of the colonial state was not a position that was popularly supported by ex-slaves. These were the people who were being dehumanized and brutalized by the savagery of European slavery and colonialism. Therefore, among most Blacks, there was an oppositional psychology towards the slave-driving state. Yet, in some ways for ex-slaves, there was the realization that their personal development was contributing to the advancement of the nation-state. Nevertheless, for many people in the Caribbean, they would be forced to emigrate to improve their life chances.

A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF CARIBBEAN MIGRATION PATTERNS While the British Caribbean islands were striving for independence, many of its people were migrating to the U.S., U.K., and Canada to secure greater economic and educational opportunities. Migration patterns were subjected to the policies that existed in the receiving countries. The people who left the Caribbean were doing so to find employment, which would not only support them in the host country, but their remittances would also be the main source of income for their families in the Caribbean. Among those who left the Caribbean were Joel Augustus Rogers (acclaimed historian) and Marcus Garvey (Black Nationalist leader) of Jamaica, and Eric Walrond (writer and

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political activist) of Guyana/Barbados. These men lived among the African Americans in Harlem and were members of the Harlem Renaissance Movement. Although they were familiar with the plight of underclass Blacks in the Caribbean, they also saw Black leaders who were empowering the masses towards freedom from colonialism. They saw a similar struggle for freedom and self-actualization among the Blacks in the U.S., as they compared the social and economic systems of both countries. Rogers, Garvey, and Walrond vocalized their concerns regarding structural racism and they were found guilty of creating disturbances in the U.S. As a result, they were often ostracized, persecuted and declared “persona non grata.”

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The Impact of Joel Augustus Rogers in World History It is important to mention here that Joel Augustus Rogers, or J. A. Rogers as he was called, used the racism and prejudice he saw against Africa and Black people as motivation to do an inquiry into the role of Black contributions in world history. As we mentioned earlier, up to the period of the mid-20th century, it was a most common practice in schools and the general society to purport claims of Black and Brown (Latina/Latino) inferiority. White researchers would engineer some of the most damaging propaganda about Black people’s intelligence and their role in history (Wiggan, 2007a). However, during the early 20th century, Joel Rogers, who was from Westmoreland, Jamaica, was one of the most important historians of the Caribbean and African Diaspora. At this crucial period of history, a veil of racism, White supremacist thinking, teaching, and theology clouded perceptions about Africa, as well as Black people’s contributions to the world. As the lynching of Black men was still the social norm, and globally, aparthiedism and racialized colonialism spanned the earth, which essentially created a hierarchy of social and ethnic groups, the promise of equal rights and justice was fleeting, and even beyond human comprehension. All things pertaining to Black people or continental Africa were assumed to be inferior and pagan, a pronouncement that was being supported by racist researchers. For example, George Hagel, David Livingstone and others, wrote about Black people in the most condescending tone (Diop, 1974; Obenga, 1992, 1995). Furthermore, the continent of Africa was often referred to as the dark land of uncivilized people, even though it was home to some of the oldest and great civilizations in human history (Finch, 1991/2011).

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The self-taught historian, J. A. Rogers, devoted over 50 years of his life to the study of world history. During the 20th century, he was one of the researchers and authors who was helping to correct the misconceptions and outright lies about Africa and people of African descent. White researchers had essentially written Africa and people of African descent out of history, proposing that there were no civilizations on the continent, its inhabitant had pagan beliefs, and that the great Egyptian dynasties were not of Black African ancestry. In books such as, Africa’s Gift to the Americas, One hundred Amazing Fact about Negro People, Worlds Greatest Men of Color, Vol.1 and II, and The Real Facts About Ethiopia, Rogers presented some of the most illuminating works on Black contributions around the globe, which challenged the status quo. On November 2nd of 1930, with Ethiopia being the only uncolonized Black country remaining in the world, as it was consistently able to fight-off the attempts at enslavement by European countries, Rogers received an invitation to the coronation of Emperor Haile Selassie, the last reigning emperor of Ethiopia. Emperor Haile Selassie was impressed by the work Rogers did to document Black contributions around the world. In fact, in 1954, Rogers was welcomed back to Ethiopia by Haile Selassie, this time to receive Emperor Selassie’s gold medal for his outstanding research. At this meeting, Selassie ordered more than one hundred and twenty copies of Rogers’ book, World’s Greatest Men of Color (See Rogers’ One hundred Amazing Facts about the Negro, with Complete Proof). Rogers made his transition (died) in 1966, the same year that Emperor Haile Selassie made his historic visit to Jamaica, Haiti, and Trinidad and Tobago. This was the first time that an African head-of-state came to the Caribbean. It was as if Rogers timed his death for the highest symbolic effect on the international Black civil rights movement, and for Haile Selassie, the emperor of the oldest Black monarchy in the world, to make his grand entry into the Caribbean.

Twentieth Century Immigration During the 20th century, due to the harsh conditions on the islands, emigration flowed to North America and England. However, by the mid-20th century, some of the educated Afro-Caribbean people, having experienced life abroad in places such as England, Canada and the U.S., returned to the Caribbean with ideas of helping the oppressed out of the throes of colonialism.

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Table 2.1. Registered Caribbean Immigrants to the United States of America, 1901–2001

Period or year 1901 – 1910 1911 – 1920 1921 – 1930 1931 - 1940 1941 – 1950 1951 – 1960 1961 – 1970 1971 – 1980 1981 – 1990 1991 – 2000 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

Number of immigrants (in thousands) 107.5 123.4 74.9 49.7 49.7 123.1 470.2 741.1 872.1 978.8 98.2 103.8 96.0 116.0 101.1 72.9 70.4 85.6 97.0

Period over period percentage change -14.79 -39.30 -33.64 0.00 147.69 281.97 57.61 17.68 12.23

(Adapted from U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, 2011).

As we mentioned, lack of opportunity and economic capital were the major reasons for immigration to England, Canada and the U.S. Generally, families would pool their resources to help one person migrate. This process would begin chain-migrations, where a person who migrates builds social networks to assist another person in the family to migrate, and that process would continue to reproduce itself. While it is difficult to document actual migration, because of the undocumented movement of immigrants, the proceeding table shows that when compared to Canada, the U.S. has always been a major recipient of people from the Caribbean. The close proximity of the Caribbean and the U.S., particularly South Florida, helps to explain this pipeline of immigration. While the data does not show the amount of Caribbean people who came to the U.S. prior to 1901, table 2.1 shows 107,500 people of Caribbean identity coming to the country between 1901 and 1910. Canada, on the other hand, shows that the country started collecting data for

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this category in 1955, and only 4,205 Caribbean immigrants entered its borders between 1955 and 1958 (Statistics Canada, 2010). During the last century, over 4.4 million Caribbean people made the U.S. their home. The first decade showed a continued increase of approximately 15% followed by three decades of decline in immigration, which could probably be attributed to the fact that the U.S. and the Caribbean were experiencing the effects of two world wars and a severe depression. From the 1950s onward, there has been decade-by-decade increase in Caribbean immigration to the U. S. Caribbean migration to Canada increased sharply between the years 1961 and 1970. The 751.16% increase from 6,569 to 55,913. Similarly, over this same period of time, table 2.2 shows the dynamic rise in the number of Caribbean people obtaining legal immigrant status in the U.S. This sharp increase was the result of the Caribbean independence era of the 1960s, the larger Civil Rights Movement, as well as the U.S. and Canada’s change in immigration policies, which opened the doors to immigrants. However, at the turn of the 21st century, these numbers would decrease. In 2001, as a result of the horrific September 11th terrorists’ attacks on the U.S., the Canadian government would enact tighter immigration policies. This was a crucial decision that was needed to enforce greater border control. Since that time, the U.S. and Canadian governments have reinstated more inclusive immigration policies. Table 2.2. Caribbean Persons Obtaining Legal Permanent Resident Status in the United States: Fiscal Years 1900-2009

Fiscal Period or Year 1900 – 1909 1910 – 1919 1920 – 1929 1930 – 1939 1940 – 1949 1950 – 1959 1960 – 1969 1970 – 1979 1980 – 1989 1990 – 1999 2000 – 2009

Number of permanent residents (In thousands) 101.0 120.9 83.5 18.1 46.8 116.8 431.8 747.1 876.0 1079.1 1124.3

Period over period Percentage change -19.71 -30.93 -78.22 157.33 149.61 269.7 73.03 17.25 23.18 4.19

(Adapted from the U.S. Yearbook of Immigrant Statistics, 2011).

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140,000

Immigrants--Actual Number

120,000

Immigration Population

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100,000

80,000

60,000

40,000

20,000

0 1955 - 1960

1961 - 1970

1971 - 1980

1981 - 1990

1991 - 2000

2001 - 2010

Period of Immigration

(Adapted from Statistics Canada, 2010). Figure 1.1. Caribbean Immigration to Canada.

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Immigration Population

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Period of Immigration

(Adapted from the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, 2011). Figure 2.2. Caribbean Immigrants to the United States of America.

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In the book, Migration can Fall Apart, Alexander Miller (2008) discusses the voluntary and involuntary circumstances (which often stems from infractions related to immigration laws) of return migrants to the Caribbean. He finds that generally, these migrants were shocked at the kinds of racism and prejudice they saw and experienced in the U.S. and U.K. I [Greg] can still remember living in Winston-Salem, North Carolina (U.S.), the historic Moravian town mentioned earlier, where I experienced some of the deepest forms of prejudice and discrimination. Back on the Caribbean islands, we knew very little about this type of White on Black race relations. In my neighborhood, after having several trespassing infractions and threats from vagrant neighbors, when I sought to get law enforcement involved, one of the officers laughed at my complaint and he proceeded to ask me what I thought one of my neighbors meant when he told me he was a “red neck.” I explained to the officer that it was clear what this man meant after all of the racial slurs he hurled at me when he made the comment. Although there had been frequent police calls to this neighbor’s house to address domestic disputes, the White police officers only laughed at my complaint. Even though I was the one calling for their assistance regarding these trespassers, they treated me with the greatest level of suspicion and interrogation. Eventually I had to seek the help of a higher command officer to visit the neighborhood. One day, one of my more pleasant neighbors, Jane, an older White woman, sat down with me and explained to me that she understood exactly what was going on. She showed me pictures of her grandchildren and explained that she sees clearly how “different things are” among her grandkids. She said that although she loves all of her grandchildren dearly, she sees how the bi-racial/Black grandkids are treated differently in the U.S., while the others are not. Jane told me that she looked at the world in a new way once her daughter had Black children. Jane and I became friends and she offered to keep her ‘eyes open’ for me, and I offered to do the same for her. In North Carolina, in the institutions of higher learning, although I was a professor with the equivalent of two Ph.D.s, life was just as perplexing as the larger city and neighboring towns. I was even racially profiled and interrogated by the school police in a major urban university where I worked. Readers might remember that between 2006 and 2007, there were a series of noose-hangings and threats made against Black faculty members on campuses across the U.S. There was also a less publicized incident at the university where I worked. Noose-hangings are a reminder of the many Black men who were lynched by Whites in the South of the U.S., and when hung, they are an indication that Blacks are not welcomed here. At the institution where I

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worked, once the Black faculty got collective behind the noose incident, which one of the Black employees experienced, the administration was forced to respond to the parties who were involved. Back in my neighborhood in Winston-Salem, one evening while I was mowing my lawn, with my back slightly turned, I saw this man (one of the neighbors) coming straight towards me in my yard. This was the same person I had to call the police on before. I responded to him quickly to defend myself, and he retreated back into his yard. When I called law enforcement to report the incident, the officer went to the neighbor’s house first and then gave me a warning. The domestic violence incidents escalated at the neighbor’s house across the street until one day, the man who lived there was fatally stabbed to death by his stepson, after the stepson apparently intervened to rescue his mother. This was a tragedy and the local newspaper covered the story. The young man was in his teens, he was facing a second-degree murder charge and the protagonist lost his life. May be if the law enforcement officers had responded appropriately to my calls, perhaps both lives could have been saved. However, all the police officers could see was that I was a Black man and for them, I must have been the problem. It should also be noted that WinstonSalem is the same city where the infamous Darryl Hunt Trial took place. After wrongly convicting a young Black man of raping and murdering a White woman, even with the DNA evidence to exonerate Hunt, it still cost him almost 20 years of his life in prison. I served on the Daryl Hunt Project and was a reviewer for the seminal HBO documentary entitled, The Trials of Darryl Hunt. Hunt has since been an excellent speaker on his college and university lecture tours. These incidents help to explain why some immigrants voluntarily migrate back to their home country, while others are forced to return. In Migration can Fall Apart, Miller (2008) finds that after spending several years abroad, some immigrants were deported back to the Caribbean, while others returned voluntarily after accumulating some finances and material resources. To date, Marcus Garvey is the most famous deportee. For leading a global movement that organized millions of Black people to become self-reliant, Garvey was viewed as a threat and he was subsequently deported back to Jamaica on fallacious mail fraud charges. There is still a growing movement petitioning to have Garvey’s name absolved of those charges. In his study, Miller (2008) found that most of the involuntary returnees came back to Jamaica with little or no finances, while those who left Jamaica with resources and those who returned voluntarily, came back to the island with the requisite capital to maintain a stable life. The late Trevor Rhone, who was an award-winning

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Jamaican playwright and screenwriter, in his classic movie The Harder They Come, chronicles life in the urban communities of Jamaica, which are stricken by poverty, high unemployment, violence, and police and governmental corruption. Jamaicans who have spent several decades abroad and then return home, often struggle to adjust to their new life on the island. Thus, the transition of return immigrants also poses its own sets of challenges and opportunities. As we mentioned earlier, our families’ personal histories reflect the immigrant experience, particularly, in terms of migration from the Caribbean to Canada, England, and the U.S. As table 2.1 indicates, during the 20th century, the population of Caribbean immigrants in the U.S. and Canada continued to grow. In the case of Canada, the country opened its doors to ethnic minorities and many people from the global south took advantage of this opportunity.11 Canada’s parliament, under the leadership of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, enacted a federal multiculturalism act, as well as policies aimed at creating greater diversity. The act and policies, which were introduced in 1971, recognized the cultural diversity of Canadian citizens, and established the goal of having public education and other governmental institutions reflect ethnic and cultural diversity in their programs and policies. The implications of Canada’s multicultural policy are discussed further in the next chapter [3]. During the 1970s, Canada introduced diversity policies that would influence practices surrounding multiculturalism in public schools. Similar activisms in the U.S. regarding multicultural education were connected to the larger Civil Rights Movement of the time, and the growing Black Power and Black Studies movements. In Canada, the nation’s multicultural policies were intended to be more inclusive of children of ethnic minority backgrounds. Our endeavor in this book is to address the efficacy of 40 years of multicultural education policy with regards to Caribbean heritage children. Our data shows that during this time, Caribbean migration to the U.S. and Canada was higher both in absolute terms, as well as in the percentage of each country’s Caribbean population. Since multiculturalism is not an officially recognized policy in the U.S., how can U.S. educators benefit from Canada’s experiment? We believe that a Caribbean perspective on education in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada elucidate themes that are meaningful for teacher pedagogy, student

11

The global south generally constitutes countries in Central and South America, the Caribbean, Africa and parts of Asia. When contrasted to the global north, which includes Europe, North America, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, the global south possess lower levels of wealth and power.

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achievement, and the identity development of Caribbean individuals in Canada and the U.S. In conclusion, in this chapter we addressed the history of the Caribbean and we explored the struggles for independence in the region. In addition, we discussed the post-colonial period of the Caribbean, as well as the historical and contemporary trends in migration to North America, specifically to the U.S. and Canada. We addressed the early development of education in the Caribbean, as well as its connection to migration. The chapter raised key multicultural and diversity issues, which contextualizes the subsequent chapters of this book. In the next chapter, we explain the social context and method of our investigation regarding the experiences of Caribbean heritage families with children in North American schools.

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Chapter 3

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EDUCATION AND CULTURAL IDENTITY In this chapter [3], we describe the background and framework for our investigation on Caribbean immigrant experiences in North American schools. We introduce cultural studies and critical pedagogy, as we investigate the identity development of immigrant students as a social phenomenon that locates and redefines them in the context of the host country. This chapter explains the role that culture plays in the classroom and in multicultural education. To achieve this, we first ground our research in the discipline of cultural studies because it explains the interpretive basis of “culture in relation to individual lives” (During, 1999, p. 1), which is a theme of our investigation. Within a cultural studies paradigm, we consider “theory as a set of contested, localized, conjunctural knowledges, which have to be debated in a dialogical way” (Hall, 1999, pp. 108–109), and as a reflective life practice. We begin by providing multidisciplinary definitions of culture, namely from the fields of anthropology, sociology, cultural studies, and popular culture. We use these perspectives on culture to develop a cultural identity model. This model acknowledges that individuals are cultural beings who construct their identity in relation to others, as well as larger social structures. We analyze schools as cultural institutions where Caribbean immigrants engage in identity politics, as it pertains to their education and experiences. In addition, because we have placed our analysis within a cultural studies model, we introduce decolonization pedagogy as a method for teaching about hope, freedom, and cultural self-awareness among groups who have experienced prolonged periods of European colonization and racialized domination. Finally, we provide a brief account on the research method and our data collection analysis, as well as the strategies we utilized in our research on the

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education of Caribbean heritage families in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. This framework provides a context for the discussions that follow in the proceeding chapters.

APPROACHING AN APPROPRIATE DEFINITION OF CULTURE

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Anthropological Perspective Culture is a term that often takes on many different meanings and usage. These nuanced differences depend on the perspective or lens through which culture is being discussed. The disciplines and areas of study upon which we drew to define culture are anthropology, sociology, cultural studies, and popular culture. From an anthropological perspective, Marshall (1998) defined culture as “a general term for the symbolic and learned aspects of human society, which is socially rather than biologically transmitted” (p. 137), and may be visceral to all societies. Marshall characterized culture as “a learned complex of knowledge, belief, art, morals, law and custom” (p. 137). He suggested that an anthropological definition implies that culture is transmitted in schools and particularly through the art of teaching. Connecting to Marshall, Turner (1982) defined culture as an expression of “an infinite assortment of positive and negative existent-values” (p. 14) from a person’s past and present that comes together to form meaning. Finally, in Edgar and Sedgwick’s (2002) contemporary definition of culture, they argue that “culture is the complex everyday world we all encounter and through which we all move” (p. 102). In sum, from an anthropological perspective, in everyday life, culture is constantly being expressed, interpreted, and renegotiated. Culture is an accumulation of people’s ways of knowing, being, speaking, dressing, etc., which is acquired through social processes.

Sociological Perspective Connecting to the anthropological view, from a sociological perspective, many social theorists have inextricably linked culture with race and have defined it as a process of social construction (Dei, 1996, 2000b; C. E. James, 2003b), which is unique to each social group. Dei (1996) proposes that

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historically European societies routinely articulated and expressed culture in racialized and hierarchical terms. Dei explains that culture is a social construction that is dynamic and is mediated in social institutions such as schools and families. Another sociological explanation of culture comes from C. E. James (2003b) who stated that “culture [is] a core set of [norms], values and expectations that exert tremendous influence on our lives, structure our worldview, shape our behaviour and pattern our responses” (p. 199). In the context of the Canadian experience, these norms, values, and expectations are grounded in a social landscape, “which promotes a culture that reflects social, ethnic and racial stratification” (p. 199). When addressing culture, C. E. James (2003b) explained that culture is: The way in which a given society organizes and conducts itself as distinguished from that of other societies. [And that] culture consists of a dynamic and complex set of values, beliefs, norms, patterns of thinking, styles of communication, linguistic expressions and ways of interpreting and interacting with the world [in which we live]. (p. 201)

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Cultural Studies Perspective Expanding on the anthropological and sociological dynamics of culture, Seidman and Alexander (2001) defined cultural studies as an investigation into “all aspects of the study of culture” (p. 100). Additionally, in their definition of cultural identity, they alluded to the idea that identity is formed around the axis of multiple intersecting discourses such as; culture and nationality; culture, race, and racialism; and culture and ethnicity. Seidman and Alexander (2001) explain: Instead of assuming that individuals have an identity as, say, a woman or a black, or assuming that selves are produced by discourses in any simple way, they [Chantal Mouffe's and Ernesto Laclau] see individuals as being inserted into webs of discourses that always position us in multiple, intersecting ways. We are never simply a man or woman, white or black, but always assume many, intersecting subject positions or identities. Agency is always implicated in the way discourses position us—both constraining and enabling us. (p. 7)

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Similarly, Hall (2001) and other cultural studies theorists defined culture as the ensemble of meanings, beliefs, values, norms, and rituals that structure a society. Culture is both a source of meaning for individuals and communities, as well as a social force related to group conflicts. The aim of cultural studies is to analyze culture in relation to people’s experiences and interactions with social structures, where the latter functions as an extension of group dominance. Gilroy (1991) explains that culture is a concept that includes ethnicity and nationality within the context of Englishness, because over the past two centuries, English-speaking countries have maintained global leadership and preeminence. In his critique of culture and Englishness, he wrote:

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I have grown gradually more and more weary of having to deal with the effects of striving to analyze culture within neat, homogeneous national units reflecting the “lived relations” involved; with the invisibility of “race” within the field and, most importantly, with the forms of nationalism endorsed by a discipline which, in spite of itself, tends towards a morbid celebration of England and Englishness from which blacks are systematically excluded. (Gilroy, 1991, p. 12)

While all social groups have a culture, social inequalities and power differences may normalize one culture at the expense of others. In this way, the media plays a crucial role in the dissemination of cultural images, which influences people’s beliefs, value systems and consumption patterns.

Popular Culture Perspective From the perspective of popular culture, culture may also be viewed as a complex set of habits, learned behaviors, customs, beliefs, and ways of knowing the world that, although changing, a defined social group shares and transmits to subsequent generations (Cunningham and Voso Lab, 1991; Kaiser, 1990). Popular culture is the medium through which ideas of beauty, materialism, success and other material cultural artifacts are transmitted (Cunningham and Voso Lab, 1991). The artifacts of popular culture therefore “include the changing fashion and fads of the moment as well as more stable traditions, customs and folkways of society” (Cunningham and Voso Lab, 1991, p. 1). In sum, from the anthropology, sociology, cultural studies, and popular culture perspectives of culture, in this work we view

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culture as an aspect of identity development. Culture is a way of life that is embedded in socialization, whether perceived (through imitation/ or perception) or directly disseminated through social institutions such as family, schools, and media, etc.

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THE CULTURAL IDENTITY MODEL Within the various perspectives of culture, socialization is a consistent theme. In this sense, culture is formed through learned behaviors, rather than being inherited biologically. Core cultural values are harder to set aside and, in due course, serve as an individual’s cultural heritage. Culture helps individuals develop their ethnic identity. Although some people may argue that culture is not important, its ubiquity, collectivity, and habitude underlie the difficulty that may be encountered when it is ignored and suppressed in the classroom or, for that matter, in any social space. We emphasize that a central value and appreciation must be given to culture because it is a key aspect of identity development. Buttressing the importance of cultural identity, a belief in appreciating culture girds our discussion on the Black Diaspora and multiculturalisms as they pertain to education. Ladson-Billings and Donnor (2005), whose work addresses the intersection of culture and education, propose that: DuBois’s notion of double consciousness applies not only to African Americans but to all people who are constructed outside the dominant paradigm. Although DuBois refers to a double consciousness, we know that our sense of identity may evoke multiple consciousness, and it is important to read . . . [any] discussion of multiple consciousness as a description of complex phenomena that impose essentialized concepts of “blackness,” “Latina/o-ness,” “Asian American-ness,” or “Native American-ness” on specific individuals or groups. (p. 282)

From a cultural perspective, how do we begin to make meaning of the behaviors of our Caribbean adolescent students and their interactions in schools? To do so we introduce our model of culture and cultural identity (Figure 3.1). It is based on a human ecology model (Westney, Brabble, and Edwards, 1988), which is integrated into a social ecological system (Berry, 1995; Bronfenbrenner, 1979). Our cultural identity model takes into account

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that individuals negotiate the extent to which they assimilate into any given culture.

Figure 3.1. Cultural identity model.

To develop this model, we treat culture as a pervasive concept that permeates all facets of the human experience. Although it is discussed in a previous work, it is worth restating here (Walrond, 2009). The cultural identity model consists of seven nested concentric circles, with the individual situated in the center. The family, clothing, and home, form the yellow-orange circle (N1); sectored community structures in the yellow circle (N2); sectored societal structures in the green circle (N3), and sectored world structures in the blue circle (N4). The sixth realm (Nn)—deep orange) is undefined because it consists of entities that are currently unknown or unnamed. Cultural attributes subsume all sectors of these concentric circles, and culture is held constant and placed in the seventh and outermost (magenta) circle. As individuals draw cultural attributes from all sectors of these

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concentric circles with varying degrees, they can be described as having several cultures that make up their primary cultural identity. In other words, we visualize culture as a component of each of these sectors, which accounts for the notion of having a multicultural identity, and as contributing to the overall cultural identity of an individual (Walrond, 2009; Walrond-Patterson, 2006, p. 336). On the basis of our cultural identity model, it can be extracted that when Caribbean immigrants enter social institutions in Canada and the U.S., their acceptance of the culture of those institutions varies from high-to-low. Everyone belongs to a culture, therefore when the suggestion is made that a person’s culture is different, what this generally means is that the individual’s cultural identity does not align with the culture of the dominant group. This phenomenon speaks to the experiences of people of Caribbean heritage who are living in a foreign country. As we discussed in chapter 1, the history of Caribbean people includes specific attempts by Europeans to strip them of their culture. The progeny of slaves were forced to negotiate their indigenous identity vis- à-vis that of their slave masters and the colonial-state. Oppressed groups were forced to give up most of the knowledge that allowed them to construct their own culture. They lived in fear during slavery, and any attempts to practice their indigenous traditions and spirituality were clandestine. Oppressed groups were coerced to construct their lives in a social landscape where any reference to their native cultural systems was considered taboo and resulted in reprisal. These historical experiences have helped to shape an identity development process that is unique to oppressed groups, and particularly people of the Caribbean, which was the gateway of the Transatlantic Slave Trade (Alleyne, 2002). How those outside the dominant culture identify themselves culturally, helps to determine how they may negotiate the social and economic systems. Nevertheless, even among Caribbean heritage groups, their diversity would not permit monolithic accounts about each group’s approach to life. Evidently, those who identify themselves as being of African heritage and having lost their identity markers might have more reason to resist the culture of the dominant group, than other minority groups whose culture have remained in tacked. Those who did not have to involuntarily give-up their cultural identity markers such as their language, religion, and worldviews, might have a more eclectic approach to identity development. Generally, they can draw on historical identity constructs to interpret the social system and make personal goals for themselves in a new country. The phenomenon of cultural identity development has particular implications for globalized countries such as the

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U.S. and Canada, nations with large immigrant populations, where multicultural practices are implied. Possibly, due to a subconscious sense of fear, most dominant groups are either unwilling or reluctant to grant equal rights and access to ethnic minority immigrants.

THE ‘POLITICS OF DENIAL’ For many people of Caribbean heritage, the ‘politics of denial’ is congruent with ‘the politics of recognition,’ which has historical precedence. Reflecting on the politics of being the minority, Taylor (1994) proposes that:

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A number of strands in contemporary politics turn on the need, sometimes the demand, for recognition. The need, it can be argued, is one of the driving forces behind nationalist movements in politics. And the demand comes to the fore in a number of ways in today’s politics, on behalf of minority or ‘subaltern’ groups, in some forms of feminism and in what is today called the politics of ‘multiculturalism.’ (p. 25)

On the basis of a lack of recognition regarding the humanity of African slaves, members of the dominant society of the time were able to deny them their rights to a history, a language, a peaceful existence, and compensation for their labor. One has to reject the notion that the other’s cultural identity contributes to humanity if one wishes to maintain that the other’s culture not only does not matter, but is also, in fact, harmful to the dominant group’s existence. Therefore, the process of practicing cultural genocide was common among European explorers and missionary crusaders. These groups prohibited indigenous practices and demonized native populations by teaching them that their worldviews and culture were pagan and ‘wrong,’ and that they needed to practice European traditions. Thus, Nelson, Treichler, and Grossberg (1992) observed that some of the tensions surrounding cultural studies “are built into the diverse history of meanings given to the word “‘culture’” (p. 4). They cited Raymond Williams (1958), who argued that the complexity of culture resulted from its association with static and elitist superiority claims made by Europeans and applied to other cultures and civilizations. Based on these notions, it is easy for some people to posture hegemony and argue that the other only has to dismiss his or her own cultural traditions and embrace the dominant group’s practices to succeed. Unfortunately, this postulation highlights the way many migrants become victims of the immigrant

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experience. They often find themselves trapped in the politics of denying their culture, as they feel increasingly pressured to assimilate into the culture of the host country. While some degree of assimilation and cultural hybridization is necessary to navigate and contribute to a new social landscape, this should not be done at the expense of the home culture (Delpit, 1995). When a nation is truly multicultural, it values both the minority culture and the dominant culture.

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EDUCATION AND IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT In this work, we discuss schools as one of the contested sites of cultural identity politics. Researchers have addressed the need for cultural inclusion in public schools (Codjoe, 1997, 2001; Dei, 1996; Kallen, 2003; K. James, 1996; Walrond-Patterson, 1999; Walrond-Patterson, Crown, and Langford, 1998). Clandinin and Connelly (1995) and Greene (1978) explain that the narratives of school board officials, school administrators, and teachers often dominate students’ experiences. Having a collective understanding of all educational stakeholders’ views and concerns, including teachers, students, parents, administrators, and community members is important to create a rich and inclusive education. As Greene (1978) contends, “once pedagogy becomes crucial, the splits and deformations in those who teach… or administer or organize take on a political significance never confronted in time past” (p. 96) when multicultural classrooms were not the norm. Many teachers are aware that the tensions that they feel in the classroom result from the reality of teaching in a heterogeneous environment when their experiences as students, community members, and teacher trainees were from homogenous groups. According to Clandinin and Connelly (1995), teachers’ knowledge is shaped primarily by their experiences. These experiences are generally in segregated communities and they produce social outcomes that are both psychological and moral in scope. Clandinin and Connelly (1995) argue that the teachers in their study demonstrated anxiety around minority students because of the experiences that they encountered within their own knowledge landscapes. The conflicting messages they received from the media and through racialized patterns of residential segregation, resulted in cultural conflicts and disharmony in the classroom. Culturally, notes on a musical scale can come together to produce either harmony or discord (as in the case of noise). Generally, two types of non-harmonious rhythms (dys)function together to produce noise, which is often what happens when there are cultural

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mis-matches in the classroom. The questions we ask are: Why is there this misalignment of cultural knowledge in schools? And how does this conscious or unconscious discord manifest itself in the classroom when difference and diversity are encountered, and personal, practical knowledge confronts praxis?

CULTURAL STUDIES AND CRITICAL PEDAGOGY

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To find a possible solution to the phenomenon of the cultural mis-match that occurs in most classrooms, we look to the discipline of cultural studies, which is informed by an understanding of critical reflection as a process of identity development. The work of Giroux (2006), which is vested in linking pedagogy to popular culture, becomes important to our discussion. Giroux suggested that critical pedagogy can serve as the medium that incorporates and positions cultural studies and its understanding of culture and cultural identity within the educational landscape. Giroux (1994) explains: Within the next century, educators will not be able to ignore the hard questions that schools will have to face regarding issues of multiculturalism, race, identity, power, knowledge, ethics, and work. These issues will play a major role in defining the meaning and purpose of schooling, the relationship between teachers and students, and the critical content of their exchange in terms of how to live in a world that will be vastly more globalized, high tech, and racially diverse than at any other time in history. (para. 8)

Furthermore, Giroux (1994) warned that “the more progressive elements of critical pedagogical work can inform and be informed by cultural studies’ emphasis on popular culture as a terrain of significant political and pedagogical importance” (para. 10). In this way, the underlying focus of cultural studies on the investigation and representation of culture in society, buttresses a critical examination of schools and society. Drawing on a critical and cultural analysis of society, critical pedagogy can be defined as: A discourse for asserting the primacy of the political and the ethical as a central feature of educational theory and practice. Critical pedagogy makes clear that schools and other educational spheres cannot be viewed merely as instructional sites, but must be seen as places where culture,

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power, and knowledge come together to produce particular identities, narratives and social practices. (Giroux, 2006, p. 4)

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The early genesis of critical pedagogy can be traced back to Paulo Freire, who was a Brazilian educator and social thinker. Freire’s upbringing was interrupted by periods of poverty when his family lost their life savings. His personal encounters with poverty connected him with the struggles of Brazil’s poor, and his work among this group influenced his belief that literacy is crucial if the oppressed are to understand the sources of their oppression, and learn how to create change. Freire later joined Brazil’s Department of Education, and as Secretary of Education of the city of São Paulo, he was successful in initiating many literacy programs and “making the educational process meaningful for teachers and pupils in low-income schools” (Carnoy, 1997, p. 17). Freire’s (1970/2005a) liberation pedagogy focused on conscientização, the processes of gaining critical awareness, which is essential for personal and social change (Carnoy, 1997, p. 17). Freire’s method of teaching was effective in strengthening the resolve of the oppressed people of Brazil, who staged a coup in 1964. As a result, Freire was exiled. Reflecting on this issue, he wrote: At times, in one’s fight for justice, one neglects seeking a more rigorous knowledge of human beings. One may underestimate the power of the dominant, ignore the deep-seated presence of the oppressor in the oppressed, and end up in exile. (Freire, 1997, p. 66)

Freire’s academic work helped him gain international acclaim. In addition, he was revered as a revolutionary educator. “His literacy projects, frequently under his own direct supervision and daily involvement, focus for the most part on exploited colonies: Guinea Bissau, Grenada, Tanzania, El Salvador, and Nicaragua” (Gibson, 1994, para. 13). In arriving at an understanding of critical pedagogy, Freire (1970/2005a) first problematized the struggle for the liberation of the oppressed. He argued: How can the oppressed, as divided unauthentic beings, participate in developing the pedagogy of their liberation? Only as they discover themselves to be “hosts” of the oppressor can they contribute to the midwifery of their liberation pedagogy. As long as they live in the duality in which to be is to be like, and to be like is to be like the oppressor, this contribution is impossible. The pedagogy of the oppressed is an

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G. Wiggan and J. T. Walrond instrument for their critical discovery that both they and their oppressors are manifestations of dehumanization. (p. 28)

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In this way, as an art of teaching, critical pedagogy can be defined as “the integration in practice of particular curriculum content and design, classroom strategies and techniques, and evaluation, purpose, and methods” that are aimed at creating critical awareness and social change (Simon; as cited in McLaren, 2003b, p. 187). These practices inform how educators teach, as well as what is regarded as knowledge (McLaren, 2003b). Critical pedagogy helps to investigate how institutional culture is inextricably linked to power relations, and it advocates for change through a more critical and inclusive educational process. Expounding on the framework of critical pedagogy and critical educational theory, McLaren (2003b) argues that it “examines schools both in their historical context and as part of the existing social and political fabric that characterizes the class-driven dominant society” (p. 185). He further explains that critical pedagogy questions the logic inherent in “the positivistic, ahistorical and depoliticized” (p. 185) examination of ‘text’ and group culture. According to Aronowitz and Giroux (1993): Critical pedagogy has to take seriously the notion of cultural politics, . . . by both legitimating and challenging the cultural experiences that make up the historical and social particulars that constitute the cultural forms and boundaries that give meaning to the lives of students and other learners. (p. 151)

Critical pedagogy analyzes the resultant issues that develop at the intersections of education and culture. On the one hand, several theorists such as McLaren (2003a, 2003b), Giroux (1997), Darder (1991), and Weiler (1988) have examined race, ethnicity, gender, multiculturalism, and the power issues that influence the type of education that non-affluent students receive, which is generally premised on service oriented work for the lower-class and innovation and management for children of the middle and upper-class. Critical pedagogy seeks to challenge and mitigate these inequalities and power differentials. The practice of a critical pedagogy involves creating “forms of knowledge and classroom social practices that validate the experiences that students bring to schools [and give them] . . . an active voice in institutional settings that traditionally attempt to silence them by ignoring their cultural capital”

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(Aronowitz and Giroux, 1993, p. 151). In this sense, the cultural capital of marginalized groups are the language, styles of presentation, dispositions, and forms of knowing and reasoning that are often excluded from the curriculum. Critical pedagogy, as some critical educational theorists have suggested, can help to foster an open, reflective educational learning environment for non-traditional students (Codjoe, 2001; Giroux, 1997; Henry, 1994; McLaren, 2003a, 2003b). Critical pedagogy aims to “empower the powerless and transform social inequalities and injustices” (McLaren, 2003b, p. 186). Hence, teachers should use the classroom as a space that offers all students empowering opportunities to critically examine society for personal emancipation and social transformation. Critical pedagogy is based on the principle that a school’s utmost responsibility is to teach for critical awareness and social change; this should be the foundation of curriculum development (Dei, 2008; McLaren, 2003b). Such transformation is practiced in “solidarity with subordinate and marginalized groups, and support options for the poor to examine critically, conditions that encourage poverty and human suffering,” which includes racialized patterns of exclusion (McLaren, 2003b, p. 118). Critical theorists have pointed to several reasons for rethinking the racialized cultural context of the school environment. First, schools often fail to promote social and economic mobility for lower-class and minority students (McLaren, 2003a, 2003b). In fact, many public schools track lower-class students into lower-level courses, and ultimately lower-class jobs (Barakett and Cleghorn, 2000; Contenta, 1993; Ghosh and Abdi, 2004; Giroux, 1997; McLaren, 2003b; Wotherspoon, 2004). While challenging a structural functionalist perspective on education (Karabel and Halsey, 1977), some critical theorists have argued that tracking ensures the social reproduction of schools and society, and they argue for change (Barakett and Cleghorn, 2000; Contenta, 1993; Giroux, 1997; McLaren, 2003b; Wotherspoon, 2004). A second concern raised by critical theorists is the fact that schools tend to operate under prescribed notions of cultural and national identity, which informs what is socially acceptable by the dominant group (Giroux, 1997). In this way, teachers are viewed from the perspective of being in a political role because they act as “agents in the production, circulation, and use of particular forms of cultural and symbolic capital [non-material resources such as personal status, prestige, honor, reputation and distinction]” (p. 43). Finally, Grace (2006) proposed that educators should think “about collective human interests in relation to the culture-language-knowledge-power nexus” (p. 134). And as a result, they should employ critical pedagogy, because:

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G. Wiggan and J. T. Walrond It draws on diverse discourses, including critical theory, ‘post’ theories, multiculturalism, and feminist discourses, to examine how educational policy, program design, and the fortunes of education are tied to the logic of corporate capitalism and techno-scientific emphases on efficiency, productivity, and predictability. This multiperspective approach values theorizing, which is a rational search for contradictions that go against the critical grain. (Grace, 2006, p. 134)

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Critical Pedagogy Theorized Critical pedagogy aims to emancipate individuals from their oppression and, in general, it seeks to mediate the problems raised at the intersections of education and culture (Gramsci, 1971). However, some critical theorists have insufficiently theorized about the role of power in education (Ellsworth, 1989; Fraser, 1998). Ellsworth alludes to some of the limitations of critical pedagogy. Ellsworth argues that “key assumptions, goals, and pedagogical practices fundamental to the literature on critical pedagogy—namely, ‘empowerment,’ ‘student voice,’ ‘dialogue,’ and even the term ‘critical’—are repressive myths that perpetuate relations of domination” (p. 298). Although we tend to differ with Ellsworth’s claims, despite these criticisms, critical pedagogy helps provide an opportunity for reflection, question, action, and change in schools and society. Students come to school for the purpose of acquiring knowledge. Generally, teacher candidates who are from a middle-class background and are aspiring teachers desire to learn how to teach diverse learners. Thus, their general belief is that institutions of higher learning will help them fulfill this obligation. Holding true to this expectation of colleges of education, Lauder, Brown, Dillabough, and Halsey (2006) explain that, “Education holds a unique position in modern societies because many people believe that it benefits society at the same time as meeting the aspirations of students and parents” (p. 1). Generally, educators and teacher candidates who share similar backgrounds come to education with an ideological understanding that the landscape should be democratic and fair. However, this is often not the case. Critical pedagogy invites educators and learners to embrace an open, dialogical and reflective education and curriculum development process. To do so as educators and students, we must be prepared to suspend our prior knowledge and broaden our horizons to embrace other cultures and perspectives (Delpit, 1995; Ladson-Billings, 1994, 1996). Students and

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teachers must be willing to discover this path to a new sense of knowledge, and those who use critical and culturally responsive pedagogy must be clear about the path on which they are leading their students. For example, in teaching in a multicultural society, it is crucial that educators and students conduct a racial inventory and self-analysis before attempting to teach. It is essential to reflect on issues of race and power when interacting with people of different cultures, social classes, ethnicities, races, and sexual orientations. hooks (1994) argues that:

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Despite the contemporary focus on multiculturalism in our society, particularly in education, there is not nearly enough practical discussion of ways classroom settings can be transformed so that the learning experience is inclusive. If the effort to respect and honor the social reality and experiences of groups in this society who are non-white is to be reflected in a pedagogical process, then as teachers—on all levels, from elementary to university settings—we must acknowledge that our styles of teaching may need to change. (p. 35)

Many teachers attempt to teach using a critical framework in a multicultural environment without first being introspective, and are surprised when they cannot answer or cope with the serious questions or questioning that are required of critical educators. Educators who fail to perform this selfanalysis before introducing critical pedagogy may become frustrated. Furthermore, by failing to address biases and assumptions, teachers may not appreciate the value of a “transformative pedagogy” (hooks, 1994, p. 36). One helpful classroom assignment involves requiring students to leave their comfort zones and experience a group other than their own. The purpose of this “Experiencing the Other Assignment” is to help students gain: (a) an understanding of the experiences of a group other than their own, (b) to raise levels of consciousness regarding group differences and, (c) to understand the implications of these differences for education and society. For this assignment, students can spend a day with a group that differs from their own (race, class, gender and/or sexuality, special needs/impaired, etc.). For example, a Caucasian could spend the day with a group of Latinos/Latinas, Asians, or African Americans. On the other hand, African American or Latino/Latina students could spend the day with a group of Caucasians or Asians. They should establish an informant who will help to explain what is going on within the group. The students should attempt to approximate the

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interactions with the members of the group so that they can get a sense of what it might feel like to be the other. It is not surprising that many teacher candidates (students) are timid about venturing into the unknown. In our experience, some students try to stay within their comfort zones and for the most part, they attempt to interrogate their cultural views only at the nexus of their own racial identity. For example, White students often choose diverse experiences that are still within their cultural framework. They sometimes choose to spend the day with a White person who is blind, or White and hearing impaired, or White and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, and queer (LGBTQ), but not, for instance, Aboriginal [Native of North America] and LGBTQ, or Aboriginal and rural, or Black and LGBTQ, or Black and any other social or demographic attribute. Even among many middle-class minority students, racial segregation has consequentially provided them with limited experiences. In addition, when teacher candidates confront the exclusion of minorities in the curriculum and academic landscape, they display initial self-denial, followed by excuses, anger and frustration, and they may even feel helplessness regarding the challenges they will face in the educational system. These may have been some of the struggles that Ellsworth (1989) encountered when she introduced critical pedagogy to her university students. Ellsworth (1989) argues that although there is much research on critical pedagogy, “there has been no sustained research attempts to explore whether or how the practices it prescribes actually alter specific power relations outside or inside schools” (p. 301). Ellsworth argues that one inherent difficulty with critical pedagogy is that, even though multiple perspectives and reflective actions are recognized, there should be greater emphasis placed on the politics and power dynamics of dealing with the resultant desire to secure change when this change must be negotiated in schools. As Ellsworth (1989) suggests, many oppressed groups are neither knowledgeable about education policy nor are aware about the extent to which education policy influences teacher practices and student outcomes. Furthermore, many marginalized groups have no experiences with working through the politics of policy development. They are not aware of the processes by which policies are developed and enacted. To this end, hooks (1994) wrote: Among educators there has to be an acknowledgement that any effort to transform institutions so that they reflect a multicultural standpoint must take into consideration the fears teachers have when asked to shift

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their paradigms. There must be training sites where teachers have the opportunity to express those concerns while also learning to create ways to approach the multicultural classroom and curriculum. . . . We have to work consistently against and through the overwhelming will on the part of folks to deny the politics of racism, sexism, heterosexism, and so forth that inform how and what we teach. (pp. 36–37)

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In our study, which is presented in this book and supports the discussion on Caribbean migration, all of the parents we interviewed had experiences with education in their home country. However, they had to learn how to negotiate a new educational landscape in the host country, which often resulted in anxiety, fear, discrimination, and triumph. Similarly, writing from a U.S. perspective on Caribbean immigrants in North America, Mary Waters’ (1999) outsider theoretical work helps to articulate the immigrant value system. Waters (1999) finds that: Black immigrants from the Caribbean come to the United States with a particular identity/culture/worldview that reflects their unique history and experiences. . . . This culture and identity are different from the immigrant identity and culture of previous waves of European immigrants because of the unique history of the origin countries . . . [and] are also different from the culture and identity of African Americans. (pp. 6–7)

In addition, Waters’ (1999) analysis illustrates that, although Caribbean immigrants are at first valued for the social, cultural, and educational capital that they, as Blacks, bring to America, “the structural realities of American race relations, . . . persistent and obvious racial discrimination, low wages, poor working conditions, and discriminatory housing practices” (pp. 7–8) eventually lead to their ghettoization. Under these conditions, their children face many obstacles. Mary V. Alfred (2003), who is of Caribbean heritage, conducted research on adult Caribbean immigrant learners who were living and studying in the U.S. Her research on the learning experiences of Caribbean immigrant women in U.S. postsecondary institutions, reveal that the Caribbean community was very supportive of education and it placed a very high cultural value on academics. However, these students found that only small amounts of this cultural capital was transferable in U.S. postsecondary institutions, and in fact, they were often located at the margins of schools and the wider society

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(Bourdieu and Passeron, 1977). Therefore, it becomes necessary to liberate the oppressed through a pedagogy that emphasizes agency and freedom. Thus, we must revert to Freire’s (1970/2005a) original postulation for critical pedagogy in the Pedagogy of the Oppressed to determine his opinion on not only individual praxis, but also about how the disenfranchised should proceed to obtain self-actualization. Freire argued: Within history, in concrete, objective contexts, both humanization and dehumanization are possibilities for a person as an uncompleted being conscious of their incompletion. But while both humanization and dehumanization are real alternatives, only the first is the people’s vocation. This vocation is constantly negated, yet it is affirmed by that very negation. It is thwarted by injustice, exploitation, oppression, and the violence of the oppressors; it is affirmed by their struggle to recover their lost humanity. (Freire, 1970/2005a, pp. 43–44)

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Although those who are committed to humanization have an obligation to do social justice work, dehumanization is a more pervasive cultural force that impedes self-actualization and social inclusion. Thus, critical pedagogy should be used proactively in schools, because, as Freire (1970/2005a) stated: Because [dehumanization] is a distortion of being more fully human, sooner or later being less human leads the oppressed to struggle against those who made them so. In order for this struggle to have meaning, the oppressed must not, in seeking to regain their humanity, . . . become in turn oppressors of the oppressors, but rather restorers of the humanity of both. (p. 44)

Historically, in schools, most attempts at using critical pedagogy appear to have been based on teaching aimed at creating greater awareness regarding social problems. Indeed, the objective of critical theorists seems to have focused on articulating the ontology and epistemology of people’s existence. Of this, Freire (1970/2005a) wrote: Dehumanization, which marks not only those whose humanity has been stolen, but also . . . those who have stolen it, is a distortion of the vocation of becoming more fully human. This distortion occurs within history; but it is not an historical vocation. Indeed, to admit of dehumanization as an historical vocation would lead either to cynicism or total despair. (p. 44)

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Freire also argued that it is important to recognize that projects aimed at liberation often exclude the perspectives of the oppressed. To this end, we support the proposition to include all stakeholders in the educational process. In particular, the voice of students and parents must become a more central part of education discourse (Freire, 1970/2005a). However, this latter task is not easy. Ellsworth (1989) suggests that theorists of critical pedagogies have failed to provide “any meaningful analysis of or program for reformulation of the institutionalized power imbalances between themselves and their students, or of the essentially paternalistic project of education itself” (p. 306). However, Freire (1970/2005a), being keenly aware of this issue, suggested that:

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Reality, which becomes oppressive results in the contradistinction of men as oppressors and oppressed. The latter, whose task it is to struggle for their liberation together with those who show true solidarity, must acquire a critical awareness of oppression through the praxis of this struggle. (p. 51)

Nevertheless, within this praxis of change, in our contemporary society some questions remain. How do parents and students mitigate the tensions and frustrations that may arise because generally they lack the acumen to initiate school change? Do they understand that it might be necessary to use “the master’s tools” to improve the master’s house [schools] (a modification of Lorde’s, 1984, quotation)? Education should help advance the democratic goals of a society. When education is framed as a mechanism of change, it becomes logical and hence relevant to the oppressed, in this instance, Caribbean immigrants in North American schools.

Public Pedagogy for Decolonization (Decolonization Pedagogy) In the Caribbean, musical genres such as reggae and calypso, and carnival street theater have emerged as effective educational tools and teaching strategies for educating citizens about their plight in the world. In keeping with a critical analysis of society, in this public pedagogy of decolonization (decolonization pedagogy), cultural expressions and figures of speech (satire, hyperbole, and witticism) are utilized in the forum of popular culture to explain how historical and contemporary forces impact oppressed people’s

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lives. In this way, decolonization pedagogy is the art of teaching that is focused on deconstructing colonial and neo-colonial sentiments and practices, which are either implicitly or explicitly stated, and are legacies of European domination of cultural minority groups around the world. Decolonization pedagogy addresses the social, cultural, political, and economic relationships and dependences, which have been deeply inscribed in societies and cultural groups who have experienced prolonged periods of European rule and repression. Thus, decolonization pedagogy, as an art of teaching, is not confined to institutional or formal educational settings, which historically have reinforced the status quo and even legitimated imperialist domination. Rather, it is a part of the local parlance of native culture, as well as formal and informal educational processes. As a project of liberation, it focuses on the experiences of colonial and neo-colonial subjects, and seeks to re-humanize and free oppressed groups from institutionalized domination, which is reproduced in the social and cultural practices and beliefs that were introduced by colonizers for the express purpose of social control. In the case of the Caribbean, music was used as one of the tools for decolonization pedagogy. To most listeners, the musical expressions in the Caribbean region may sound rhythmic and they may even compel people to dance and celebrate. However, a more in-depth analysis of the lyrics uncovers a deep and profound social message. In the Caribbean, we learn from an early age to critique our formal education as we acquire and construct knowledge from the perspectives revealed in the lyrics of local reggae artists, calypsonians, soca singers, and carnival performers. In the case of reggae, in the 1970s, a popular reggae artist named Winston Rodney, otherwise known as Burning Spear, recorded an international hit-song entitled “Christopher Columbus.” Spear, who was a friend of the iconic reggae singer, Robert Nesta Marley (Bob Marley), in his Columbus song he retold the history of the Caribbean from the point of view of the Arawaks and Africans who predated the Europeans’ arrival in the region. Similarly, Peter Tosh in his musical thriller “Apartheid,” explained the social and political consequences of structural racism in South Africa and the Caribbean (Wiggan, 2008). This was a major international hit-song, which was essentially an educational track to the masses of people. In the case of calypso and soca, the singers would generally focus their singing on emerging social issues. Through the lyrics of these songs, listeners acquired a more profound understanding of their social realities. In the historical context of the Caribbean, music was used to explain the experiences and concerns of oppressed groups, and it served as a vehicle of

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liberation. The composers understood their role as critical interpreters of the current social, cultural, and political discourses, so their commentaries commonly confronted and challenged the status quo. “Reality music,” as it is called in the Caribbean region, was filled with thought-provoking lyrics, which helped listeners gain greater consciousness regarding their social conditions, while agitating for change. Many first-generation Caribbean immigrant parents still have these cultural retentions as part of their cultural identity. In the postindependence era of the 1960s, many of these immigrants would make Canada their new home. The implications of decolonization pedagogy are revisited in chapter 5’s discussion on the decolonization of education.

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Canadian Multiculturalism Recognizing that Canada was rapidly increasing in diversity, in 1971, Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau introduced Canada’s multicultural policy to the parliament, which acknowledged Canada’s diversity. In that same year, Canada became the first major developed country to enact a multicultural policy. The genesis of this policy was the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism (also known as the B and B Commission or Bi and Bi Commission) on July 19th, 1963, which the federal government under Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson, introduced in response to the demands for greater linguistic and cultural rights in the province of Québec, Canada (Jones, 2006). The B and B Commission aimed to “recommend what steps should be taken to develop the Canadian Confederation on the basis of an equal partnership between the two founding races” [Native Americans, and French and English speaking Canadians] (B and B Commission, 1967; as cited in Jones, 2006). Later, during the federal campaign of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, who succeeded Lester B. Pearson as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada in 1968, Trudeau proposed that he would implement the recommendations of the B and B Commission. Trudeau’s ascent to the office of prime minister was very popular in Canada because he was fluently bilingual and his heritage was a mixture of both British and French. However, the nationalist cries in Québec continued with violent attacks on English banks and retail outlet stores. There were also cases where protestors placed bombs in public mailboxes, which reached a crescendo when members of the Front de liberation du Québec (FLQ) kidnapped the Québec minister of labor, Pierre Laporte, and Senior Trade Commissioner and British diplomat, James Cross. During this time, the province of Québec was extremely unstable. The killing of Pierre Laporte

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prompted Prime Minister Trudeau to enact the War Measures Act on October 16th, 1969. The kidnappers later released James Cross when they received gold bullion valued at $500,000 and safe passage out of the country. English (2009) argues that Trudeau felt personally responsible for the death of Pierre Laporte. However:

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Trudeau was sadder and harder, but he never doubted the decision he, [Jean] Marchand, [Marc] Lalonde, and his colleagues took. [Pierre] Laporte’s death was a savage blow, but in Trudeau’s view the autopsy it provoked broke a cycle of violence that profoundly threatened democracy in Quebec and Canada. (English, 2009, p. 97)

Government policies are usually created in response to a societal concern, and this was the case with Canada’s multicultural policy. Two concerns required the Canadian government’s attention in the 1960s and 1970s. The first was the demand from the French Quebecois that their language and culture be recognized; the second was Canada’s growing multicultural landscape. Trudeau, as a Member of Parliament who represented the Montréal, Québec, electoral district of Mount Royal, understood the prevailing cultural and linguistic sentiments of Quebecers as they pertained to the rest of Canada. He understood that as the Prime Minister of all Canadians he had to demonstrate leadership in dealing with these two solitudes. Therefore, Volume IV of the B and B Commission’s report addressed “the contribution by other ethnic groups to the cultural enrichment of Canada and the measures that should be taken to safeguard that contribution” (Prime Minister Trudeau’s statement; as cited in Fleras and Elliott, 1992, p. 281; see the full text in Appendix A). Trudeau proceeded by stating: A policy of multiculturalism within a bilingual framework commends itself to the government as the most suitable means of assuring the cultural freedom of Canadians. Such a policy should help to break down discriminatory attitudes and cultural jealousies; national unity, if it is to mean anything in the deeply personal sense, must be founded on confidence in one’s own individual identity; out of this can grow respect for that of others and a willingness to share ideas, attitudes and assumptions. (p. 281)

Kymlicka (2006) explains that, “it is understandable that Canadians have had anxieties about multiculturalism” because many people believed that new

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immigrants would take their jobs (p. 502). During the 1960s and 70s in Canada, when the word Canadian was used, there was often disillusionment in regards to understanding to whom this status of nationality applied. It generally meant native-White people who were born in Canada. While there was some resistance to Canada’s multicultural policy, the general belief was that the nation needed to push ahead with this issue in spite of the opposition. In the next section of this chapter, we present an antiracism perspective on Canada’s multiculturalism policy.

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Multiculturalism and Education in Canada In 1988, the Canadian Government passed the Canadian Multiculturalism Act (Government of Canada, 2003; see Appendix B for the full document). The preamble to the act states that Canadians should all benefit equally from the rights enshrined in Canada’s Constitution, the Official Languages Act, the Citizenship Act, and the Canadian Human Rights Act as proclaimed in the laws and statutes. The Canada government also supported human rights issues such as the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which give its citizens added protection against discrimination (Department of Justice Canada, 1988). In addition, the government enacted policies that drew attention to the growing nature of a multiethnic country, and the need for equal protection under the law (See Appendix C). The multicultural policies recognized “the full and equitable participation of individuals and communities of all origins in the continuing evolution and shaping of all aspects of Canadian society” (Department of Justice, Canada, 1985, sec. 3). However, although the Canadian government should be praised for recognizing the diversity of the country, the manifold ways in which the multicultural policy has been challenged and debated since its implementation suggest that many Canadians were not ready to deal with its tenets. Furthermore, there were many questions regarding whether there was a real need for these policies, as well as how they should be implemented. For these reasons, social and political theorists have criticized Canada’s multicultural policy. Bannerji (2000) argues that multiculturalism is an ideology and distraction imposed on immigrants and other “non-white” people (p. 28). Some cultural theorists contend that it is a state-controlled apparatus that changes the focus from educational, social, and political rights to objectified cultural activity and community management (Bannerji, 2000;

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Carby, 1999; Davis, 1996; Hamilton, 1996; C. E. James, 2003b). Carby (1999) and Davis (1996) suggest that because Canada’s liberal democratic institutions are set up to normalize “White” behavior and “White” social and cultural systems, “non-Whites” still experience discrimination in spite of the multicultural policy. Jansen (2005) asserts that perhaps the Canadian government did not fully understand what would be required to uphold a multicultural policy. For example, Jansen (2005) noted that in 1971, Canada’s population was predominantly White, and that the public might have considered the multicultural policy a benign ideology geared toward global appeal and national grandeur, than an actual policy that the nation needed. It is noteworthy that in the 1960s the Canadian government updated its immigration policies and increased the quota of Caribbean residents who could immigrate to Canada. During this time, the activism of politician Lincoln Alexander (and later Leonard Braithwaite), who was among the first Black legislatures to serve in Canada, helped to bring attention to issues of racial discrimination in the country. However, although Canada was introducing multicultural policies on its books, Caribbean immigrant families were generally marginalized in many of Canada’s social institutions, and particularly in schools. Most non-White immigrants, who were perhaps just grateful to come to Canada, would not have been fully aware of the struggles surrounding the country’s multicultural policy. However, while being imbued with the cultural symbolisms of the many festivals and foreign restaurants, they may have eventually realized that many Canadians viewed them as imposters. Based on these diversity issues, multicultural policies manifested in Canada’s classrooms as cultural celebrations where community members and families were encouraged on special event days, to bring native foods to school and dress in traditional attire, to celebrate the hyphenated Canadian experience — of those who belonged to minority and immigrant groups. In spite of perhaps having noble intentions, these gestures were more or less a superficial form of multiculturalism. To articulate a vision for Canada, Jansen (2005) argued: If and when a truly multicultural society exists, people of all cultures will be participating in decision-making about the future of the country. . . . Things will only change when minorities equally participate in facing the problems of society. The present legislation on multiculturalism is still considered by many to be a policy for minority groups, as a way for “true” Canadians to do something nice for minorities. (p. 31)

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Jansen (2005) argues that a national embrace of the policy was needed if Canada wished to recognize the nation’s diversity, because, the main problem was the concern of inadequate implementation. Today, the issue of addressing multiculturalism is still a lingering concern in Canada, because the nation is more diverse now than it has ever been in its entire history.

MULTICULTURALISM IN SCHOOLS

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Canada’s K–12 school systems are provincially regulated. Therefore, for our study we examined the Province of Alberta’s School Act of 2011, to determine how Canada’s multiculturalism policy was being implemented in schools. Thematic concepts such as culture, diversity, and shared values appear in three sections of the Alberta School Act. However, there is no direct mention of Canada’s multiculturalism policy in the Act (Province of Alberta, 2011). Under the section “Transitional,” subsections 3(1) and 3(2) of the Act state: All education programs offered and instructional materials used in schools must reflect the diverse nature and heritage of society in Alberta, promote understanding and respect for others and honour and respect the common values and beliefs of Albertans. For greater certainty, education programs and instructional materials referred to in subsection (1) must not promote or foster doctrines of racial or ethnic superiority or persecution, religious intolerance or persecution, social change through violent action or disobedience of laws.

Under the section “Alternative Programs,” subsection 21(1) states: In this section, “alternative program” means an education program that:

(a) emphasizes a particular language, culture, religion or subject-matter (b) uses a particular teaching philosophy Subsection 21(2) states:

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G. Wiggan and J. T. Walrond (2) If a board determines that there is sufficient demand for a particular alternative program, the board may offer that program to those students whose parents enroll them in the program.

Finally, in Part 4 under “Employment,” subsections 92(1) and 92(2) of the act state:

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92(1) Unless otherwise authorized under this Act, a board shall employ as a teacher only an individual who holds a certificate of qualification as a teacher issued under this Act. 92(2) A board may employ a competent individual to teach a language or culture under the supervision of a teacher who holds a certificate referred to in subsection (1).

In spite of the positive intensions regarding the national multicultural policy, many school districts failed to address any of its recommendations and outcomes. Alberta made an attempt, but perhaps more was needed to ensure that all children received equal opportunity and representation in schools. At the national level, Canada’s multicultural policy appeared to have irritated many citizens. Dei (2000b) explain that “the fact is that race and equity issues are no longer ‘officially’ supported in some political circles; they are openly challenged” (p. 23). Our question is, in light of the ways in which other cultural and religious groups have responded to Canada’s multicultural and education policies, what should Caribbean immigrant communities do? Dei and Calliste (2000) suggested a move to an antiracism paradigm. They define “anti-racism as an action-oriented, educational and political strategy for institutional and systemic change that addresses the issues of racism and the interlocking systems of social oppression” (p. 13). Similarly, American researcher bell hooks (1994) writes about the hate and negative experiences that she encountered as a student when she transitioned from the center of her all-Black school to the margins in a predominantly White school. hooks’ (1994, 2003) Teaching to Transgress: Education as a Practice of Freedom and Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope, respectively, are crucial to our analyses. Education as a force of emancipation was a part of hooks’ first educational experience as a student in an all-Black school with Black teachers. As a student in the southern part of the U.S. in the 1960s, she was also part of the desegregation of schools and was bussed to a White school. Her experience at the predominantly White school was, in her words, that of an interloper exposed to “an education that

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merely strives to reinforce domination” (p. 4). To transgress the borders of domination, she incorporated critical pedagogy and feminist theories into her writings and teaching practices. After teaching for more than 30 years, her work has extended from the academy to the broader community, where she is also a community teacher. In this capacity, she has taken on some of the issues of antiracism education in academe. She explains:

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While it is a positive aspect of our culture that folks want to see racism end, paradoxically it is this heartfelt longing that underlies the persistence of the false assumption that this is not a white-supremacist nation. In our culture almost everyone, irrespective of skin color, associated white supremacy with extreme conservative fanaticism, with Nazi skin-heads who preach all the old stereotypes about racist purity. Yet these extreme groups rarely threaten the day-to-day workings of our lives. It is the less extreme white supremacists’ beliefs and assumptions, easier to cover up and mask, that maintain and perpetuate everyday racism as a form of group oppression. (hooks, 2003, pp. 29–30)

hooks’ (2003) thinking and articulation help us to further open the discourse on domination to expose the paradoxical dilemma for Blacks in the U.S. and Canada; in particular, those of Caribbean heritage who contemplate personal and community emancipation. To emancipate is to create conscientization strategies with the aim of creating greater human freedom.

Black Experiences In the domain of popular culture, Black Caribbean Albertan youth live in the shadow of African American youth. Many of these Caribbean immigrant youth may even be mistaken as being Black Americans, when in fact, their culture and family values take them back to the Caribbean, and Diaspora politics take them back to continental Africa. How are these students responding to an ambiguous national culture, expressed as agreeably amorphous cultural diversity? Bhabha (1995) argued that, “cultural diversity is the recognition of pre-given cultural ‘contents’ and customs, held in a timeframe of relativism; it gives rise to anodyne liberal notions of multiculturalism, cultural exchange or the culture of humanity” (p. 206). This might lead to further assumptions. For example, Hall (1995) wrote of the fictitious notion that:

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“The Black experience,” as a singular and unifying framework based on the building up of identity across ethnic and cultural differences between the different communities, became “hegemonic” over other ethnic/racial identities – though the latter did not, of course, disappear. . . . The struggle to come into representation was predicated on a critique of the degree of fetishization, objectification and negative figuration which are so much a feature of the representation of the black subject. There was a concern not simply with the absence of marginality of the black experience but with its simplification and its stereotypical character. (p. 223)

Hall (1995) argued that recognizing that Black is not an essential subject also suggests an acknowledgment regarding the political implications of the term Black, which is the recognition of the diversity of subjectivities, social experiences, and cultural identities. This is an important assertion because it points to the individual Canadian child of Caribbean heritage who is often caught between two racial and cultural worlds – that of the Caribbean and the host culture. If the term Black is conceived as both a diverse and complex concept, then teachers will view students as individuals with varying potentials. If the community’s thinking and expectation is that the teacher will view the student as unique and different, then the teacher, student, and parent are charged with the responsibility of ensuring that the student achieves his or her full potential. Having this psychology and collectivity regarding the development of the child is in-and-of itself a social and political force of change, because as Hall (1995) pointed out, social “formulation may seem to threaten the collapse of an entire political world” (p. 225). Axiomatically, a shift in thinking and a focus on collectivity allows the community to reflect on the way it effectively navigates the politics of education and student achievement. Once again, Hall (1995) states: This does not make it any easier to conceive of how a politics can be constructed which works with and through difference, which is able to build those forms of solidarity and identification which make common struggle and resistance possible without suppressing the real heterogeneity of interests and identities, and which can effectively draw the political boundary lines without which political contestation is impossible without fixing those boundaries for eternity. (p. 225)

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Clearly, there is a place for all stakeholders to work together to assist in the development of students, as well as to advocate for change.

RESEARCH STUDY

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Our research investigates the role of first-generation Caribbean parents’ in their children’s education. Although this research was conducted in Alberta, Canada, the findings have broad implications for North American schools. To gather this information, we developed the following guiding questions: 1. What are Caribbean parents’ experiences with public education in the Caribbean and public K–12 education in Alberta, Canada? 2. What do parents want teachers to know and understand about their education and cultural experiences? 3. To what extent did the Alberta K–12 education system provide second-generation Caribbean immigrant children with a multicultural education? 4. According to parents, in regards to their children’s education, what are some of the strengths and limitations of Alberta’s public schools? And what are some of the changes that are needed? These questions address the cultural politics and power dynamics of education as they relate to Caribbean immigrant parents. In addition to the interview narratives from Caribbean parents living in Canada, which are presented in chapters 4 - 6, we provide personal reflections on the immigrant experience in education. Giroux (2006) poses that, by “linking pedagogy to an understanding of both how domination works in its diverse forms and how public pedagogy can be used as a powerful resource for engaging people in robust forms of dialogue and activism” (p. 4), educators can explore other ‘literacies’ that help to historically, culturally, and morally engage their students. Further, Giroux (2006) argues that: We need to develop social literacies that are functional, cultural, and critical [and that in education] we need literacies that recognize both the importance of cultural differences and the importance of individuals communicating across various social, cultural, and political borders. (p. 4)

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It follows that if we can show how historically people of Caribbean heritage have used this form of pedagogy to make meaning of their lives in their teaching and learning situations, then we could persuade educators that as a pedagogical tool, providing “culturally relevant conceptions of knowledge” (Ladson-Billings, 1994, p. 81) will help them to tap into Caribbean students’ experiences.

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Doing Insider Research in the Caribbean Immigrant Community Based on the suggestion of Creswell (2002), we engaged in the following research process: First, determined the type of research method that would best suit this study [qualitative study with individual and focus group interviews]; Second, gained permission from the stakeholders to conduct the research; Third, established a group of research participants; and Fourth, adhered to an agreed-upon research protocol during the data-collection process. To gain access to our desired sample, we spoke to the community leaders of organizations that offered extracurricular activities and services to families and youths in Alberta’s Caribbean community. To recruit participants, the project was introduced to ten Caribbean organizations in Edmonton. Based on interest, the families volunteered to participate in the study. After an initial meeting with the families who expressed an interest in participating in the study, those who met the research criteria: 1) Caribbean families who had children who completed secondary schooling the previous year, and 2) families with children who were currently in their final or penultimate year of secondary schooling. As mentioned, we aimed to addressed the research questions: 1. What are Caribbean parents’ experiences with public education in the Caribbean and public K–12 education in Alberta, Canada? 2. What do parents want teachers to know and understand about their education and cultural experiences? 3. To what extent did the Alberta K–12 education system provide second-generation Caribbean immigrant children with a multicultural education? 4. According to parents, in regards to their children’s education, what are some of the strengths and limitations of Alberta’s public schools? And what are some of the changes that are needed?

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This study was conducted between 2004 and 2007. The interviews were conducted in 2004 and the subsequence years were used to analyze the data and do additional research and writing on the topic. Table 3.1. Profile of Research Participants

Pseudonyms Frank/Monica Errol/Pamela Lance/June Monica/Frank Pamela/Errol June/Lance Ursula/Single Jackie/Single

Country of origin Jamaica St. Vincent Trinidad Grenada Trinidad Tobago Grenada Trinidad

Years of schooling 13.0 15.0 12.0 12.0 16.0 14.0 14.5 12.0

Marital status Married Married Married Married Married Married Divorced Single

No. of children* 2 (G) 2 (G) 2 (G and B) 2 (G) 2 (G) 2 (G and B) 3 (1B and 2G) 4 (1B and 3G)

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* G = girl; B = boy.

This research focused on gaining parents’ perspectives on their experiences of having their children enrolled in Edmonton public schools. Table 3.1 lists descriptive information on the five families who agreed to participate in this study. The families consisted of three two-parent families and two-single mothers. Frank, a Jamaican, met Monica, who was originally from Grenada, in London. They were married in London before moving to Canada. Errol, who was originally from St. Vincent, met Pamela in Trinidad. Like Frank and Monica, they came to Alberta, Canada shortly after their marriage in Trinidad. Lance and June were originally from Trinidad and Tobago. However, they met and were married in Toronto, Ontario before they relocated to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The seventh research participant was Ursula, who was originally from Grenada, and was a single mother who was recently divorced. While she heads her household, her former husband still helps with parenting their children. The eighth and final research participant was Jackie who was also a single mother. Jackie was born in Trinidad and moved to Montréal, Canada as a child. She relocated to Edmonton, Alberta as an adult. As we do not wish to divulge the identities of our research participants and their children, we use pseudonyms for all individuals and the schools their children attended. The two single-mothers were recruited through a community organization that operates a Saturday school program for children in the community, and the community leaders provided the names of other members.

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Our data consisted of tape-recorded interviews, field notes, and text material, which included poems and songs. Each parent was interviewed individually and then as couples, and finally, everyone gathered for focus group interviews. Tedlock (2000) explained that in joint husband and wife interviews, the male tends to dominate the discussion. Thus, the individual interviews helped to bring balance to the discussions. As Morse and Field (1995) recommend, the researchers/interviewers should allow the participants to choose the location of the interview. This procedure proved to be very important, because some conversations were fairly sensitive, but they usually occurred in the participants’ homes, which were safe spaces. The tone of the group conversation was not as serious as that of the individual and couples meetings, so the venue was appropriate. The conversations included a mixture of structured and unstructured interview questions. Fontana and Frey (2000) defined interview as a face-toface conversation, characterized by listening to, attending to, encouraging, and observing the participant, while also paraphrasing, summarizing, clarifying, and facilitating reflection on any or all questions (Ivey, 1994; Morse and Field, 1995). We found these practices to be extremely helpful in the interviews because they resulted in in-depth responses. In addition to interviews, there were group sessions during which the parents came together to exchange their views on education, as well as their experiences with their children’s education. Patton (1990) explains that group interviews should generally include six-to-eight people. Additionally, they should focus on a specific topic and they should last for about one-and-a-half hour. Regarding group interviews, Madriz (2000) wrote, “The [discussion] . . . group is a collectivistic rather than an individualistic research method that focuses on the multivocality of participants’ attitudes, experiences, and beliefs” (p. 836). Furthermore, Madriz (2000) suggested that the group strategy for collecting information is even more important because it emphasizes “the communal and collectivist nature of . . . [individuals’] lives” (p. 836). This perspective reinforces the need for a group exchange as a methodological approach, because not only did it bring together a marginalized group, but more importantly, it also recognized the range of diversity within the group, particularly, differences in education, gender, age, and social values. A logbook and journal was helpful for documenting interviews, as well as the themes arising from each session. Four of the parents in our study felt that their children had succeeded in the school system. Frank and Monica’s as well as Errol and Pamela’s two daughters had completed high school recently and

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Education and Cultural Identity

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were attending postsecondary institutions as of 2004. Lance and June’s son would enter a postsecondary institution on a sports scholarship, and their daughter, who had been out of school for one year, was planning to return that fall. Of the two families parented by single mothers, Ursula’s son was in the process of beginning university studies, and her two daughters were still in high school that year. Jackie’s son completed high school but he was not pursuing postsecondary education. The findings of the study are reported in chapters 4 – 6 with relevant literature on the immigrant and minority experience in education. In conclusion, in this chapter we discussed the role that culture plays in the classroom and in multicultural education, which is a theme of our investigation. We provided a social context and framework for our study and discussion on Caribbean immigrant experiences in North American schools. In the next chapter, we explain Caribbean and Caribbean immigrant experiences with education, and related issues of multiculturalisms in Canada’s schools.

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Chapter 4

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THE IMMIGRANT EXPERIENCE AND MULTICULTURALISM IN NORTH AMERICA’S SCHOOLS “Multiculturalism programs” can now be found . . . in Ottawa . . . at provincial and municipal levels of government and in a wide range of public and private institutions, including schools and businesses. Such programs are now under attack, perhaps more so today than at any time since 1971. In particular, they are said to be undermining the historical tendency of immigrant groups to integrate, encouraging ethnic separatism, putting up “cultural walls” around ethnic groups and thereby eroding our ability to act collectively as citizens. It is understandable that Canadians have had anxieties about multiculturalism, and it would be a mistake to ascribe all of them to xenophobia or prejudice.” (Kymlicka, 2006, p. 502)

In this chapter, we discuss migration as it relates to the Black Caribbean experience in North America, and particularly Canada. We explain the history of multiculturalism in Canada’s schools, the rise of African and Caribbean Diaspora studies as a curriculum development issue, and the role of school, community, and family partnerships in creating activism with regard to curricular change. As we proceed in our discussion, we use pseudonyms to identify the participants we interviewed in our research.

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THE IMMIGRANT EXPERIENCE Each year, people around the world are forced to make crucial decisions about their life’s chances, which often leaves them pondering about the prospects of migration. As they weigh this life changing decision, they must assess whether the proposed advantages of living in a new country outweighs the sacrifices involved with relocating. The immigrant experience varies depending on a person’s country of origin, age, socioeconomic status, languages spoken, and whether he or she is relocating to a rural, urban, or suburban city. It is fair to say that many people who emigrate from the Caribbean do so for economic and educational reasons. When they arrive in the host country, they tend to live in cities where there is an ethnic enclave, as well as opportunities for employment. Invariably, when Caribbean people immigrate to the U.S. and Canada, they experience new forms of social relations that they had never encountered in the Caribbean. Most can attest that racism and hierarchical discrimination occurred in the Caribbean, especially during slavery and colonialism, but it has definitely declined in the postcolonial era. Waters (1999) supports the assessment regarding the declining racialization of the Caribbean. She states: “Since independence in the 1960s and the establishment of the merit-based [system], yet still hierarchical, [in the] school system, many dark-skinned islanders had achieved a great deal of social mobility” (Waters, 1999, p. 154). Nevertheless, when Caribbean immigrants enter North America, they come expecting to see some form of racism, which they have heard about in regards to the historical treatment of Black Americans, yet many are still surprised at the extent of the repressive racial and ethnic relations they encounter. Waters (1999) contends that first-generation Caribbean immigrants arrive in countries such as the U.S. and Canada with strong, positive values, a higher education than the average African American, and an excellent work ethic. She explains that, “many black luminaries in the United States history have actually been immigrants or the children of immigrants from the Caribbean” (Waters, 1999, p. 94). Generally, these immigrants’ positive attitudes are reflected in the workplace in terms of their contributions and rate of laborforce participation, which is higher than normal in many sectors of the economy, such as education and business. Many Caribbean immigrants also work at least two or three jobs to provide for their families in North America, as well as back home in the Caribbean. However, while Caribbean immigrants generally have positive attitudes and behaviors regarding work and school, this does not always transfer into positive racial and ethnic relations in other areas

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of society. Caribbean parents and their children are not insulated from the effects of discrimination, particularly with respect to housing, pay equity, promotions in the workplace, achievement in schools, and, in the end, community development. Perhaps it is this level of understanding that African Americans bring to schools and the workplace, which manifests itself in a lack of trust toward Whites. The White-Black racial and ethnic relations in North America is often a shock to Caribbean immigrants, because in their home country they were less likely to have contended with institutional and structural barriers pertaining to racial discrimination. Waters (1999) argues that, “the expectation that [Caribbean] immigrants have about race relations in the United States does not prepare them well for their experience here. Most respondents report surprise at the racial situation they encounter; many report deep shock” (p. 153). In spite of these challenges, Caribbean immigrants’ desire for social mobility is very evident. Waters (1999) explains their resilience. The [Caribbean] immigrants come here expecting to encounter what I call structural racism—blocked mobility for blacks in the society and a hierarchy in which whites have political and economic power. When they encounter this kind of racism, the [Caribbean] immigrants are able to handle these situations well, mainly by challenging them. For example, they apply for jobs and housing they feel they deserve, even if they believe whites are trying to prevent their mobility. (p. 153)

Although they encounter many challenges, these immigrants continue to take advantage of educational and employment opportunities. In spite of these efforts, it is questionable whether Caribbean immigrants can succeed in fully living out the American dream. What are some of the factors that contribute to some immigrants’ lack of success? How do discriminatory practices construct the challenges that Caribbean immigrants face? For most Black immigrants in North America, they enter a society that has already been in a vicious social cycle that permeates from the lack of trust exhibited between Blacks and Whites. Black immigrants enter this social landscape with phenotypical markers that have often signaled “trouble” to most White Americans. One common example of this can be found in the real estate market. It is generally illegal to discriminate in the housing market, so with confidence, hard-working Caribbean immigrants normally take the initiative to move into higher socioeconomic neighborhoods as soon as they can afford to do so. However, whether Blacks are foreign-born or native-born,

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White flight begins when any Black family moves into the neighborhood. White families may sell their homes at a competitive price or some may even undervalue their home to secure a quick sale. These residents, who perceive that Blacks will degrade and devalue their communities, see Black ethnic minorities as invaders. Generally, they do not believe that the immigrants will keep the neighborhood clean and safe, so they move to other communities. This process accelerates because realtors might not direct prospective White buyers to Black neighborhoods. As a result, this creates redlining (Waters, 1999), which Hiller (2010) defines as: When lending institutions such as banks and insurance companies decline to make loans in a specific area of the city or only do so on less than favourable terms, which leads to the properties in the area continuing to depreciate. (p. 358)

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To address residential and other forms of discrimination, Caribbean immigrants must empower themselves socially, economically, and politically. Therefore, Caribbean immigrants who come to North America often reach out to other Caribbean immigrants to form communities.

BLACK MIGRATORY PATTERNS Alberta, Canada in the 1900s Edmonton, Alberta, the area of our research, is unique because historically it was one of the last places to be inhabited by Black immigrants. Generally, instead of living in Edmonton, Black immigrants chose other areas like Ontario and Quebec, and the city of Toronto, where there was already a Black presence. The first Blacks who resided in Northern Alberta were Americans (born in the U.S.) who came in the first decade of the 20th century from “a place called Indian Territory, Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma” (Carter and Akili, 1981, p. 9). They left Oklahoma to escape the frightful and hopeless experience of racism, and immigrated to Alberta, Canada because the country was believed to be more hospitable to Blacks. Furthermore, newspaper articles promoted immigration to the Canadian prairies and areas where there was low population growth (Hooks, 1997).

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FOLLOWING THE NORTHERN STAR Historically, Canada was generally one of the places where U.S. slaves would escape to. Following the North Star Polaris, which the slaves used as a guide when they were escaping in the dark night, they headed North in search of freedom and human rights to the northern part of the U.S. and Canada. In fact, as early as 1793, Canada passed a law that limited slavery. The incident leading up to this decision must be mentioned here. Chloe Cooley, a slave, was reportedly being sold by her slave owner to another plantation on the U.S. side of the Canada border, when she openly resisted in a physical confrontation. Witnesses who saw Cooley fighting for her life reported the incident to the Executive Council of Upper Canada. As a result of Chloe Cooley’s resistance, the Canadian government passed the 1793 Act to Limit Slavery in the northern part of the country. This made the region even more appealing to runaway slaves, who were seeking a refuge from slavery. The activism of Cooley and the subsequent passing of the 1793 Act were important developments for establishing the rights of Black people in Canada. Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman were all aware of the passage to freedom and a better life in Canada, a place that was normally too cold to sustain expansive plantation style economies. In this way, Harriet Tubman’s Underground Railroad stretched from the South of the U.S. all the way into Canada. Tubman’s Black emigration movement had its agenda set on helping slaves escape to the North, where they could be free for the first time in their lives. In doing so, at night they had their eyes set on the Northern Star, which would lead them to liberty. With the help of free Blacks and abolitionists in the North, slaves found an Underground Railroad, which was northward bound. Elijah McCoy (inventor/engineer), Robert Nathaniel Dett (musician/educator), Chloe Cooley (ex-slave/activist), Mary Ann Shadd (educator/activist), Robert Sutherland (Jamaican lawyer/activist), among others, all had ties to Canada. Although there was slavery in Canada, it was nothing comparable to the U.S., where plantations and free labor, particularly in the South, were driving the national economy. “The offer of land to homesteaders was used to lure new residents to the Canadian West” (Hiller, 2010, p. 23) and newspaper accounts of the African American exodus to Canada motivated many more to travel north into the region (Appendix D). As a result, many U.S. born Black families immigrated to Northern Alberta, where they established rural communities while a few older adults, women, and children lived in the metropolitan center of Edmonton. The relocation of these African Americans to the center of Edmonton could have

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been the start of an urban Black community, but they were forced to move to make way for an expanding center city. Furthermore, as a result of White Albertans complaining to government officials about the influx of Black residents, in 1910 an Act was passed, established through an Order in the Government Council, which brought to a halt the migration of African Americans. Green and Green (2004) wrote:

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The 1910 Act, . . . Section 38, paragraph “c,” states, “The Government in Council may prohibit for a stated period, or permanently the landing in Canada, or the landing at any specific port of entry in Canada, of immigrants belonging to any race deemed unsuited to the climate or requirements of Canada, or of immigrants of any specified class, occupation or character” (“An Act respecting Immigration,” assented to May 4, 1910). (p. 106)

As an Order in Council, the Act was not subject to public scrutiny. The document did not require the legislative process of parliamentary debate in the Canadian House of Representative and the Senate before it was signed by the Governor General, who was the British monarch’s representative. Orders in Council were administrative decisions issued by the ruling federal party, also known as the Cabinet, and signed by the Governor General (Green and Green, 2004). In addition to this official Act, “Canadian officials were directed to do all in their power to convince would-be immigrants that Canada’s climate was too harsh for them” (Hooks, 1997, p. 23). Green and Green (2004) added that the law was written very broadly, which made it possible for the government to have an official immigration policy while engaging in racial and political gatekeeping. The Act did not restrict White Americans from immigrating to Canada, but certainly allowed bureaucrats to discriminate against African Americans and other Blacks for decades. From the 1920s until the early 1960s, entrance to Canada was granted on the basis of country of origin (Green and Green, 2004). In 1967, Order in Council, October 1, 1967, PC#1616 was signed, introducing a points system as an objective scale against which immigrants who wished to immigrate to Canada were assessed. Based on education, language, arranged employment, personal suitability, and social ties, it allowed more people from the Caribbean to qualify to immigrate to Canada (Green and Green, 2004).

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Experiences of Caribbean Immigration to Canada As it was around the globe, the 1960s and 1970s were periods of major social, cultural, and political change in Canada. Nelson (2010) noted that one major outcome of the activism in the 1960s and 1970s was “increasing laborforce participation of adult women of every age group, social class, and marital/family status” (p. 219) to levels unknown since the World War II era. In addition, the nation was now less critical of housewives doing paid work. Canada’s social and economic systems were changing. The country’s occupational structure showed increases in service-sector jobs and part-time work. In addition, inflation forced women to join the workforce in greater numbers to supplement their family’s incomes (Nelson, 2010). With fewer daycare facilities to satisfy the demands of women who wished to enter the workforce, policy makers were challenged to remedy the situation. One immediate solution was to recruit immigrants to do domestic work. A similar policy was applied in 1925 when the Canadian government sought immigrants from Central and Eastern Europe to work in Canada as domestic servants and farm laborers (Green and Green, 2004). According to Fleras and Elliott (1992), the policies and “objectives [of Canada’s immigration policies] have been shaped historically by a combination of political considerations, international obligations, and economic requirements” (p. 39). The authors explain that South Asian and Chinese workers were brought to Canada to build the trans-Canada railway system. They were also employed in mines, in lumber camps, and to do domestic work because many native-born Canadians did not want these jobs. Responding to the need for female employment, many first-generation Caribbean immigrants who came to Canada between the 1950s and 1970s were women who were employed as live-in domestic workers. Their educational levels varied: some were teachers, nurses, or government clerks in their home countries, whereas others had not graduated from high school (e.g., one of our research participants, June). June’s story and drive to succeed in Canada is typical of most of the women who came there under the family caregiver program, which required workers to live and work with sponsoring families for two years. After their period of service, they were free to work elsewhere and to apply for permanent-immigrant status. June’s narrative (who was from Tobago) explains her experiences in the Caribbean, as well as being an immigrant in Canada.

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G. Wiggan and J. T. Walrond Interviewer: Would you say your schooling [in the Caribbean] was an enjoyable experience? June: I would somewhat agree. . . . There were highs and lows, moments of frustrations as it is in life; it all depends. Interviewer: Was most of your schooling in the Caribbean? June: No, all over. In the Caribbean it was up to the age of 14 or 15. I went to high school [secondary school] but never completed that because of finances. . . . So there was a big break there. Interviewer: What high school did you go to? June: That would be St. Joseph’s Convent. Interviewer: And what year did you leave? June: Oh, I do not remember what year that was. I was about 13 [years old], I think. Interviewer: So did you have an opportunity to go back to school after that? June: I went back to elementary school . . . and stayed in the highest grade, 7, and did my school leaving exams. . . . Interviewer: So what year did you come to Toronto [Canada]? June: I came in 1974. Interviewer: Did you go back to school? June: First, I worked with a family, looking after their kids, and I started doing typing and stuff in the house. I bought typing books; I had my little typewriter, the manual one. So the guy who I was babysitting for, he was a chartered accountant, a big-name chartered accountant. He saw the interest as I was doing this, and he started thinking, “Oh, maybe I should bring home some work for you to do,” that kind of thing. And I said, “Oh, I am not good yet.” So I enrolled in Big Foot Park High in Toronto. I went there and I did typing, and I passed. I came out with, I think, 55 words per minute, and I did some shorthand as well. I figured the two of them went together, . . . and maybe I could work in an office. That was my other thing; maybe I could work in an office, that kind of thing. So I decided, okay I did all that and did not go too far with typing. I cannot remember if I ever applied for any jobs with that, but I ended up working in a factory. For a number of years I worked there. And while I was doing that I decided, okay, I will enroll in Smith Brown College. I will do nursing, no first I wanted to be a dental assistant. So I enrolled in Smith Brown and they said: “You have to have this grade and that grade. So you have to upgrade.” So I said okay I’ll do the upgrading, and I went and did my upgrading and met lots of friends, met people and got into a group with a lot of other Black kids because Toronto has a Black Community when you go to school there. They are more like you, so you

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feel more comfortable to study and you know you can study together. We had study groups going together. There was the “big drive of Caribbean culture there too. So I studied nursing in Toronto, actually it was not nursing. That was my upgrading. I did my upgrading and I did well in my upgrading and I said okay I would go into the dental assistant program but the enrollment for the dental assistant program was filled. That was another stumbling block. So because that was filled I said I do not want to do nothing so I said, “let me do nursing.” . . . I said I kind of like this and it was fun that was the fun part. That is where the fun came in. I started my nursing in Toronto. Did not complete because the psychology course was not one of the subjects I liked. That was the only subject I failed. That was the downfall, failing that, but I did not let it keep me back. I transferred here [to Edmonton]. I got all my marks and I transferred to Alberta, to Edmonton. I did my psychology going back to Pat Smith Community College. I did not have to do the subjects I did in Toronto, so that was easy for me I had a lot of time and space in between so I could afford to work and go to school and get good grades and I finished my nursing here. That was the drive and I was not turning back. And it all depends on the group you are in, the friends that you have because I did not come here to work in McDonald’s. You do not come this far, you do not go through all that to come here to work in some low paying, low status job. That was not my thing.

June’s story resonate the struggles of immigrants who had limited access to education and employment in the Caribbean, but saw North America as being a place of greater opportunities. While pursuing new opportunities in another country, Caribbean immigrants must be mindful of immigration laws. Citizenship and Immigration Canada (2010) permits Canadian citizens and permanent residents to sponsor their dependent children to enter Canada as permanent residents under the family category classification. Other immigrants find alternative means of migrating and later bringing their family with them to the host country. One of our other research participants, Jackie, explains her experience with immigration. Jackie: I do not remember a lot [about my schooling in Trinidad, Caribbean], because there was so much going on at the time that I really did not focus too much on school to remember incidentals about schooling and stuff. My mother did not live in Trinidad; she lived in Canada, and I lived in Trinidad. Then she sent for us. . . . She went to the States, to Boston, and then she went from Boston to Montréal [Canada].

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Interviewer: Was she one of those who came through the caregiver program? Jackie: No, she came up on her own. . . . Interviewer: Oh, so you were being raised at home [Trinidad] by your aunt or grandmother? Jackie: Yes, by my aunt and by a friend of my mom’s, and I was shuffled back and forth by these two people in Trinidad before I came to Canada, so it was like your life is not like living at home with a mother and father. Interviewer: And was your dad up here with your mom? Jackie: No, he was in Trinidad, but he was not in my life. My brother’s dad was more in my life than my father.

Jackie’s narrative addresses the migration dilemma, where the mothers are generally forced to leave their children in the care of other family members such as grandmothers or aunts, or with friends when they immigrate to another country. These kids become “barrel children,” a term used by Caribbean Sociologist Claudette Crawford-Brown, to describe children whose parents immigrate to a foreign country to secure greater opportunities, and then sends them barrels of goods and clothes each year in lieu of the primary care they would otherwise receive from their parents (Crawford-Brown, 1999). The parents’ absence often negatively affects the children’s emotional well-being, as well as their behaviors. Jackie’s story illustrates the matrifocal nature of Caribbean families when children of migrants are left behind with a female caregiver. A matrifocal family is defined as “the family form in which the head of the family is a woman, typically a mother and/or a grandmother of other family members” (White, Larson, Goltz, and Munro, 2005, p. 368). Henry (1994) argues that another reason why there are many matrifocal families among Caribbean heritage groups, stems from the Caribbean woman’s desire to be independent and free from male domination. Henry (1994) postulates that: Caribbean women feel that they are equal to men, but they recognize that they live under male domination. Their most ardent desire is for greater independence. Women recognize that their own economic independence gives them greater independence from male domination. (p. 61)

Another perspective on female-headed households suggests that this phenomenon can be traced back to the enslavement of Africans in the Following the Northern Star: Caribbean Identities and Education in North American Schools : Caribbean Identities and

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Caribbean and North America. The narratives of freed-slaves give us an idea of the outcomes that some slave owners envisioned for their female slaves. The following is taken from the work of Benjamin Drew (1856/1972), who collected narratives from freed slaves he met while on a tour throughout the cities and communities of West Canada.

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My name in the South was Martha Martin. When I came to the North I took the name of Martha Bentley—Bentley being my mother’s name before she was married. My father was my master, Mr. [Smith], who died in 1843. . . . He liberated all the children he had by my mother, and one other slave girl, with one exception—that was a daughter he had educated and put to the milliner’s trade. After she had learned the trade, he went to the place where she was, with money to establish her in business. But he found she had two children by a white man. This so enraged him, that he carried her and her two children back to his farm, and put her to work in the field, and there, he said, she was to die. . . . When I was twelve years old, my father took me to Cincinnati. He charged me to marry neither a white man nor a black man: if I should, he would take me back South, and put me on the farm. (Drew, 1856/1972, pp. 143–145)

Like Drew, Henry (1994) also noted that generally marriages between enslaved Africans on Caribbean plantations were prohibited, that African men had no authority within the family, and the females were subjected to the sexual desires of their masters. These influences support the historic claim for a Caribbean matrifocal family system, but should not be considered as a norm for today. Most Caribbean families of today are separated because of social and economic disadvantages, which forces emigration. As Henry (1994) also suggested, Caribbean family relationships are complex and they have a variety of family structures. Research participant Ursula, who came to Alberta, Canada with her family in 1978, illustrates this point.

IMMIGRATING TO CANADA FOR POLITICAL AND SAFETY CONCERNS The conversation with Ursula, who is from Grenada and comes from a family with a relatively high socioeconomic status, addresses the political dynamics of the immigrant experience. She explains that the aim of most girls who took the Common Entrance Exam at around age 11 in Grenada, was to

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attend the elite St. Joseph’s Convent school in St George’s, the capital of Grenada. This was also true for Ursula, who achieved this goal. However, because she lived many hours away in the country, she resided in a boarding house during the school term. The school was structured similarly to a typical British boarding school, with residential halls, class prefects [student supervisors] or classroom monitors, and housemothers. Her junior high school years were uneventful, but politics and revolutionary ideology captivated her thinking in her senior years. Interviewer: In terms of your Caribbean school experience, how would you describe yourself? Ursula: I could recall maybe my last year or two in high school. There were maybe about three distinct groups. There were the ones who pretty well resigned themselves to “I had better start looking for a man and get married”—a man who was working and that kind of stuff. And there were very political ones, and then there were the very academic ones who knew that they were likely to leave Grenada because there was not enough to offer them there. So that was kind of the group you gravitated to. Interviewer: Do you care to say which group you gravitated towards? Ursula: I was the more political one, which scared the daylight out of my parents. Interviewer: Is that right. What happened? Ursula: At the time, it was during the period of Maurice Bishop and all of those. Interviewer: Oh, you went to school during the Maurice Bishop era. Ursula: And the challenging thing for me was that my dad was the Deputy Chief of Police, and I did everything that he resented, and that ended my relationship with him. There was the stress with that, but it was easy. Interviewer: Explain this. Ursula: That was the stressful part in terms of my parents, my family. But what made it easy for me was that I went to boarding school, so they did not get to see what I was doing. On occasion, I did run into him, but he just looked the other way. Interviewer: Oh, your dad? Ursula: Yes. Interviewer: Were you the one to pick up a picket sign and march [picket]? Ursula: Yes, I did lots of marches.

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Interviewer: Why were you doing this? Ursula: Because there needed to be change in Grenada. The government was terrible. It was pretty well a dictatorship. . . . Yes, it was. You know, it is amazing [pause]—and this is something I have not admitted to anybody before. I was trained to shoot in high school, because that was when they were planning the revolution. Because it was so corrupt, it was almost impossible to win a fair election in Grenada, and so they were willing to overthrow the government. One year after I moved here [Alberta, Canada] it did happen. And my dad always said to me that he saved me because I probably would have been dead. Before my dad passed away about three years ago, we got to talk about that. Before he passed away, I always used to tell him that I think I did for him what he did not have the guts to do. Because I think he understood; he empathized with what I was doing. But because of his position, he could not take as strong a stand as I was able to take, and I think a lot of the time I was protected because of him. I remember one day there was a police shootout that I was present at, and I spent about four hours in the sewer, and it was actually that day that Maurice Bishop’s father was killed. I got my head smacked by my mother when I got home because they could not find me.

As Ursula stated, her father wanted to protect his family. Perhaps he was so concerned about the political turmoil that was taking place, he felt that his only option was to leave his job and immigrate to Canada. This was a common experience for many Caribbean immigrant families.

DOUBLE-LAP MIGRATION Another group of the Caribbean immigrants who are often overlooked are those whom Henry (1994) defined as double-lap migrants: “people of Caribbean origin who initially went to England and then they or their children migrate again to Canada” (p. 32). Although these people may be identified in the census as British, their behaviors and self-identification show that they belong to the Caribbean immigrant community. In the case of Frank, he lived in Jamaica and the U.K. and attended school in both countries. He explains: Interviewer: Please tell me the number of years of schooling you had. Frank: School started from about age four in Jamaica to age thirteen when I transferred to the United Kingdom, and then I did high school

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G. Wiggan and J. T. Walrond there, followed by five years’ apprenticeship beyond that. In all, that would add up to about eighteen years of schooling.

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Similarly, Monica left Barbados at the age of five, and the majority of her education was completed in England. However, her parents taught her Caribbean mores and literature at home, which she later taught her own children. Interviewer: Please describe your Caribbean schooling experience. Monica: My Caribbean schooling experience was minimal, as I went to England when I was five years old. I have a very strong Caribbean culture because my parents are very Caribbean, and they hold strong values. Their ways of explaining things or teaching me were all very Caribbean, so I grew up with a very strong Caribbean culture. In terms of schooling, the ways that they were taught at school, they taught me that way at home. I had Caribbean books also, books that they brought from the Caribbean. We were taught “Brea Anansi” stories and other Caribbean metaphors. I realize that it would be difficult to include these in my children’s school experiences, but having a strong Caribbean background from the books I was taught from, I did the same for my children. When I went to the Caribbean on holidays, I always brought back Caribbean books and read them to my children, and they grew up learning everything about the Caribbean.

OTHER MEMBERS OF THE CARIBBEAN DIASPORA As we mentioned, economics and education are two of the main forces that lead Caribbean islanders to immigrate to the U.S. and Canada. Sometimes they come by way of family reunification, as it is not uncommon to see one family migrate to North America and eventually sponsor the entire family. In some cases, some families return to the Caribbean. However, while abroad, Caribbean immigrants often seek out higher education or technical skills training. Lance arrived in Canada with very little education. He quickly learned a trade and later completed his Grade 12 certificate. Interviewer: Please tell me the number of years of schooling you received. Lance: I left school in Standard 7 [Grade 7] in Trinidad, and when I came to Canada, I went to school at Smith Brown College for twelve

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months, and I got my GED and that was it. I learnt my trade in Canada; I took a welding course in Toronto. Interviewer: So did you complete your trade course before you got your GED? Lance: Yes, I did the welding course before I completed my GED. After I completed my GED, I came to Alberta to work as a welder.

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Like Lance, when Pamela and Errol were interviewed, an emerging theme on migration surfaced. The couple spoke about coming to Canada to make a contribution to Canadian society. In the interviews, they were able to connect migration to the economic advantages of living in North America. They also addressed cross-cultural and diversity issues. They explain: Pamela: I have just acquired my Bachelor of Administration degree. It has taken quite a number of years. If we look at the chronological years that I have done, then it would probably be twenty years of education. When I left Trinidad and Tobago, I had my GCE “O” levels [General Certificate of Education, the British equivalent to a Grade Twelve certificate in the United States and Canada]. Then I attended Grant MacEwan Community College and did the accounting program there from 1984 to 1986, and I worked towards my Certificate in Management Accounting doing courses in the evening. Errol: In the Caribbean I went to school until I was nineteen years of age, and I did my GCE “O level” but was successful in one subject. I came to Montréal, and there I went to Sir George Williams High School to complete my high school. After high school, instead of going to university, I decided I wanted to do agriculture and go back home, so I went to Vanier College to complete CGEP [Collège d’enseignement general et professionnel, or College of General and Vocational Education]. After my first year, I switched to a course in animal science, and I did that for three years there. I like science, animal science, working with animals, and doing that type of research. I did that in college for a three-year diploma. After that I went back home [to the Caribbean] and then returned to Edmonton, where I worked at the University of Alberta. Researcher: What were some of the cultural issues you noticed when you arrived in Canada? Errol: With North American people, you have to be sensitive to the culture of different people and to explain the culture to them. I think basically this is the problem.

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G. Wiggan and J. T. Walrond Pamela: They [White Canadians] are the dominant group. Their culture is the one that exists, and the other people that are coming in have to understand this culture always to survive. I understand what you are saying: that it is desirable, but it is not going to happen because it is of no benefit to them. In fact, in order for them to understand other cultures, they may have to lose something, and who wants to do that? But you know what is meaningful if they have a financial interest. They are doing business in the Middle East, and then it is important to their business to understand what the culture is there. That is the politics, and then the strategy is to show where understanding the culture of the immigrant is going to benefit this [Canadian] culture, not specifically me. Oh yes, we do make a contribution. Errol: Before you can get into Canada, you have to go through tests to make sure that you meet their standards. If you do not meet those standards, they do not allow you in, so obviously they know that when you get here, they know that you have to do things to benefit them. They will be benefiting from you, because right now, the larger the population, the better it is for Canada. Pamela: The policy makers know that, and the educators, some of them probably know that. But the sort of concept where people think that immigrants are coming in to take away something that exists, that is the ordinary man on the street who has that perception. Immigrants come and they work hard, they build and they own homes, and they contribute, but it does not mean that it is readily perceived like that.

CARIBBEAN STUDENTS ‘CAUGHT UP’ IN THE IMMIGRANT EXPERIENCE Beyond the potential monetary advantages of migration, education is the most promising ambition among the younger immigrant population. Many of these young people come to study in North American postsecondary institutions, and most of them stay after their studies are completed. Although they came to study in colleges and universities, many of the students who came to Canada in the 1960s and 1970s were forced to face the realities of racial and ethnic discrimination. Postsecondary institutions are microcosms of the larger society (Boldon, 1971; Greene, 1978). Hence, when some students at Sir George Williams University in Montréal, Canada explained that they were experiencing discrimination, most of their peers were not surprised. Forsythe (1971) argued that the public decry of discrimination regarding racial

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minority students “is surely one of the most significant episodes to occur recently at both the local and international level” (p. 7). The “Sir George Williams Affair” [1968] as it was called, was one of the most infamous cases of racial discrimination in Canada. The experiences of some Caribbean students and the aftermath of their actions merit discussion. We believe that the affair was also instrumental in moving the Canadian government to the point of introducing a policy on multiculturalism. In April of 1968, six Black Caribbean students who were attending Sir George Williams University in Montréal, Canada were dismayed by the general level of racial discrimination they encountered at the institution. They were also graded unfairly in class, and particularly in biology, where they received lower grades for completing the same work as their White peers. Forsythe (1971) contends that, although the students and faculty agreed to the terms of the University’s Hearing Committee, they were not followed. As a result, members of the Caribbean Students Association supported the students and decided to occupy the Computer Science Department at the university. The occupation lasted two weeks and ended with the destruction of the mainframe computers and the facility. Ninety students were arrested, of whom 41 were from the Caribbean. They were imprisoned, denied bail for at least nine days (Forsythe, 1971), and charged. In addition, those who had student visas were deported back to the Caribbean. During and after the incident, the public turned against the Caribbean students and other Blacks in the community. Williams (1971) reported that, “Canadians’ usual ‘pleasant’ smile changed virtually overnight to naked aggression of the public chant, ‘Let the n-word burn,’ ‘kill the n-word,’ etc.” (p. 113). The media condoned the public comments and referred to the behavior “as.. backlash” towards the students’ actions (p. 112). The media attributed the students’ behavior to “‘foreign radicals’ and ‘revolutionaries’ such as Chinese Maoists and Black Power advocates of the United States” (p. 115). The majority of Blacks, including Caribbean people in Canada, shunned the students because they did not want any reprisal for supporting their discrimination claims. One month after the watershed moment of February 11, 1969, in March, staff members of the Montréal Star attempted to bring closure to the incident by publishing an opinion piece on the topic. Richard Leslie wrote the article, entitled “The Anti-Black Backlash— Montréal’s Grim Fact of Life.” Williams’ (1971) analysis of the article was as follows:

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G. Wiggan and J. T. Walrond In this article, Mr. Leslie attempted to apologise for the overt racism of the public on February 11th. He attributed this behaviour to ‘emotion’ and gave no analysis of the racism latent and otherwise in the Canadian society and how these values are promoted by a capitalist structure. (p. 114)

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In the interim time, the Caribbean Students Association persisted in its demand for social justice by travelling from Montréal to Ottawa to present the Prime Minister, the Honorable Pierre Eliot Trudeau, with a list of grievances. The majority of support for the students came from people in the Caribbean, who were appalled that their sons and daughters were fighting discrimination in their search for a place to live, in classes at the university, through the media, and in Canada’s court system. Spurred by the “Sir George Affair,” Black Power groups sprang up across the Caribbean (Forsythe, 1971). Forsythe (1971) reported that the Uhuru, a Black-owned newspaper editorial, on February 16, 1970, stated: When the students stood up at Sir George, it was a step forward for their people both in Canada and the Caribbean. It can also account to some extent for the reason why the new Caribbean insurgence is carrying a strong anti-Canadian banner. The Sir George incident blew the myth of friendly Canada and this resulted in an exposure of the militaryimperialistic ambitions of Canada in the West Indies. (p. 9)

One of the outcomes of this incident was that many businesses changed their names to appease their Caribbean clients and to become more culturally inclusive. However, this was a gesture in name only, because many branches of Caribbean banks still operated as subsidiaries of their Canadian parent companies. For example, in the Caribbean, the Royal Bank of Canada changed its name to the Royal Bank of Trinidad and Tobago. Once the national government became more involved in issues of discrimination and human rights, their laws and policies would help to make Canada even more accommodating to immigrants.

JAMAICAN BLACK TEACHERS IN ALBERTA During this time, Jamaican schoolteachers were recruited to Alberta to address the national teacher shortage in Canada. Later, in response to similar

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shortages in the oil industry, workers of Caribbean heritage migrated from Ontario, as well as the Caribbean, to work in Alberta. These migrants were important sources of cheap labor who helped to address the labor shortage. Since the 1960s, many Caribbean students have come to Canada to study. In Edmonton, they often attended the University of Alberta. After graduating, many have remained to work with the federal, provincial, or municipal governments or in Edmonton’s hospitals. Thus, the majority of the firstgeneration Caribbean immigrants in Edmonton were either highly-educated or technically skill trained. Because these immigrants spoke English, they could choose to live throughout the city of Edmonton, Alberta. However, some, either by design or through desire, have chosen to live in immigrant enclaves in the northeast or southeast area of the city. As we mentioned, when these immigrants arrive, they often experience discrimination in the workplace. For example, the Jamaican teachers who came to Canada in the 1960s were routinely placed to teach in rural areas of Alberta. In these rural towns, they were isolated and many of the White Canadians treated them with indifference. Furthermore, in these communities they were unable to mentor Caribbean immigrant children, who often lived in urban areas. As it is the case with many other migrants, highly educated Caribbean immigrants are more likely to be underemployed even when they have many years of experience in their profession. If they are employed in their chosen careers, they may experience racism in the form of being overlooked for promotions, or they are made to feel that they were employed only to comply with the government’s diversity policies. In the 1980s, the federal government mandated that companies that did business with governmental institutions should seek greater diversity in their workforce. However, there was a great deal of resistance to these policies.

BEING A CULTURAL MINORITY IN CANADA The following narratives address the Caribbean immigrants’ experience as it relates to being a cultural minority and navigating institutional patterns of discrimination in Canada. In this way, Jackie explains how she was able to preserve her Caribbean culture. Interviewer: How would you describe yourself in terms of your Caribbean culture?

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G. Wiggan and J. T. Walrond Jackie: I am quite Caribbean. That is one thing about living in Montréal: They have a very diverse West Indian culture, which we do not have in Edmonton. The West Indian culture is there; it is like a mini Caribbean. It is like it is in Toronto. Interviewer: Which area of Montréal are you speaking about? Jackie: I am speaking about Côte-des-Neiges, Notre-Dame-DeGrace, Little Burgundy, and those areas there. If you go out to Pierrefonds, Dollard-des-Ormeaux and the islands, Saint-Hubert, you do not get that; but we lived in Côte-des-Neiges. We did go out to live in Greenfield, which is in the Longueuil area, and you do not get that [Caribbean mix] there. That is like living in Edmonton. We were out there for two years. And there is not a big diversity there. We had cultural education out east [in Montréal]. We had a West Indian upbringing because we had camps, and we had after-school activities that we participated in where we learnt about our heritage, which the kids out here do not have. Interviewer: Okay, so the community provided that resource? Jackie: Right. That is why I know about my culture; otherwise, I would not get it because my mom is not one for that. I am more cultural than my mom is. Interviewer: When you say that, what do you mean? Jackie: I get more into my culture; I get more into the Caribbean part of my culture. I do more Caribbean things; my home is more Caribbean. Even my accent—I do not have a strong accent, but I have more of a West Indian way about me. What I eat, the things that I do, my morals, it is stronger. I took my culture on more than any other member of the family. I think it is because I was the older one and because I was taken away from it. Interviewer: Taken away from Trinidad? Jackie: Right. I miss it, and I hold on to it, and I strive to learn more about it because I am not in the midst of it. So every opportunity that I get to be part of a Caribbean festivity or to get to know more about the Caribbean, I accept it and embrace it. You know: That is I. Interviewer: So give me an example of what your Caribbean culture is like. Tell me something about it. Jackie: If you look around my house, I am who I am; what you see in my house reflects who I am. You see my Black art work. I like my culture. I embrace other people’s culture, but this is who I am; this is reflecting me. I like my Caribbean music, I like my soca [Trinidad and Tobago musical genre], I like a little bit of Reggae, but that is my preference. I love the food, I love the people, and I like the climate. I

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cannot handle too much heat these days, but that is because we are not accustomed to it any more. Everything about the Caribbean I like. I like getting involved with the Black Association, keeping people in touch with their roots. I do not want it to end because this is who we are. I decorate my car with my paraphernalia, my flags, my this-and-that, my Tshirts. I would like the world to know who I am because I am proud of who I am. Although I left when I was small, I know more about my culture than people who left when they were adults. A lot of people do not believe it when I say, “Oh, I left when I was eight.” But they are surprised when they see the amount of information that I have stored up and kept in me and around me, because most people, when they leave, they ‘turn Canadian’ on you. I left, and my mother will tell you that when I left I became more West Indian. And you will see a difference with my brother and me. He is Canadian all the way. Get him on the phone, and you will think you are talking to some White boy; and I am totally different. I would say that I am 95% West Indian. Even my children have adopted the culture. My son tells people—he is born in Montréal, but he tells people that he is Trinidadian, straight up. He is a Trinidadian; the children say that they are Trinidadian. I am Trinidadian, one’s father is Bajan, the other’s father is Jamaican, so what’s the problem? Oh, I am a Trini, I am a Trini, and they are adopting a lot of what I have instilled in them and what I have learnt. You are who you want to be. If you are proud of who you are, it will come.

Jackie’s narrative illustrates her cultural pride and the ways she expresses it in her own family and community. According to Hall (2003), culture is a fluid concept characterized by social context in relation to time and place (geography). Although it may evolve and change, everyone has a culture and belongs to a cultural group. As Delgado-Gaitan and Trueba (1991) noted, “changing people’s habits, people’s ideas, people’s language, people’s beliefs, people’s emotional allegiances, involved a sort of deliberate violence to other people’s developed personalities” (p. 26). Africans in the Caribbean often experienced this practice. Nevertheless, they were able to create a rich AfroCaribbean culture based on their African retentions, and assimilated aspects of European and Asian cultures. Jackie is a first-generation Caribbean Canadian who attended school in the Caribbean and Canada. She remembered her teachers and school principals in Trinidad as being able to exert greater influence on students, more so than the teachers and administrators in Canada. Discipline, punctuality, neat uniforms, and respect for authority figures such as teachers and school administrators

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were important student characteristics in the Caribbean. Jackie’s observation was that many Canadian students lack these qualities. In Canada, Jackie noted that there was no dress code and the discipline was much more relaxed in school. Jackie’s narrative speaks to the experience of many immigrants in Canada. Jackie is a single mother whose children have different fathers, but because she maintains a Trinidadian household, her children who were born in Canada, have embraced their Trinidadian ethnicity. Her story also illustrates the extent to which she relished her Caribbean culture. In addition, she explained the degree to which the community contributed to her cultural knowledge as a youth in Montréal. We note here that at all three levels of government in Canada [federal, provincial, and municipal] there is financial aid available to provide community programs, which Jackie participated in once she arrived in Canada (Walrond, 2008). Additionally, Jackie addresses the differences among Montréal, Toronto, and Edmonton’s Caribbean communities. In her narrative, she explains that Montréal and Toronto have distinct Caribbean enclaves, which increases the strength of the community. This, she said, is not the case in Edmonton, where many financially secure immigrants move to the suburbs. However, while living in the suburbs, they may still use the urban communities for social and cultural outlets (Hiller, 2010). Buttressing Jackie’s narrative, Hall’s (2003) and Delgado-Gaitan and Trueba’s (1991) examinations of culture permits greater conceptualization regarding the relationship between first-generation Caribbean immigrant parents and their children’s education. Brathwaite (1996) addresses the involvement of Caribbean parents in schools. He argues: “My experience has been that when parents organize to change the power relations between the educators and institutions versus the parents and community, there is more often than not, much tension generated between the home and school” (Brathwaite, 1996, p. 114). He continues: Some parents have confessed that until they had the good sense to communicate with others and join an organization working for educational improvements for Black students, they were isolated in their local school, believing that it was only their child who was experiencing racial discrimination; it was only they who had a problem. (Brathwaite, 1996, p. 115)

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Clearly, parental involvement plays an important role in the education of children. However, many parents may not know how to navigate the politics of schools. Therefore, drawing on cultural studies and antiracism discourse, the following questions must be raised: First, how are the dynamics of culture and identity mediated in schools? For example, Stuart Hall explains the multiplelayers of culture or “the theorization of creolization, métissage, mestizaje, and hybridity” (Gilroy, 2003, p. 51). Halls’ suggestion is particularly relevant, as many Caribbean immigrant youths have demonstrated that they wish to identify with aspects of their Caribbean heritage culture, while assuming varying aspects of the dominant culture, creating a hybridized identity. Thus, a second question that must be asked is: How do teachers understand these students’ composite identities? Additionally, a third area of concern pertains to parental involvement. Caribbean immigrant parents are familiar with an educational system in which their parents were not required to be very involved in school processes. This did not detrimentally affect the outcomes of schoolchildren because the teachers in the Caribbean were usually familiar with the community and family’s cultural values. The parents could trust that the teachers would impart similar values to the children they teach. Therefore, how does the increased desire for parental and community involvement manifest in Canadian school culture? Fourth, how does a contemporary understanding of multiculturalism in Canada enable or inhibit the project of building a pedagogy around Caribbean history and culture? Cultural pluralism is a reality in Canada. However, Bannerji (2000) argues that many view a multicultural policy as promoting the celebration of ethno-cultural festivals in schools and the wider society, such as the yearly Caribana in Toronto, which is North America’s largest Caribbean festival. In schools, parents are sometimes invited to share their culture with students, usually in the form of foods and fashion. Additionally, in Canada, generally community members are invited to classrooms during Black History Month or on the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination [March 21st]. Thus, a question that must be raised is what are students’, parents’, and teachers’ perceptions of these activities? And should more sustained outreach become a priority? Finally, the issue of masculinity is an important topic in schools. How do the notions of Black masculinity and Black female complacency in the school system contribute to how these students see themselves in schools and society? Abdel Shehid (2000) noted that today in Canada many prominent athletes are

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Black. Thus, in the absence of a concomitant and similar achievement level in other spheres; academic, business, and politics, this phenomenon places unreasonable and somewhat skewed expectations on Black youth (K. James, 1996). K. James (1996) explained:

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I am interested in athletics but I do not want teachers to assume that it will be my major interest in school, . . . because while I may participate in a sport, I am aware of the importance of a balance between sports and academics and will keep that in perspective. (p. 303)

Many parents believe that this discourse on Black athleticism and entertainment extends from the media, to teachers and students. Therefore, Black students who fit this image are seen as jocks or potential jocks. Solomon (1992) defined jock as “a black clique of high-profile senior boys, [who] are all rooted in a West Indian ancestry and culture. . . . [They] start with a small nucleus and [expand] . . . to other peripheral members such as teammates, and neighborhood buddies” (p. 33). Black female youth appear to be more or less absent from the discourse on jocks or they seem to occupy a position referential to Black male youth. For example, Solomon (1996) wondered about the fate of females who develop relationships with jocks and are also pressured into accepting a stereotypical identity. In general, whether Black male or female, teachers must make a more concerted effort to introduce more positive images of Black people to their students. This can help to disrupt the constant bombardment and images of Black athletes and entertainers as socialization forces for Black youths. In conclusion, this chapter addressed the experiences of first-generation Caribbean immigrants in North America, specifically, Canada. Using interview narratives, it provided a context for discussing the educational experiences of immigrants in the Caribbean and Canada. Although these immigrants were somewhat aware of North American culture, they were not anticipating the level of racism that they encountered in schools and society. Nevertheless, they were able to persevere through discrimination to make a better life for themselves in the host country. In the next chapter, we explore Caribbean identity formation in Canada and its related underpinning educational implications. Our findings and discussion are supported by our study.

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Chapter 5

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CULTURAL CONTEXT AND INVESTIGATIONS OF CARIBBEAN FAMILIES In Chapter 5, we explore the experiences of first generation Caribbean parents in Canada. In our analysis, we note that most of these immigrants were educated between the dawn of the 1960s independence movement in the Caribbean, and the 1980’s U.S. invasion of Grenada. Although Jackie was educated in the Caribbean and Canada, and Frank and Monica were educated in the Caribbean and the United Kingdom, they reported that the additional education they received at home and in their communities, gave them an educational worldview that they consider to be Caribbean. Like Jackie, Frank, and Monica, our other research participants were also educated in the Caribbean. Therefore, to provide a context to discuss education in the Caribbean and Canada, we first address the experiences of our research participants in the Caribbean. Next, we discuss their experience with Canada’s educational system, as well as their children’s education in Canada. We recognize that we are presenting many stories of success, although we tried to include a range of participants whose children might not have been so successful. However, other parents whose children were not attending either college or university declined our invitation to participate in the study. Although our research participants felt that they had successfully navigated the Canadian K–12-education system, they all emphasized that acquiring what they perceived to be a quality education for their children was a constant challenge that required continuous oversight to ensure that their children selfactualized. In presenting the findings and discussion, we unpack the discourse to explain relevant implications for public schools. First, we discuss the development of a Caribbean cultural identity, which is grounded in Caribbean

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education and culture. Then, we analyze the contestation at the nexus of a Caribbean cultural identity and the North American school experience.

CARIBBEAN IDENTITY FORMATION AND SCHOOL CULTURE: RELIVING OUR EDUCATION We begin this section with one of Jackie’s statements regarding education and culture, which helps to support our analysis. She states:

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I would say, in order for our children to have and to share some of the experiences we have had, we will have to find a way to incorporate into the school system some of the schooling that we had. In some way, we need to have adult input so that the children can see themselves reflected in school [the curricula]. And even though it may not always coincide with what the dominant culture says, it is important that it is recognized. So the school system has to incorporate the best of our West Indian culture in their programming, and it has to be on a regular, ongoing basis. And I think that it should be mandatory for teachers to have cross-cultural training.

As Jackie’s comments suggest that to generate greater awareness regarding the role of culture in education, we must create opportunities for students to express their culture, as well as for teachers to learn about their diversities (Braziel and Mannur, 2003). It is important for teachers to crossover the border of the communities and cultures they are already familiar and comfortable with, to learn more about other cultures. In reflecting on the need for more porous cultural borders, Giroux (2005) asserted that: The concept of border crossing not only critiques those borders that confine experience and limit the politics of crossing diverse geographical, social, cultural, economic, and political borders, it also calls for new ways to forge a public pedagogy capable of connecting the local and the global, the economic sphere and cultural politics, as well as public and higher education and the pressing social demands of the larger society. (p. 6)

Prompted by this suggestion, we begin with an examination of Caribbean education.

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Barakett and Cleghorn (2000) acknowledged that the majority of “industrialized countries today have a national system of education that has been influenced historically by Europe, England or the United States” (p. 13). This is certainly the case with Caribbean education, where because of social, political, economic, and historical processes, English-speaking countries model the British system. Although today the public schools in the Caribbean seek to become more unique and independent from the British system, the participants we interviewed were all educated under a British educational model in the Caribbean. During the independence and post-colonial era in the Caribbean, students received 11 years of schooling—6 years of primary education (1st Grade – 6th Grade or ages 5 – 11) and 5 years of secondary schooling (or 7th Grade – 11th Grade or ages 12 – 17). The Common Entrance Exam that all students took was administered in Standard 5, or Grade 6, which stratified secondary education from Forms 1 to 5 (7th Grade – 11th Grade). This exam determined which students would obtain a secondary education that would lead to professional opportunities, and which ones would be placed in a lower-track, and simply graduate and exit school. Under this system, students could officially leave school at age 14 or 15. This system of education was designed so that adolescents could exit schools at three intervals: (a) after they complete the Standard 7 curriculum: If they write and pass the necessary exam, they leave school with a schoolcompletion certificate; (b) after they complete Form 5 (11th Grade): students who pass the General Certificate of Education (GCE) exams in Form 5 graduate with a GCE “O,” or Ordinary Level certificate; and (c) after they graduate from Form 5, they can take two extra years of education for a cumulative of 13 years of schooling, which prepares them for the Advance Level Exam. Those who graduated with a GCE “A,” or Advance Level certificate, become eligible for tertiary education.

SCHOOLS’ GOALS VS. PARENTS’ GOALS: COMPETITION FOR HIGH SCHOOL PLACEMENT In the Caribbean, most parents were aware of the relationship between education and social mobility, and they were prepared to invest in their children. Therefore, to prepare their children for formal schooling, they enrolled them in preparatory education programs from an early age. Many children attended kindergarten to learn basic literacy and numeracy, as well as

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school discipline. Middle-class parents often enrolled their children in extralessons afterschool or on Saturdays, and even during their summer vacation to ensure that they perform well on all of their exams. In the Caribbean, all children are guaranteed a primary school education. However, rigid systems of tracking stratify and place students into secondary schools based on testing. Students who obtain very high scores on their exams receive scholarships, which makes their secondary education free or of a minimal cost. Additionally, many secondary schools have quotas for children of the gentry, which mean that these upper-class students might not have to take or even pass exams to enter secondary school. Barakett and Cleghorn (2000) wrote:

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When there is a shortage of spaces at the next level of schooling [secondary schools], one often finds a national system deemed to be objective, that allows the system to select the number of students for whom there are spaces at the next level. (p. 14)

Having wealth, legacy and other forms of social capital, provides advantages that lower-class students do not receive in schools. Students from lower socioeconomic status who gained entrance to secondary schools, without scholarships, sometimes were not able to further their education because they did not have money for transportation, textbooks, uniforms, additional fees, or school supplies. Since high school was not free or compulsory, students knew that they had to study and work hard to achieve in this system. Our inquiry regarding high school experiences elicited responses about the competitive nature of Caribbean education. Ursula explains: Ursula: High school is very, very competitive down there [Caribbean], so you have to write the exam. Interviewer: How did you study for this exam? Ursula: Well, it was so important to the teachers as the different schools competed, because they published how many kids from their school got accepted to secondary school. So pretty much, they gave priority to probably the top ten percent of the students, and they really prepared them. They got all the sample exams to prepare you. That was a lot of pressure for students at age eleven.

One significant failure of public education in the Caribbean in the postindependence era was the lack of free secondary education for all children.

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During the 1970s, under Prime Minister Michael Manley, Jamaica was one of the few countries that provided free education at all levels. The general economic constraints of newly independent countries forced their governments to implement school-fees to help pay for secondary education. The lack of free secondary education, as well as the rising cost of tertiary education, prompted many families to immigrate to North America where they could gain better educational opportunities for their children. The stress that came from having limited educational access at such a formative period in children’s development either motivated them positively, or resulted in their loss of selfesteem where education was concerned.

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EDUCATION, EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES AND CAREER OPTIONS One of the most important desires for parents was to see their children gain better educational and employment opportunities. Therefore, parents in the Caribbean generally held high educational expectations for their children. June knew that her mother could not read even though she stared at the pages of the Bible. Nevertheless, her mother always encouraged her to read and study. When our group met to discuss education in the Caribbean, Errol spoke about his mother’s pride when she learned that her son had returned to school to further his education. Generally, in the Caribbean, the entire community took an interest in the education of children. The teaching profession was highly esteemed in the community and teachers were respected. Many of these teachers went beyond the call of duty to ensure that their students were performing at a high level. In this narrative, Errol reflects on the ways teachers reached out to parents and students. Errol: And that is another thing… People were always helping you in school and so forth. . . . I had a teacher, and she was very nice. She was my neighbor, and she would come there and she would talk to my mother, and she would tell my mother, “This is what I would want from the kids. [Slaps his hands on the table] And this is for the kids.” And then she would talk to the kids and parents and so forth and explain things to them. You don’t find [that] too much up here.

Errol alludes to the dedication of the teachers and the high value that was placed on education. In the Caribbean, it was common practice for teachers to Following the Northern Star: Caribbean Identities and Education in North American Schools : Caribbean Identities and

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have parental meetings at the parents’ homes, where the teachers could reach out to families. When Jackie was asked about her experiences with teachers and the wider community of support, she explained how her pastor contributed to her growth. It is obvious from this exchange that she considered her pastor and schoolteachers to be an integral part of her educational support system.

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Interviewer: One of the things you mentioned earlier though, which was part of your experiences, had to do with the interest your teacher showed in you. June: Yes, yes, not only in school, but we had that interest also in the church. We had a pastor who came to get us to go to Sunday school. There is a connection with the teacher and the parents. I am not sure if it is because it is a small community or whatever, but the parents know the teachers and the teachers know the parents. It was not unusual for them to drive by, to stop by, and to talk to your dad or your mom. They would come home and talk to your parents without being asked to do so, without you even getting in trouble in school.

June’s comments help to illustrate the extent to which the entire community took an interest and played a role in supporting children’s education. Some of the other participants such as Pamela and Errol, explained another side of this community and communal endeavor to educate children. Pamela addresses the community and the issue of volunteerism. She explains: “In terms of being more specific…. It[education] was a good experience academically; we had good relationships with the teachers and the community, we volunteered, and so it is a rich experience that can match any other.” She continued: “It [community involvement] was structured differently, because the community was structured differently. Parents went to work, but teachers and neighbors and friends were more directly involved in our lives than [they are] here.” Furthermore, Pamela [from Trinidad] explains that community involvement included school feeding programs, which provided students from poor households with a hot meal. Pamela said that many other students also enjoyed these daily hot meals: “We had people from the church that came into the schools. The Coterie of Social Workers did good work for school children.” In the Caribbean, community members built breakfast sheds in the neighborhoods or sometimes in the backyards of their homes, to provide food for hungry children. Merchants in the community contributed food to the

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breakfast sheds, and women volunteered to prepare the meals. Reddock (1994) reported that “in 1926 the first ‘Breakfast Shed’ was opened [in Trinidad]. This, according to teachers/Coterie members, was needed to supply mid-day meals for children of working mothers and because of the existing poverty” (p. 170). Like Pamela, Ursula reflected on her educational experience in the Caribbean. Ursula mentioned one of her outstanding teachers in Grenada. Ursula: For reading and stuff, there were no real libraries, but she would buy books and loan [them] to us. So if you did not have a parent who saw the need, she [Mrs. Jones] filled that need. I remember her even cooking and bringing food to school, that kind of stuff for the kids who did not have.

As Ursula suggests, the teachers often did a great deal of personal things beyond their job descriptions, to ensure that their students achieved.

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PUNISHMENT AND REWARD Discipline was also a major aspect of education in the Caribbean, and students knew immediately upon arrival at school on the first day that disobedience would not be tolerated under any circumstances. Any authority figure at school could instill discipline, but like North American schools, the principal was called upon to deliver the most severe discipline. The majority of our research participants recalled some instances of being disciplined. However, our conversations show that the modes of discipline varied depending on the disciplinarian, the circumstance, the teachable moment, and the age of the student. In the Caribbean, it was not uncommon for misbehaving students to receive a “spanking” (corporal punishment) in school. Jackie’s experiences were similar to those of many Caribbean students. In describing her early school experiences, Jackie, who was educated in both the Caribbean and Canada, compared the discipline practices in the two systems. I remember it was stricter [in the Caribbean] than in Canada. The principal and the teachers had more influence on the children. There was more discipline, punctuality; the hours of schooling was not as long; and elementary is a little bit different here than it is at home. One thing I remember if you misbehaved, the principal had options of spanking you

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or giving you licks on your hand or something like that. The schooling in Canada was not the same because the teachers here were not allowed to use corporal punishment. They do not have corporal punishment here, so they were not allowed to spank.

Jackie continues: And I think that in some cases we did discipline too harshly. You had physical spanking, beating up to some points; yes, even up to the lower forms [grades] in postsecondary [for example, junior high in North American schools]. But beyond that point, sometimes with children who did not perform well, there was a lot of ridicule, which I think did not enhance your self-esteem. So if you did well, you got positive reinforcement; and if from an early stage you had a learning disability or something that was not recognized, then, because it was such a fish bowl, such a small area, then you could be labeled, ridiculed, and really have poor self-esteem.

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Pam explains: I do agree that discipline is important. And let me hasten to say yes, discipline is important. But what I wanted to point out was that we did have extremes, and we have to acknowledge that. It is not to say that we had a perfect system and that it is way better than it is here; there are things that were there that were positive that we like to see here.

Similarly, Ursula explains her experience with discipline in school. Ursula: We lined up for everything, even to get the strap. There was a lot of discipline, and not in a bad way, but in terms of doing well. Interviewer: Who was responsible for discipline? Ursula: Everybody was—the teachers. If you went way overboard, then you got to go to the principal. And it was not anything specific that was used. It could be a ruler, some teachers had a belt, some a stick; it was not anything specific in terms of what they used. But in spite of all of this, I do not feel traumatized by it. But I know from them, you almost got the feeling that it was not the way you wanted to raise your kids.

Lance relays his perspective: Lance: Having respect for your teacher. . . is [not common here]. Having gone to the school here, I realize that it is different from the

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Caribbean school culture in that going to school [in the Caribbean], I would call my teacher Sir or Miss; here, you call a teacher by their name. And some of them [the teachers] even demand that. I’d call teachers Sir, and they say, “My name is not Sir; my name is such and such.” We grew up to think that it was respectful to say Sir or Miss or Mrs., Mrs. Jones: “Sir, could I have permission to leave the class to go to the washroom?” or something like that. Here you do not have to do that. You do not have to be accountable for your behavior unless it is in the extreme.

Lance continued: You had a uniform you wore to school. This in itself kept you disciplined. Everybody could identify the three or four schools in the area, and your uniform could identify you. You had to go to school in that uniform, and it was a form of discipline. You do not have that here.

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Frank recalled the discipline and pedagogical practices of one of his favorite teachers in Jamaica. Frank. I recall my favorite teacher was Miss Beverly. She also taught Sunday school. Interviewer: What was so special about her? Frank: I think it is because she got you over that hump. She helped you to realize the value of being methodical and how to apply it, how to be disciplined, and how to get things done. So it is not so much that I recall her for “the bright light going on” or how to do this or that, but she got us into a mode of thinking: that you turn up on time, you are prepared to work, and those kinds of things. She showed us the value of those things.

During this era, teachers and principals were not the only ones who could discipline students in Caribbean schools. Because the school structure was based on the British model, class prefects and monitors (a student officer or student mentor) also had the authority to administer simpler forms of discipline. Monitors could report students to prefects, teachers, or principals; and prefects could compel students in their charge to do extra writing as a disciplinary action. Evans (2001) explains this phenomenon in the Caribbean experience.

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G. Wiggan and J. T. Walrond Although teachers have a great deal of authority and power, students exercise much influence over what happens in classrooms. The teacher/student relationship is created as much by teachers – their caring, skill and regard for students – as it is by the students themselves and their perception of how the teacher regards them. Students are also significant in shaping the experience and identity of other students. A student’s social self, and his or her self-concept and self-esteem, can be shaped by acceptance or rejection within the peer group. Most students have favourable attitudes toward their school and their teachers. (p. 44)

Errol reported that he was sometimes a difficult student. An elementary teacher once allowed him to be a monitor to determine whether having some additional class responsibilities would make him a more disciplined student. He explains:

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We had prefects because that was this British thing. Every time you talked, they would give you 250 lines. I was the only monitor because we had prefects. I got to be a monitor, and I could not give lines, but I could report people. However, after I was caned, they took away the monitor position and badge from me.

Caribbean schools were overcrowded, especially at the primary and secondary levels, therefore student prefects and monitors were helpful student role models and student supervisors. This system also gave students some levels of distinctions and rewards to work toward. Errol [from St. Vincent] explains that he excelled in music and sports in school, and on one occasion, he performed in the school concert. Errol: So I went up on the stage with my little maroon blazer— because that was the time when you dressed up in your blazer—I went up on the stage and played the piano. That was good. I always did that in school, and it was very nice. I had a wonderful time at school. I played tennis, table tennis, cricket, as well as other sports; and I did wonderful things.

Pamela [Errol’s wife] had a similar experience: We went swimming. It wasn’t the sort of activity that our parents could provide for us, but through that school we were able to do things

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like swimming lessons and music lessons. We participated in the music festivals and a lot of extracurricular cultural activities.

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During the 1960s, as Caribbean countries were at the threshold of selfgovernance and independence, one of the priorities of the governments was “state controlled schooling” (Barakett and Cleghorn 2000, p. 13). However, students of middle and upper-class backgrounds could choose schools based on their social class status. For example, in Trinidad and Tobago, students who went to elite schools such as St. Mary’s College or Queens Royal College would associate with other students from similar schools. Invariably, they would tend to fraternize with students who went to St. Joseph’s Convent or Bishop Anstey High School. This system of stratification of schools and students were carried forward from the British colonial era, where elite schools were for White children. Unfortunately, these legacies endured in the postcolonial era. The former Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Eric Williams, reflected on the Europeanized educational legacies in Caribbean education. Palmer (2006) cited Williams as stating: “The intellectual equipment with which I was endowed by The Trinidad school system,” Williams wrote in his autobiography, “had two principal characteristics—quantitatively it was rich; qualitatively, it was British. ‘Be British’ was the slogan not only of legislature but also of the school.”………. Williams was harshly critical of the other deleterious effects of the colonial education he received. He considered his schooling “un-West Indian.” “My training,” he added, “was divorced from anything remotely suggestive of Trinidad and the West Indies.” Only the academically weaker students were expected to study West Indian history. “What the school disparaged,” Williams wrote, “the society despised.” (p. 16)

Palmer noted that Williams’ autobiography points out that imperialist scholars and historians at universities were responsible for writing disparaging commentaries about Black people in general, and those from the Caribbean. This was disseminated in schools. Palmer (2006) explains: Referring to historians at universities, Williams charged: “It is they who, in the British circles in particular, were able to penetrate the ranks of the people who became the members of Parliament, . . . making the laws for the colonies, the administrators and governors governing the colonies, creating a climate in the public mind which is responsible for

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Those who wrote the curriculum and material that students studied were no doubt influenced by this climate, and the verses of poetry that they quoted and memorized evidenced these behaviors. However, once Eric Williams emerged on the political scene, his ambition was “to free his society from all vestiges of colonial rule” (Palmer, 2006, p. 17).

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Education at the Dawn of Independence: “Massa Day Done” As part of our political education, most Caribbean parents insisted that their children listen to the parliamentary debates during the pre-independence period. In Trinidad, this was possible because of the public pedagogical work that Eric Williams and his People’s National Movement (PNM) did to educate the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago (Palmer, 2006). The PNM was the first national political party in Trinidad and Tobago, and its members educated citizens in meetings in town squares throughout the country. Eric Williams, the first Black Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, recalled in his 1962 writings: The People’s National Movement made the first plank in its platform the political education of the people. It organised what has now become famous in many parts of the world, the University of Woodford Square, with constituent colleges in most of the principal centres of population in the country. The political education dispensed to the population in these centres of political learning was of a high order and concentrated from the outset on placing Trinidad and Tobago within the current of the great international movements for democracy and self-government. The electorate of the country was able to see and understand its problems in the context of the ancient Athenian democracy or the federal systems of the United States and Switzerland, in the context of the great anti-colonial movements of [Jawaharlal] Nehru and [Kwame] Nkruma, and in the context of the long and depressing history of colonialism in Trinidad and Tobago and the West Indies. The voter in Trinidad and Tobago was quite suddenly invested with a dignity for which he was obviously, by his response, well-fitted. (Williams, 1962, p. 244)

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Eric Williams of Trinidad and Tobago and Michael Manley of Jamaica were two of the most progressive Caribbean leaders in the independence era. Both men placed a high value on public education and the general upliftment of their respective countries through sustainable social and economic programs. Concerning the dehumanization of Black people and suppression of Caribbean history, Manley (1974) wrote: Many of our psychological difficulties stem from our perception of the world around us and in particular, our comparative assessment of white and black history. Thus while we grant the primacy of the locally focused solution we dare not ignore the wider context. For every effort that is made to instill national self-confidence there must be a parallel effort to set our African, and hence our black heritage in a legitimate context. To this day if you were to ask the average Jamaican to say what he thought were the accomplishments of Black Africa……. There certainly would be no awareness whatsoever of the great artistic achievements of most African tribes nor of the gift for inner social harmony which is a distinctive African achievement in marked contrast to Europe’s increasingly catastrophic failure at this level. (p. 155)

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Regarding national development, Manley argued: Every developing society must aim at free, compulsory, universal education as its highest national priority. However, considerable analysis of the educational process is required if the enormous effort that this objective implies is to prove worthwhile. Education is normally thought of as the process by which the formalised knowledge of a society is passed on to its young through institutions of learning of one sort or another. It has, however, a wider connotation implying all the means by which the young are prepared for the adult experience and, indeed, the young and not so young equipped to play their part in society. (Manley, 1974, p. 138)

Like Eric Williams, Michael Manley would develop a political and social agenda, which placed education at the center of government projects. With the government’s emphasis on education, students found many learning opportunities in school. Some students read the works of Walter Rodney, one of the acclaimed social and political theorists in the Caribbean. Although this was not a part of the curriculum, some teachers would incorporate Rodney’s books (The Groundings With My Brothers and How

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Europe underdeveloped Africa, respectively) in class. Errol emphasized this point as he spoke about his love for history. Errol: [In class] I could think and look at trends and so forth. I like doing that and seeing how history repeats itself. You could see trends…. I was reading books like Malcolm X, and I have some books like “How Europe Underdeveloped Africa.” Those are wonderful books; . . . I have two sets at home. I will give one to each kid. . . . I have also read “Groundings with My Brothers” by Walter Rodney, and there is another one that he wrote, but I can’t remember that one.

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Errol’s increasing level of social awareness exemplifies Freire’s (1970/2005a) conscientização pedagogy. This narrative illustrates the impact the readings had on Errol’s life. In fact, Errol gave a copy of Walter Rodney’s books to each of his children, which suggests that he wanted them to become critical thinkers. Like Errol, Lance also reflected on his education in the Caribbean. He recalls his activism as a student: I was a member of the People’s National Movement Youth Group, . . . and that allowed me to go to the youth camp, where they taught trade. There were about one hundred and fifty guys from all over Trinidad and Tobago who participated. So for me that was fun to meet people from all different areas of Trinidad and Tobago.

The historical context of the 1960s and 1970s helps to explain the political climate and activism, surrounding freedom and progress in the region, of which many students became increasingly involved.

Emancipatory Education: “That Was When They Were Planning the Revolution” Freire’s (1970/2005a) analysis of oppression was illuminated in many of our participants’ experiences with Caribbean education. Those experiences exemplified the realities of systemic change and “the process of achieving freedom” (p. 49), which they explored in contested social spaces. Regarding the education of the oppressed, Freire (1970) wrote:

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The oppressed suffer from the duality which has established itself in their innermost being. They discover that without freedom they cannot exist authentically. Yet, although they desire authentic existence, they fear it. They are at one and the same time themselves and the oppressor whose consciousness they have internalized. The conflict lies in the choice between being wholly themselves or being divided; between human solidarity and alienation; between following prescriptions or having choices; between being spectators or actors; between acting or having the illusion of acting through the action of the oppressors; between speaking out or being silent, castrated in their power to create and re-create, in their power to transform the world. (p. 48)

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This statement refers to the mental dialectic in those who aspire to be free, but struggle in the liminal space of double-consciousness, “this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity” (Du Bois, 1903/1990, p. 8). Thus, even symbolically, the act of gaining freedom is contentious. Ursula’s comments on colonial education help to support the argument for continued de-colonization. She states: Other than being quite rigid as I thought it [Caribbean school] was, . . . it seems it was very structured, very rigid in elementary school. In terms of the books, they were all a British focus. All this kind of rebelliousness was evident, and I was that kind of person.

Ursula attended secondary school in the Caribbean during a period [1960s and 70s] of great social and political unrest. In Ursula’s experience, students participated in public demonstrations in support of national democracy (Hodge and Seale, n.d.). In the following narrative, Ursula explains her activism as a student. Interviewer: Were you going to school during this time of unrest? Ursula: Yes, but the schools were so involved, the schools and the teachers and the trade unions. They were the ones who were pulling for change. Interviewer: And so they went into the high schools to do that? Ursula: Yes. The high schools were probably the most organized groups.

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Ursula’s narrative indirectly underscores how the community’s politics influenced her educational experiences and implicated her family. Her experiences draw attention to the ways in which “border pedagogy” (Giroux, 2005, p. 20) underpinned and shaped her education. Giroux (2005) explains that border pedagogy:

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Is attentive to developing a democratic public philosophy that respects the notion of difference as part of a common struggle to extend the quality of public life. It presupposes not merely an acknowledgment of the shifting borders that both undermine and reterritorialize different configurations of culture, power, and knowledge. It also links the notions of schooling and the broader category of education to a more substantive struggle for a radical democratic society. (p. 20)

In the Caribbean context, border pedagogy gave Ursula the political awareness that influenced her decision to disagreed with her father’s politics, which was to uphold the status quo. The time when Ursula attended high school in Grenada intersects with the changing social dynamics of North America. In 1983, U.S. President Ronald Reagan sent troops to Grenada to invade the country and change the government led by Maurice Bishop, which the U.S. believed to be socialist leaning and allied with the Soviet Union. Ursula explained how these changing international relations influenced her education, as well as her social outlook. Ursula: Even in school I was on the student council, so I was always politicized. Interviewer: Did you express this political awareness in your writings when you did your assignments in school? Ursula: Yes, I did to some extent. And I remember actually a teacher telling me he did not think it was a good idea, and I think in a sense he was trying to protect me, because I remember him saying that he did not think it was probably the best place to make those views known. . . . But what it has taught me is responsibility for community and the importance of being part of the community, of giving, because you are taking. Interviewer: So some of them are your friends? Ursula: Yes, we grew up together in school. Interviewer: So how did they [the organizers] get to you? Ursula: Well, the clubs—because, as I said, the Geography Club was joint [included the boys from the college across the street]; the Science

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Club was joint. And now I think of it, there were a lot of international organizations involved, but I did not pay attention to this at the time because, even in terms of materials, we got a lot of literature, a lot of books and stuff from donations from Canadian donors and all over the world who understood what was happening in Grenada and felt it was important to educate us. And I think there were teachers who were probably involved, but unknowingly to us. Stuff would come to me in the mail, and I do not even know where the hell it came from. But they probably knew I would have been interested because of the kind of person I am. Interviewer: So when did you start to get political in your high school—what grade, at what stage? Ursula: I would say the last two years of high school. Interviewer: What was the turning point for you, . . . to go from the point of a student going to school daily and doing your work, the routine of what a student would do to get to this [political] point? Ursula: You know, the thing was that it was so much so because of the discipline. We were still doing our schoolwork, and because there were a lot of teachers who were also sympathetic to it, we would literally go into school in the morning, do a couple of classes, go downtown or go into government house for the demonstration, and then go back to school. You fitted in the classes, so you were not missing out on anything. And it was like clockwork. People were so passionate about what was happening. It was just not an elitist thing; it was the masses. Grassroots; everybody was involved. It was a very interesting time for me.

Lance explains how as a student, he became involved in the politics of his country. Lance: I grew up in several different villages. I helped form a soccer club, [and] I was a member of the People’s National Movement Youth Group, and that allowed me to go to the youth camp, where they taught a trade. There were 150 guys from all over Trinidad and Tobago, so for me that was fun to meet people from all different areas of Trinidad and Tobago.

The young men in this camp were taught practical skills and they received leadership training. This training was in keeping with one of the goals of the People’s National Movement (PNM): To prepare the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago to take over the development of the country.

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Most people envision the Caribbean as being a series of pleasure-islands. Palmer (2006) quoted Williams as saying, “The popular imagination [of the Caribbean is] ‘a picture of fun-loving people, . . . a place for tourists, a place where you could . . . walk half-naked on the beaches, a place where you do nothing but drink rum punches and forget’” (p. 19). However, Ursula’s experience addresses the struggle for de-colonization and human rights in the Caribbean. In the case of Grenada, many political opponents critiqued Prime Minister Eric Gairy’s neocolonial policies because they allegedly upheld education as “a commodity to be bought and sold” (Creft, 1982, p. 49). However, other Caribbean citizens saw their governments’ policies as advocating free education for all. For example, the revolutionary government of Grenada, led by Maurice Bishop, charged that Grenada’s “sixty-five primary school buildings were in a dilapidated condition. Classrooms were overcrowded, furniture and teaching aids [were] virtually non-existent in many schools, [and] approximately two-thirds of the teaching staff [were] untrained at the time of the Revolution” (Bishop, 1982, p. 30). Emphasizing the need for education and social change, Maurice Bishop and his followers received wide support and international attention. Creft (1982) explains: The main cry of our people and the thrust of our people’s new vision was for mass education at all levels to counter the elitism and exclusiveness of colonial education. The goals of mass education are to develop in our people those very qualities and skills which colonial education had attempted to crush and destroy. Firstly, the new education aims to develop in all our people, not just a few, the self-knowledge and self confidence which will motivate them to make important decisions about, and participate fully in their country’s development. (Creft, 1982, pp. 51–52)

School children like Ursula heard the passionate appeals for activism and change, and they participated in many public rallies calling for governmental change.

CRITICAL DISCUSSIONS IN THE FOCUS GROUPS During our focus group interviews, the theme of de-colonization reemerged when Pamela recited a poem that she remembered from her

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schooldays. Lance also recited a poem from his schooldays, which reflected the arrogance and dehumanizing views of colonialists regarding the native people of the Caribbean. Lance noted that a poem he had to recite in school stated in the first line: “I am monarch of all I survey.” This was referring to the British’s dominance, and the extent to which the government systemically upheld and instilled this belief in its colonized subjects. British author and educator, Captain James Oliver Cutteridge’s writing, which were considered standard readings in the English speaking Caribbean, are exemplary of the indoctrination that students received in the colonies. Captain James Oliver Cutteridge’s West Indian Readers, was a required reading in most schools. Johnson (2000) explains:

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Cutteridge arrived in 1921 to reform the education system, and as principal of Tranquility [School, in Port of Spain], he began by expanding the curriculum. He was particularly big on drawing, at which he was proficient, and which he thought developed observation, dexterity and intelligence. (p. 3)

Cutteridge also expanded the curriculum to include French. In addition, he initiated the Cadet Corps [military model in education], as well as school caps and name badges for all students. Johnson added that in 1923 Cutteridge was promoted to Assistant Director of Education in Trinidad. He wrote poems such as “Dan Is the Man in the Van,” and “Mr. Mike Went to School on a Bike.” “Dan is the Man in the Van” is also a calypso song performed by Slinger Francisco, otherwise known as Mighty Sparrow, which parodies the Britishinfluenced education. Mighty Sparrow recorded a musical thriller, entitled, “Dan is the Man in the Van,” as a public critique regarding the British and European education students were receiving in Caribbean schools. His lyrics states: According to the education you get when you small, You’ll grow up with true ambition and respect from one and all. ... The things they teach me, I should be a block-headed mule. ... They beat me like a dog to learn that in school………….. De poems an' de lessons dey write an' sen' from England Impress me dey were trying to cultivate comedians! Comic books made more sense: you know it's fictitious, without pretense. Cutteridge wanted to keep us in ignorence!

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G. Wiggan and J. T. Walrond Tell me if dis eh chupidness: Humpty-Dumpty sat on a wall! Humpty-Dumpty did fall! Goosey, Goosey Gyander? Where shall I wander? (Mighty Sparrow— “Dan Is the Man in the Van”)

Regarding colonial education or miseducation (Woodson, 1933) in the Caribbean, Ursula commented on how she was affected. She states: It is interesting that you guys should say this and I am remembering it, but it is almost [like] it killed that part of me [creativity]. I think with my experience in colonialism, it was a period I hated. I resent it until now.

June added to the conversation:

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You have a sister right here. Colonialists’ poetry: We had to learn it and stand in front of the school or class and say it. I rebelled. I think I learned one poem, and I would say it every time, and I don’t remember it.

Ursula continued, “And as you are saying it, I am saying, Why don’t I remember it?” June commented, “I could write poetry now if I wanted to, but to learn it, forget it!” Pamela and Ursula both address the effects of colonialist, white supremacist education. Pamela: And that is some of what Sparrow [Caribbean singer] talked about in his calypso, where some of the things we learned in school did not make sense to us. Ursula: You know what the colonialist did to us. You did not feel good about yourself because you were trying to attain to a standard that is illusory. Continuing on the theme regarding the effects of colonialism, Pamela responded: It caused us to place a higher value on something outside. I mean, we want to value what the British did and our own beliefs and what was our culture to that point, we sort of put it into the background and [were] made to feel that these were inferior. [It’s] like you are aspiring to be like the British, only to realize that you are in a sort of no-man’s land, because

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the British people are really not going to accept you. You are a secondclass citizen, so you lose your identity.

From these narratives, it is clear that the consequences of miseducation that Carter G. Woodson addressed regarding Black education in the U.S. (Woodson, 1933), were also pervasive in the Caribbean. The discussion also highlights our participants’ ambivalence, or the sort of love-hate relationship that transpired between them and colonial legacies, which were being transmitted through their education. Many Caribbean thinkers such as C. L. R. James (1963/2002) and Eric Williams (1962) have also explained their concern with the colonial aspects of the Caribbean educational system. In the last section of this chapter, we draw on some of our research participants’ narratives to illustrate how education was later reconceptualized in the Caribbean as a tool of emancipation, which created greater social and political awareness, as well as social change.

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PUBLIC PEDAGOGY FOR DECOLONIZATION (DECOLONIZATION PEDAGOGY) One question that arises at this point is the role that popular culture may have played as a form of public pedagogy for decolonization (decolonization pedagogy), as well as in the formulation of an anti-colonial discourse in the Caribbean. As we mentioned in chapter 3, decolonization pedagogy uses cultural expressions and figures of speech (for example, satire, hyperbole, and witticism) in the forum of popular culture to explain how historical and contemporary forces impact oppressed people’s lives. In this way, decolonization pedagogy is the art of teaching that is focused on deconstructing colonial and neo-colonial sentiments and practices, which are either implicit or explicitly stated, and are legacies of European domination of minority groups around the world. As an art of teaching, this pedagogy is not confined to institutional or formal educational settings, which historically, have reinforced the status quo, but is a part of the local parlance of native culture, and simultaneously incorporates and implicates formal and informal educational settings. Since the legacies of colonialism and neo-colonialism are still at work in the Caribbean and around the world, decolonization must be an ongoing process. Even today, one need not look very far to see the skinbleaching phenomenon in the Caribbean, and cultural practices that place a premium on British ethos, while dehumanizing African retentions.

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Through their art form, calypso singers such as Mighty Sparrow, and reggae singers like Burning Spear, Peter tosh, and Bob Marley, gave listeners an education that was socially, historically, and culturally rich. In this way, Bob Marley is generally regarded as the “King of Reggae,” a musical art that was historically grounded in African traditions and sounds, and evolved to become the voice of oppressed groups. While Bob Marley was crowned the “King of Reggae” music, the “Dean of Roots Rock Reggae” was Burning Spear, and Peter Tosh was the “Jegna” or master teacher (Wiggan, 2008). Burning Spear was one of the most prolific musical teachers of the Caribbean. Through his many albums [“Dry and Heavy” being one of his most noted albums], he taught about world history and African liberation (Wiggan, 2008). Similarly, Peter Tosh, being one of the most widely read reggae singers, through his music he offered some of the most compelling social analysis of the world. Tosh received international acclaim for his album, “No Nuclear War.” Reggae, the spiritual music of liberation and de-colonization, helped to raise the social awareness of people around the world (Wiggan, 2008). Caribbean students were exposed to this public pedagogy, which mediated some of the miseducation that was occurring in schools. Reggae and calypso music helped to accomplish this work. Although Martin (1998) defined calypso as “the music and rhythm that is native to Trinidad” (p. 223), like reggae, it is actually closely related to the West African “call-and-response pattern” (Liverpool, 1998, p. 31) genre of music and is used for “edification or self-knowledge” (Rohlehr, 1998, p. 82). Calypso provided some balance to what children learned in school, which was conceived in England and did not always apply to the actual realities of the Caribbean. In true African “call-and-response pattern” (Liverpool, 1998, p. 31), calypso disrupted the paradigm of miseducation. Europeans controlled educational discourse in the Caribbean. However, popular culture helped to mitigate and critique the colonizer-colonized discourse. In this way, Young (2001) argued that Sparrows’ song, “Dan Is the Man in the Van,” was an attempt to “assert the specificity of . . . [one’s] own culture, political organization, and goals” (p. 203). For example, Young (2001) contended that “linguistic theorists asserted that Black English is English differently constructed, not bad English, and Black poets and novelists exploited and explored its particular nuances” (p. 204). The main purpose of calypsos in the context of the Caribbean was to educate listeners as a form of public and cultural pedagogy. So although “Dan Is the Man in the Van” may conjure up laughter, it actually educated the public, even those who could not read, about the Europeanized materials that students were studying at school.

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As far as the research participants were concerned, popular culture had a profound impact on their educational views. Pamela commented, “That is some of what Sparrow talked about in his calypso, where some of the things we learned didn’t make sense to us because we are attaining a standard that is not attainable.”

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REVOLUTIONARY PERSPECTIVES As we mentioned, the time of our research participants’ education was a period of major political change. Beginning in the late 1950s through the decade of the 1970s, the Caribbean region emerged from colonial rule and progressed towards social and economic independence from Europe. The vision of social thinkers such as C. L. R. James (1963/2002), Eric Williams (1962, 1993), Fidel Castro, Michael Manley, Maurice Bishop, Selwyn Reginald Cudjoe (Williams and Cudjoe, 1993), George Lamming (1995), and others, was that all the people in the region should be educated so that they could shape their own destiny. To achieve this goal, most leaders utilized public pedagogy to educate the citizens and to raise social issues and concerns. The outcomes of their mission were greater access to education and increasing employment opportunities. Although we note that there were many Black revolutionary leaders in the Caribbean, our research participants emphasized names such as: Eric Williams, Michael Manley, Maurice Bishop, and Walter Rodney. Eric Williams of Trinidad and Tobago, who headed the People’s National Movement, was very influential between 1955 to 1981 (Cudjoe, 1993). Michael Manley of the People’s National Party in Jamaica, Maurice Bishop and the New Jewel Movement (NJM) in Grenada (Bishop, 1982), and Walter Rodney of the Working People's Alliance in Guyana were also important social thinkers and political leaders. All of our participants lived through the independence era of the Caribbean, which was marked by political activism, revolutionary leadership and social change. However, once they moved to Canada, their focused would gradually change. With the realities of living in a new country and trying to start a family, their attention shifted to their children and their education. While focusing more on their family and children’s education, the families often made comparisons between education in North America and the Caribbean. Furthermore, they had to learn to navigate a new educational landscape, and mediate challenges that their children faced in school.

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CARIBBEAN SCHOOL CULTURE AND THE NORTH AMERICAN EDUCATIONAL LANDSCAPE: “DO I HEAR THE R WORD?” THE ADD CASE AND TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS

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As the parents worked through their children’s education, their primary point of educational reference was the Caribbean, where they were educated. In commenting on her son’s education, Ursula described challenges that Caribbean immigrant parents and their children often experience (James and Brathwaite, 1996) in North America schools. I started in the Catholic school system, and we got out of that really quick. And the reason for it—to start with, Eaton was a very active child, and he got into a lot of trouble. And one teacher, to put it briefly, she thought my child had ADD [Attention Deficit Disorder syndrome]. And, of course, it is my firstborn, and I got really ticked off. And I thought, ADD! Oh my God! What is happening here? We have a really good pediatrician. And at first they wanted to have him tested at the school and I said, “You know what? I do not think you people are qualified to do that!” So they were ticked off with me for that. So I went to the pediatrician and the first thing he said to me [was], “I do not think Eaton has a problem.” I said, “But the teacher says ‘We wanted him tested.’” And he said to me, “Am I hearing the R word [racism] here?” And I said, “I don’t know, but I still want him tested.” So he had a psychologist test him, and he achieved way above average for his age. So when I went back to the school I said, “You know what? My son does not have anything wrong with him!” So they wanted a copy of the report, and pretty well the pediatrician gave me his business card and said, “You tell that principal to contact me, because he does not have the qualifications to read that report!” I did not want to change schools, but my son was not going to be the statistic.

C. E. James (2003a) explained that the educational experience such as the ones that Ursula described are “informed by structural factors represented and disseminated by educational, religious, social and governmental institutions, including the media and the judicial system” (p. 159). Fortunately, Ursula sought the opinion of her doctor, whose testing and observations showed normal patterns of behavior in her son. This helped to dispelled the prevailing myths that generally, minority children have cognitive and social problems

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that predisposes them to school failure. Because the principal’s stereotypical and prejudicial attitudes clouded his interactions with students as well as his policies, he did not understand that Ursula’s son was an active child and that her needs and desires for her son had to be addressed. Jackie’s experiences were similar to Ursula’s with regards to having her children in public schools. Interviewer: With respect to your children, . . . when they sit around the dinner table and you engage them in any type of conversation about school, what do they say? Jackie: They do not like it; they do not like their teachers. I am always up at the school. And the school they [now] go to is a Catholic school, because I had problems with the public school, and there is a lot of bias. I do not like to say the word racial discrimination, but there is. There are problems with overlarge classroom size, with teachers who just shuffle them along, and they do not take the time to accommodate each student’s needs. You find some teachers that are good, and then there are others who are there for the almighty dollar. So they complain about their teacher being a racist. . . . It is a lot of issues. For instance, there will be a teacher saying to them, “There are so many others; there are other Black students in the class who are not doing as well [as you are]. Why are you doing so well?” They class all Black kids in the same category, which they are not supposed to do. But then when you turn around and confront them about it, they deny it and say, “Oh, she misunderstood [me].” And they cover it up because they do not think you would come and complain.

Ursula and Jackie are parents with Black children who are attending schools where teachers had low expectations of their children. These parents were concerned because the teachers did not recognize their children’s abilities. The teachers stereotyped these children as academic failures based on the perceived behaviors of other students of similar racial backgrounds. The parents’ comments led to the speculation that these teachers held preconceived opinions about the Caribbean students whom they were teaching. Analyzed further, their comments reveal that when teachers, who are in positions of power, pass these negative impressions onto their students, they lower the students’ self-esteem. Lawrence Hill (2001) affirmed that teachers’ opinions and comments can be discouraging and damaging. I joined a music class and decided to play the saxophone. But the teacher told me that Negroes lacked the correct facial structure to play the

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instrument properly. My first thought was, ‘I can’t tell my dad about this because he’ll storm into the headmaster’s office and demand that the teacher be disciplined. Everybody will hear about it and I’ll never live it down.’ I kept the incident to myself. I knew the teacher was an idiot, but he was my teacher, and it was my first week in school, and I didn’t have the courage to argue with him or to tell him that I had grown up listening to Black saxophonists such as Illinois Jacquet and Coleman Hawkins. I merely insisted on taking up the saxophone. Unfortunately, though, I had puny lungs. No rhythm. And When I fought to hold long notes, my cheeks felt like they were stuffed full of gum. But I stuck with the instrument. I held on for a year, signing the sax out after school and dragging it home on the bus. I practised and practised to prove my teacher wrong. He gave me an average mark at the end of the year. I felt relieved to pass the course, and I never studied music again. (Hill, 2001, p. 27)

It is unfortunate that Lawrence Hill had such negative experiences as a Black male in school. However, these are common experiences with racism and discrimination that Black children face in most predominantly White schools. Most of the teachers and administrators in these schools would deny that such problems even exist. In fact, they might even accuse the minority person of being the real racist, for even suggesting that there is a problem that needs to be addressed. On the topic of redressing racism, C. E. James (2003b) suggested that: People must admit that prejudice and racism exists if they are going to deal with these issues. . . . Critical and painful self-analysis and self-awareness appear to be prerequisites for working towards confronting and overcoming . . . racism, prejudice and . . . [the] accompanying problems. (pp. 159–160)

In our study, the parents’ comments point to the need for teacher training in regards to addressing racism and the experiences of minority students. If the patterns of racialized treatment and low expectations of minority students are widespread, then how much effort do teachers invest to ensure the success of these children? This question is important because when teachers and administrators are not supportive of students, then parents must intervene to disrupt the discourse of school failure. Thus, another question that must be contemplated is, to what extent can parents of Caribbean Canadian heritage, such as Ursula and Jackie and the Caribbean Canadian community, engage educators about the concerns of their children? As well, to whom do they turn

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for support to address educators when they feel that their children are being treated unfairly? And are other parents with similar school experiences — too intimidated by educational institutions to address school officials?

PARENTAL ADVOCATES

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Some parents have not acquired the social capital, and therefore, do not know how to advocate for their children in schools. Furthermore, even when parents have acquired the social capital and etiquette to advocate and enter schools on their children’s behalf, they must use a great deal of tact, because reprisal may be forthcoming. In the following conversation, Jackie addresses her experiences while trying to advocate for her children in school. Jackie describes her encounters with school officials: I went to a parent-teacher interview, and we got in there and she [the teacher] said, “Sue, just show your Mom what you did!” Another parent came in with her child, she got up from her seat, she was busy with this person, talking to them and everything, [and] they [eventually] left. We are still sitting there, and another parent came in, and the same thing occurred. She had not yet approached me, and she did not come and say “This is where she needs to improve; this is what she is having difficulty with,” and we were there for about forty-five minutes. I was there waiting, [thinking], Are you going to come? So I got up and I said, “Is there anything that I need to know about Sue?” And she said, “Oh, she is fine.” She really did not want to have any conversation with me. She [Sue] is a student in the classroom, and [I felt that] she did not want to have her in the classroom. So that was a Thursday. Sue took the day [Friday] off, and I phoned the school, and I told the principal what went on, and I said that I was not impressed. This is not the first child I have had in school. I had to go to my son’s; now my daughter is being treated like this. I said, “I have never been so disrespected in my life.” And I said, “On Monday when Sue comes to school, I want her out of that class and placed into another class.”

The principal’s response to Jackie’s request was, “Oh, the other class is full.” Jackie continues:

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I said, “I do not care how full that class is, I don’t want her in the class she is in now!” I think it was a split class that they were going to put her in, and I said, “Put her in [it]; she will be fine,” because her marks went from an AB student to a D, and that was at the first parent-teacher interview. Interviewer: So when all this was taking place [at the parent-teacher interview], was Sue in the room with you? Jackie: Yes. Interviewer: And so she observed what was happening? Jackie: Yes. Interviewer: Did she [Sue] say anything about it after it was over? Jackie: She said, “You see how she is mom?” that kind of thing, so it proved that the child was right. Interviewer: Was this why she did not go to school the next day? Jackie: She was just not feeling well, but I just said, “No, you stay home and I will contact the school.” I said no, I do not appreciate how she treated Sue and me for a parent-teacher interview. Interviewer: So what did Sue say after she changed classes? Jackie: Once she changed she was fine; the class was fine after that. Interviewer: And what did she say to you about the action you took? Jackie: She was glad; she was not happy in that class.

These are some of the challenges that students face in schools, and parents must be prepared to advocate for – and support their children. This was a rather uncomfortable situation for Jackie to be in, and she felt somewhat belittled by the teacher and the principal. However, she was persistent until the school officials changed her daughter’s class.

CARIBBEAN-CANADIAN YOUTH DEALING WITH BULLYING: AN ISSUE OF RACISM In North American schools, the Caribbean parents identified discriminatory incidents not only in teacher-student interactions, but also in student relations. Ursula explains her experiences and concerns regarding her son’s education. Eaton would get into fights. He would beat them up. You call him the N word, and he would beat them up. So he ends up in the principal’s office, and he says, “What happened?” He [Eaton] says, “He called me

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the N word, and I punched him.” He is the one getting in trouble, not the person who called him the N word. And the principal was not willing to do anything about it; he said he could not change the way people live. That was his response to it, so I remember getting frustrated. I remember talking to my little daughter, saying, “How come you are never complaining about stuff and Eaton is always getting into trouble?” So I said to her, “Has anybody ever called you the N word?” She says, “All the time.” And I said, “How come you never told me? Why didn’t you do anything?” She said, “But isn’t it like the F word?” She thought it was like the F-word, so when they tell her that, she says, “Same to you.”

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In this conversation, Ursula commented that her son, who regularly experienced bullying and name-calling in school, was often disciplined and even suspended from school. The school officials seemed to care less about students calling him the “N” word, and more about the fights, which were the result of the name calling (Grace and Wells, 2004). According to Ursula, the principal did not assume the responsibility incumbent with his role. Instead of seizing the opportunity to demonstrate leadership and to educate his students about diversity and appropriate values and behaviors, he chose to use suspension as a first recourse on a Black boy he perceived as being a problem. Other research participants commented on similar experiences.

Self-Actualization and Caribbean Canadian Youth Once the parents arrive in the host country, their children (children of Caribbean immigrants who were born in Canada), experienced the same challenges and patterns of discrimination as Black children of native-born parents. In school, the teachers tend to view these youth as being incapable of high performance and they tracked these students into lower-level courses. In Alberta, Canada, the Ministry of Education outlines the course of study and education program that students under its jurisdiction must follow to graduate. The general education program in secondary school is the 10, 20, and 30 stream in Grades 10, 11, and 12, respectively. In this system, students who are in Grade 10 study courses identified as Science 10, English 10, Mathematics 10; while those in Grade 11 study courses such as Science 20, English 20, and Mathematics 20. Similarly, students who are in Grade 12 take English 30, Mathematics 30, French 30, etc. In the province of Alberta, at the end of Grade

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12, students write a provincial exam and this score is calculated with their Math 30 score, and those scores are computed as a final matriculation score. Generally, students whose scores are at or above the required percentage in required courses such as English 30, Mathematics 30, Social Studies 30, and Chemistry 30 will be eligible to advance to postsecondary education. Students can also take advanced-level curricula in high school, as well as lower-level courses that simply permit them to graduate. However, it is challenging for graduates with 30-level courses to find employment, and the situation is bleaker for those with lower-level credentials. When parents complain that their children are being pushed along, what they mean is that the school places their children in lower-track courses. As a result, most parents discover this problem when their children are in Grade 12 and it is too late to rectify the situation. At this point, these students are about to graduate with a diploma that is virtually of no use. Consequently, for parents who were not educated in places such as Alberta, Canada, and are not familiar with the educational system, this news is shocking. Jackie’s experience with her son illustrates this challenge. Jackie: I find in the high school . . . they do not enforce the 30-level subjects. Interviewer: The ones that would get you into university? Jackie: Yes, that is right. He will just take the lower ones.. [level courses]. This is just to get him out of school and not to accomplish anything past high school. So when you get out of high school, you cannot get anywhere with the subjects that they have forced you to take in high school. You cannot go and get anything with some of the subjects that they are making the kids take. So I learned that. And with Thelea [Jackie’s child] I have said, “You are not taking any 12s or whatever, or 13s. You are taking all 30-level subjects.” Interviewer: Are you talking about the 10-, 20-, 30-level courses? Jackie: Right. I do not want you taking the other levels they have. You take the subjects that will fulfill the requirements for a postsecondary education, because you cannot pursue a postsecondary education with those other courses. When you come out of the secondary school system with those other courses, you are going to end up going back to another school to take the 30-level courses anyway, so just do it and get it over with.” But you see, they did not encourage my son to do that. They did not even tell me about the consequences of doing the 13and 15-level courses.

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Jackie’s frustration is obvious from this conversation. Many Caribbean Canadian parents are not knowledgeable about the courses that are needed for students to pursue postsecondary education. Therefore, their children are tracked into lower-level courses. Entering this school system with the previous Caribbean cultural experience of teachers who took a deep interest in students and feeling responsible for helping them to self-actualize, these parents sometimes discover after the damage has already been done, that this type of support system is not always there for Black children who are in Canada’s school system. Thus, it would be helpful for school officials to share information with parents regarding college requirements in Canada in a meaningful way. Regarding this issue, Jackie argues: The schools never educated you, the family, about their system. Once you leave high school and you have taken those lower-level courses, they are not transferable. You want this [course as a prerequisite] in order to do this course in university or to go into this field, so they should not be encouraging the children to take those lower-level courses. They say, “You are not as smart as the other kids, so just do this!” They should be pushing the kids; they should be saying, “In order to do basketball, you need to have this grade average,” so as to make the kids do better. Instead, they put them into a lower subject level and they are getting by on that, so then they could do the sports. They do not encourage them to work harder. So I find too many kids are slipping through the cracks because they give them too many unnecessary options, too much choices, and then they take the least difficult of these choices. But I remember, in the Caribbean you don’t automatically go on; you earn your grades. You do not just get passed on or moved along, shuffled along. Perhaps Jackie and her son would have benefited from school counseling and educational support. However, they learned about the school processes when it was too late to make a change. Jackie continues: Interviewer: What kind of schooling do you feel would have been beneficial to your kids in the long run? Jackie: They alone know. Because the kids are so stubborn and lazy, they say, “I pass, and who cares?” And the teachers pass them, give them a passing mark, and who cares? It is somebody else’s problem. That is how it is: someone else’s problem. Interviewer: So now, reflecting on all this, what does your son say? Has he said anything to you?

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G. Wiggan and J. T. Walrond Jackie: No, he is kind of a lazy sort like that. He focuses on his sports, which I try to get him not to focus on, but then he was not being encouraged in school: “You could do this and you could do that with this course.” And you try to tell him this, but they are telling him something else. I have been up to the school, like I am saying, but then when you have people in authority telling him something and you tell him something else, he is like, “Well, what do you know? They are the teachers; they should know.” And then after you get out of school, you realize you cannot go anywhere with what you have gotten. Now he realizes it, but it’s too late. Either you go back to school and you get the 30s, or you make do.

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“HE IS ALWAYS IN SPORTS: HE IS A SPORTS BOY” Jackie’s comment about her son’s fascination with sports led to a discussion regarding sports and the Caribbean Canadian school experience. All of the parents with male children discussed the role of sports in their sons’ education. This might have related to the general notion that Black males are jocks and are good at sports. Whatever the case, since they were not supposed to do well in academics, they eventually learned to find a place in athletics, where they felt affirmation. June: He [Dave] is always in sports; he is a sports boy, so he knows where he wants to go in his sport. He is a baseball player; he knows where he wants to go. And he is good at it, and we spend the money on him for the baseball. But we also say, “You have to do the baseball.” He was doing basketball at school and baseball, and the grades are a pass, but he is a kid who wants the grade as just pass. Interviewer: Oh yes, a pass is okay? June: Oh yes a pass is okay. But I say, “If you could make seventyfour and seventy-eight, you could probably make eighty or eighty-four.” And he does not study; I do not know how he does it.

Regarding the image of the Black athlete, C. E. James (2005) wrote about the myth of successful careers in sports that undergird the reasons that Black youth themselves, their teachers, and their parents push them into athletics. For Black athletes, they only need to score 70s [a C average] to participate in sports. This performance is often considered good enough for “high school students who excel in the classroom and on the courts” (pp. 7–8). As June was

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quick to point out, her son achieved these grades with little or no studying. C. E. James also wondered about what incentives encourage students of AfroCaribbean heritage to invest an inordinate amount of energy and time in athletics today, when they were never part of their educational history. The masculinity image is also a sports-related challenge that parents of Black boys encounter. Most schoolgirls are attracted to the hypermasculine schoolboy and they often attach the “‘black macho’ lad” (Sewell, 2004, p. 103) label to Black adolescent males. Sewell addressed negative stereotypes of Black masculinity as “the complex intersections of masculinity and ethnicity where power is also sexualized and based on exaggerated phallocentricity which exploits women” (pp. 103–110). In this way, White females see Black males as exotic objects, while White males consider them to be threats. Sewell (2004) explains this phenomenon: Black phallocentrism has a mirror effect on the black male subject. He positions himself in phallocentric terms and this is confirmed by the obsessive jealousy of other groups. African-Caribbean boys are not passive subjects in the face of racialized and gendered stereotyping. They are active agents in discourses which appear to be seductively positive but are in essence racist. This leads to a strong confirmation of an identity that has its source in the dislocation of black and white masculinity. It points to a more complex formation of black masculinity that relies often on ‘reputation’ rather than substance and has its roots not in a crisis among black boys but in an ‘insecurity’ in white masculinity. (p. 112)

Caught at the nexus relating to the perspectives of some White male teachers who view Black boys as threats to their own masculinity (LadsonBillings, 1996), and some White adolescent females who see them as objects of either desire or conquest, while other boys may try to emulate them, is the young Black male in school (Sewell, 2004). Nevertheless, whatever the motivation towards them, Black males are challenged to stay focused on the objectives of their education. However, in reality, many Black boys become objects as a part of an imaginary picture in Western culture. As hooks (2000) pointed out: The poor or working-class man who has been socialized via sexist ideology to believe that there are privileges and powers he should possess solely because he is male often finds that few, if any, of these benefits are automatically bestowed on him in life. More than any other male group in the United States, he is constantly concerned about the contradiction

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G. Wiggan and J. T. Walrond between the notion of masculinity he was taught and his inability to live up to that notion. . . . The process by which men act as oppressors and are oppressed is particularly visible in black communities, where men are working-class and poor. (p. 75).

hooks’ (2000) statement is generally true in Canada’s Caribbean communities, where children see other Blacks who are struggling to survive and meet their basic needs. Thus, with few examples of role models in other professions, some students may seek careers as athletes or entertainers. On the other hand, some students may try to avoid the sports stereotype, and may shun athletics all together. Ursula explains:

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Eaton is the kind of guy who does not like attention on him. In fact, . . . he is a very good athlete, and he did not do very much sport in junior high, and I found out later it’s because he did not want to be their “little Black stud.” The principal phoned me and said he wants to coach Eaton for basketball, and Eaton had no interest. And it is not until after I am finding this out he said, “Mom he just wanted me to be his little Black stud, and I was not going to be his little Black stud.” So he just did what was required for sports for his PE [physical education], and end of story.

Even when Eaton decided to participate in intramural sports, his mother did not want his participation to interrupt his scholastic work. Ursula: And even at his sports—during his last year at high school he was the running back for the team [football]—they had to practice every evening for about an hour. He gets home; he is beat; he cannot even study. By the time he has supper, he is asleep. I say, “You tell that coach if you cannot practice three times a week, then you will have to quit!” He told him, and he [the coach] said, “It is not fair,” so [I said], “Well, he will have to find another running back, because your schoolwork is the priority.” Interviewer: How did the coach take that? Ursula: He was ticked [off], and I told Eaton I was going to talk to him [the coach], but Eaton said that he wanted to deal with it. And I am sure if I had talked to him [the coach], he [my son] probably would have gone along with it, but he [my son] wanted to do [the talking himself], so the coach told him that he hoped he [Eaton—my son] could work on changing his mother’s mind. I said, “No, he has to change his [plans],

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because we do not have five evenings and sometimes weekends to give him. Those are not the priorities.”

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C. E. James (2005) asserted that normally, Caribbean cultures place a premium on education, and do not emphasize the playing of professional sports at the expense of academics. In contrast, North American culture glorifies professional athletes. However, the failure to note the cultural differences between Caribbean immigrant culture and North American culture contributes to the racialization of sports, especially in basketball and football, which are not played at the professional level in the Caribbean. The one exception might be baseball, the game that June and Lance’s son [Dave] played, which is similar to cricket, an English Caribbean national pastime (C. L. R. James, 1963/2002). Soccer, or football as it is called in the Caribbean, is also a national pastime in the region. However, most children understand that they have a better opportunity or prospect in life through their academics rather than in sports. In Dave’s case, his parents supported his ambition to play sports, but they also encouraged him to work on his academics. Lance explains his son’s desire to play baseball. My boy enjoys playing baseball, so I say, “That is an option. But in order for you to use that option, you have to do well in school. This is one of the requirements.” He wants to go on to the major leagues to play baseball: “You have to do well in school; you have to have the confidence that you can do both. You can do well in school, and you can do well on the baseball field, so you have to prepare yourself for that. How do you prepare yourself for that? By giving each one of your goals ample time. Invest equal amounts of time in each one of your goals. Your goal is to do well academically, and your goal is to do well in baseball.” We spend our money on baseball, and we go all over; we go to the United States and all over. We all go there three times a year.

Baseball was an extracurricular activity for Lance’s son, and both parents supported him. According to the parents, their son was passionate about baseball, which incidentally, he did not play within the school system. June’s family “spend[s] over ten thousand a year on baseball,” because they try to attend many of the games and, of course, fund their son’s activities. June explains: They were doing sports, and to me sports are important for the kids who are in school. It gives them something to look forward to at school; it

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G. Wiggan and J. T. Walrond gives them time away from things that are not important, like just walking around and doing nothing, going to the malls. To me, that is not a good way to be. Sports took up a lot of their time; that is all they know. They had the sports after school, so they did not have time for anything else or to get into trouble.

June also discussed her family’s support of the children. The family would try to attend as many extracurricular activities as possible. She poses: When we go to watch them play sports, we are always the only Black parents, and I always look around and say, “Where are the other Black kids?” Whether it is basketball or baseball, my son is the only Black kid out there, and I do not know where the others are. We have been there for years.

Caribbean Canadian Youth and School Participation

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June’s son [Dave] was very much a loner. He spent his time either attending school, staying at home, or playing baseball, at which he was good. Sports proved to be an important outlet for Dave. June explains: He [Dave] has always been like that, very quiet. He does not talk much; you do not even know that he is home. He works in his room or he is on the computer or he is down here or he goes somewhere.

Although Dave attended school each school day, his parents felt that he seemed to occasionally tune out of school (Contenta, 1993, p. 31). His grades were a high average, but both parents felt that they could be higher if he applied himself more in his schoolwork. While Dave was doing well in school, there are other Black students who have not mastered the terrain of predominantly White schools. Lance explains: I have experienced this for myself. I went to the school to help out with the class, and I am sitting there, and this White girl is misbehaving. And without lifting her head, the teacher is calling on this Black girl to behave herself: “Crystal, will you cut that out!” And Crystal wasn’t even misbehaving; she was doing her work, and the White girl was misbehaving. But the teacher automatically assumed that it is Crystal who is the troublemaker, that she could close her eyes and pick out the

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troublemaker. She could close her eyes and pick out the troublemaker in the class.

Through his volunteerism, Lance could see more clearly the challenges that minority students faced in predominantly White schools. However, these students’ options were limited. Much like the U.S., most of the predominantly Black schools in Canada are underfunded and are located in underserved neighborhoods. Thus, these parents sought out better quality schools for their children, which were in predominantly White communities. Despite the issues of racial discrimination in school, the parents encouraged their children to keep pressing along with their education. They supported them and explained that although it might be a bit challenging in these schools, they would have a better future in life.

WATCHING OVER OUR CHILDREN

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These parents did not allow their children to work afterschool. Instead, they insisted that they participate in extracurricular activities. June explains: My son still asks to go out. He drives my car. He has been driving since he was fourteen, and then he got his license at fifteen, and he has been driving that car to school every day. The car is in the garage; he goes to school and he comes home. So we [said], “If you want that privilege, gas costs money, so that is not for you to drive around with.” So he knows that he goes to school and he comes home. We used to go to the parent-teacher meeting, and we would say, “Okay, you didn’t do too good in this one here,” but when they got to Grade Twelve, we didn’t see the need to do that. We give them a lot of responsibility and say, “Now what we expect of you”—because it is not for the want of us saying, “I haven’t seen you picking up the book; bring what you were doing.” They used to bring the stuff to us and show us what they were doing, but that sort of has tapered [off].

June’s statement alludes to the ways the parents monitored their children’s education. Perhaps, failing to understand why their parents may have been so strict, June’s two children may have passively resisted school. Research has shown that although Afro-Caribbean girls are more successful than their male counterparts in school, they sometimes latently resist school as well. As Bhatti

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(2004) argued, girls often “use school in a way that is ‘instrumental,’ that is, knowledge is valued not for its own sake but as a means to an end, that of gaining qualifications” (p. 139). Interviewer: Do both of them have the same temperament? June: Oh yes, yes. So right now my daughter is finished; she graduated last year. She wanted to bring all her grades up higher, so she went downtown to Bishop College to do some courses there. She is just finishing up this week also. She has been doing very well, so she will be going to general studies in September. She will take a whole bunch of subjects and just decide later because she does not know exactly what she wants to do as yet. But with Dave [June’s son], we will be sending him away to college, where they also concentrate on baseball. . . .

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This excerpt affirms that June, like many other Caribbean Canadian parents, value education, ambition, and striding to achieve in life. As the male and head of a Caribbean Canadian household, Lance’s perspective represents that of many Caribbean fathers regarding the approach of how they should raise their children. Chevannes (2002) explained this attitude: If throughout the Anglophone Caribbean fatherhood is a status, it is also a role which men are expected to play. There are two generally recognised aspects of that role, namely providing for one’s children and being the guardian of their moral development, particularly the boys. (p. 218)

Chevannes (2002) also contended that “how these roles are fulfilled is determined not only by the prevailing notions of patriarchy, but also by the structure of the family at a given stage in the domestic life cycle” (p. 218). Implicit in this statement is the role of female heads of households in the Caribbean in raising their children. Ursula and Jackie cited examples of these roles, and Lance detailed his involvement in his children’s education. He was more attentive to his son’s than his daughter’s school experience. His son found it more difficult to adjust to school and resisted authority, whereas his daughter appeared to have had very little difficulty. Bhatti (2004) suggested that boys sometimes resist the curriculum if they feel it is not relevant to them. This is indeed the situation that Lance encountered.

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My girl went through kindergarten to Grade Twelve, [and] she graduated. She never had any problems that I know of. She was always happy; never one day said, “I don’t feel like going to school, never one day. . . . I think on a few occasions she might have been too sick to go to school but never one day did she say, “well I don’t feel like going to school.” She may say, “I don’t like school,” but she never said she don’t want to go to school, so she always attended school. She might be late or she might have a sick day, but the thing for her was that she played basketball for the school, and it was pretty smooth sailing for her; she never really had any problems. My boy, he got into a fight once in junior high. . . . He went from kindergarten to elementary, then he went to three different schools, junior high; before junior high it was elementary. He got into a fight there, and I had to go to school and talk to the principal; we were always there for them. And two guys attacked him and he hurt one of them, and the teacher was telling me I should tell him that he shouldn’t be fighting because fighting isn’t allowed in the school. My sense was, he is allowed to defend himself, and I would support him a hundred percent if two guys attacked him and he hurt one of them.

We believe that Lance’s support of his children’s education is a common theme across Caribbean families. Caribbean parents wish the best for their children, and they often support them in difficult times. In the case of Lance and June, the two-parent families generally faced fewer challenges navigating the school system, possibly because the parents shared the responsibility for their children’s education as well as the daily responsibilities of meeting their children’s needs. In conclusion, in this chapter we explored the experiences of first generation Caribbean parents in Canada. In our analysis, we noted that most of these immigrants were educated between the dawn of the 1960s independence movement in the Caribbean, and the 1980’s U.S. invasion of Grenada. We addressed the experiences of our research participants in the Caribbean. Next, we discussed their experiences with Canada’s educational system, as well as their children’s education in Edmonton. In the final chapter [6], we analyze the Caribbean immigrant parents’ actions in striving for the best education possible for their children. All of these parents took on this responsibility, but their strategies for achieving the outcome was based on their individual school experiences, as well as their children’s specific needs.

Following the Northern Star: Caribbean Identities and Education in North American Schools : Caribbean Identities and

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Chapter 6

CARIBBEAN IDENTITIES: IMPLICATIONS FOR NORTH AMERICAN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

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Education must enable the building of a personal and a collective identity. The right to education is the right to choose and to make one’s own culture respected in interrelationships with other cultures. The effectiveness of the right to education involves the building of capacities. (Friboulet, 2005, p. 17)

In this final chapter [6], we continue the discussion on Caribbean heritage children in North American schools. We discuss the major themes that emerged from the parents’ interviews as they pertain to their children’s education in Edmonton. We explain these themes in the context of multicultural education, curriculum development, and teacher and school preparation for the success of Caribbean heritage students. Our findings reveal students’ encounters with individual and systemic racism, lack of cultural diversity training, and stereotyping of Black male students. Generally, the parents’ comments highlight their frustration with the lack of support their children received in Canada’s schools. However, we do not wish to leave the reader with the impression that their experiences were all negative. Indeed, this chapter illustrates that there were also many positive experiences. We conclude with suggestions aimed at increasing multicultural education, and the school success of Caribbean immigrants and the broader population of minority students.

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STUDENT OUTCOMES Our participants’ narratives suggest that Caribbean Canadian parents had various standards for assessing academic achievement. This is evident in the following conversation with Ursula, who believed that all of her children should excel in programs for academically gifted students.

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Eaton went to junior high in Jewelltown, and he actually ended up doing exceptionally well in his IB [International Baccalaureate program]. And I have to write his science teacher a letter, because he keeps telling me, “Mom, what I did in science in his class made me do so well now.” On his provincial exam, he got a 7, which is a perfect score in his chemistry, and he said if it were not for that teacher, he would not have done so well.

Like Ursula’s son Eton, June and Lance’s children also did well in school. In spite of facing some challenges, they improved their grades and attended community colleges. Similarly, Frank and Monica’s children achieved the grades that were necessary to attend postsecondary school, and they continued to participate in sports and music. Jackie’s son was the only obvious academic underperformer. However, she was working to ensure that her daughters fared better in school. Clearly, Ursula, who challenged the school system from the outset, was able to help her children achieve high-levels of school success. Ursula’s son Eaton inspired his sister Anita, and she was able to obtain the grades needed to enter the International Baccalaureate program. Ursula explains: In her last year of junior high she said to me that she realized the importance of getting good grades, and even with some of her classes she has gone from 60s to over 80s, and I think it is her will. And I pretty well said, “You know what? You are setting the pace for how you want to live in the future. And this is what is expected if you want to move ahead; this is the grade you need.” She wanted to do IB just as her brother did it [achieved that objective]. You have to have 80 and over in all your courses, and she has been able to get into an IB program at James Smith High School. And this has happened in the last year of secondary schooling.

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Following these ranges of student success, we must determine the factors that the parents considered as being important to their children’s achievement. Clearly, beyond the family’s support, where these children went to school was crucial to their success. Generally, they attended school in middle and uppermiddle class neighborhoods where they received a quality education. Ursula identifies the characteristics of this type of education.

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Ursula: Right now I think, my daughters especially, they are getting a great education, . . . because the school that they go to, it truly represents the Canada in which we live. In terms of representation of culture and ethnic groups, you have everybody there; and in terms of racism there, it is serious and it is not tolerated. In fact, you are suspended for it. Reasons: They stick with the basics, they strive for excellence in terms of pushing the kids the furthest that they can go, and they allow parental input.

With time, the schools our participants’ children attended became more inclusive and diverse. As mentioned in the previous chapter, in school, being a Black male and a star athlete brought about its own set of unique circumstances. Ursula explains the parental dynamics with her son Eton, as a high school student-athlete in Edmonton public school. Interviewer: So with respect to these jocks and stuff, how does he handle the pressure of these girls at school? Ursula: Eaton was coming out of James Smith [school], he was coming out like a little geek. And I think the sports were able to equalize that. In fact, now he was the jock, and they were all coming to him. Interviewer: Who was coming after him? Ursula: The girls, and he was not interested anyways because of the agreement in our family that no one is allowed to date until after eighteen; and he has lived up to those expectations. It is plain and simple, and we explained to him the pros and cons of it, and what the priorities are. At high school he had lots of girls calling, and I said, “If you cannot tell them, your mother would help you; I will let them know.” So he pretty well let them know that. He is just not interested in that stuff.

While it is a bit presumptuous and unreasonable for Ursula to know the extent of Eton’s personal relationships in school, her comments as his mother and guardian alludes to the ways that the image of the Black male jock could

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have potentially impacted her son’s education. However, Eton’s parents were diligent in trying to set rules and expectations for their son. Having a sense of the gender dynamics for a Black male in school, they attempted to protect their son from any negative consequences. School was particularly difficult for our Caribbean Canadian male adolescents, but they all used sports as an outlet.

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MULTICULTURAL PERSPECTIVE As we mentioned, Canada has always been hailed as being an example and leader in developing a national multicultural policy. The success of the country’s educational system in implementing a multicultural curriculum can in some ways, serve as a model for wider implementation. However, all too often multicultural education is limited to topics that are discussed in a particular class, or among minority students. Thus, in this book we introduced decolonization pedagogy as a method for teaching about hope, freedom, and cultural self-awareness regarding groups who have experienced prolonged periods of European colonization and racialized domination. As we mentioned, decolonization pedagogy is the art of teaching that is focused on deconstructing colonial and neo-colonial sentiments and practices, which are either implicitly or explicitly stated, and are legacies of European domination of cultural minority groups around the world. Decolonization pedagogy addresses the social, cultural, political, and economic relationships and dependences, which have been deeply inscribed in societies and cultural groups who have experienced extended periods of European rule and repression. In this sense, teachers must also understand that multicultural education is not intended simply to support the diversity in minority students, but is actually beneficial for all students. Educators must understand these issues, because if they practice exclusion in the classroom it affects all students negatively.

Global Citizenship Twenty-first century education must be placed in a global landscape, an “imaginary landscape” (Appadurai, 2003, p. 29) that links “communities and organizations in new time-space combinations, [thus] making the world in reality and in experience more interconnected” (Hall, 1999, p. 630). Economic development continues to influence the movements of people and resources

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across national borders. Environmental concerns more than ever demonstrate the need for a global perspective that incorporates preservation. Errol explained this broader, global understanding when he discussed his dinnertable conversations with his family. He explains: “And we talk about what is happening in the papers, in the news, because we are all interested in what is happening internationally.” Similarly, Frank explains that his children’s education focuses on the European experience. However, he desired that they gain broader global perspectives.

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Frank: Under their education system I find, when you look at the work they cover—Canada and what goes on here more than adequately, and for the US and Europe this is similar—but I do not find that they consider the others, what I call ninety percent of this planet. People have very different lives from the Western European and North American societies. So for us to be happier, I would like to see us cover the Caribbean. That is a region. Central and South America a lot more, the daily lives of those people and how these people see things and that kind of thing.

In North American schools, education that is narrowly focused on the western world fails to provide the rich global experiences of the various cultural groups around the globe. Hegemonic style education lets students know who is important in school and society, and equally so, who is not worth mentioning. Furthermore, it disseminates inaccurate information and as a central theme, it teaches subordination and subjugation of minorities and women. In this way, those who are forced to study from this canon are being robbed of opportunities to receive a high-quality multicultural education.

INCLUSIVE EDUCATION In our research, all of the parents addressed the limited, but important opportunities that their children had to acquire diverse experiences in Edmonton schools. When these parents desired to provide their children with greater support and broader learning opportunities, they often turned to the community. As a single parent, Jackie explored all of her options to help her children gain greater exposure. Many other parents in the Caribbean community seek these options as well, but find that they are inadequate.

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Jackie: I think it is [exposure in school] very limited, but I am trying my best by getting my kids involved in things outside of the structural education to encourage them to do better. Interviewer: Can you tell me some of the things that you do try? Jackie: Well, working with them at home; sacrificing my Saturdays to take them down to tutorial; getting other people outside of school, friends and such, to work along with us; getting them involved with the community; meeting people that are professionals; and stuff like that, so they will try to become successful like them. Interviewer: Okay, and how has the tutoring on Saturdays helped? Jackie: It is helping a little. It is just that they need to find more tutors that are more committed.

As Jackie mentioned, community involvement and support plays important roles in the educational outcomes and attainment of students. However, Jackie’s narrative also suggests that the community may even play a more crucial role in single-parent families where additional support systems are needed. Furthermore, there is an increasing need for minority teachers in public schools. Black teachers continually remind us about the impact of their presence on Black youth with whom they interact in schools (see George J. Sefa Dei, 1996, 2008; bell hooks, 1994, 2003, 2010; Paulo Freire, 1970/2005a; Gloria Ladson-Billings and David Gillborn, 2004; Gloria Ladson-Billings and William F. Tate, 2006). For single parents like Ursula and Jackie, who have Black children in public schools, there is an even greater need for teacher and community support in regards to the education and development of their children. Chamberlain argues: Within the black population of the Caribbean, however, they [women] have also been linked with matrifocal or female-centred families, and female economic and personal autonomy traced from the African past through slavery to survive as a central feature in family life. In other words, Afro-Caribbean female-headed households are not a new indicator of Third World dependency, underdevelopment and poverty, but are deeply embedded in the kinship culture and gender ideology of the region. (Chamberlain, 2006; p. 202)

In female-single parent households, the mother must balance the demands of employment and childrearing, and still create personal time for herself. Conversations with both Ursula and Jackie demonstrate the additional stress

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that Caribbean immigrant, single-mothers face when they are forced to take on all of the responsibilities of parenting. Ursula explains her concern as a single mother. Ursula: I did not get support from my “ex” [ex-husband]… I think one of the reasons I left my relationship was that I know the environment we were in was not conducive to what I wanted for them. It was part of the reason I left. But I wanted it to be peaceful; I didn’t want them to have to be dealing with all the nagging and the fighting and the stuff so [that] they can focus on what is important. It is not even just education, but to be at peace with yourself. . . . One of the things is, we don’t buy cards here. Every Christmas we write letters to each other where we include what we are grateful for.

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Clearly, all hands must be on deck and ready to support all children. From parents to the community, to the teachers, all stakeholders must be prepared to help students succeed. Ursula did her best to ensure that she provided the best opportunities for her children. However, in her case, additional support was always welcomed.

THE BLACK EXPERIENCE: SIGNIFICANT FINDINGS The parents who participated in our study cherished the opportunity to provide suggestions and recommendations that they believed would improve education for all students, but particularly, Caribbean heritage students. Frank explains: I think that we are at the stage where as a community we need to be doing something. We need to be taking some of the responsibility to educate our children within and outside the school system. That means we should, at this point, be offering assistance within a cultural context to our own community, and we should also be seeing to it that some of our values get into the formal education system or the education system at large. This is not a new thing; it is there for other groups.

Frank’s comments address the need for a more inclusive and multicultural education in Canada. However, while schools still need to make additional progress in terms of addressing diversity, Canada is one of the few countries to

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have adopted a multicultural policy. Most of the parents felt that their children had successfully navigated the school system. The success of the Caribbean heritage children can, in part be attributed to the strong educational values and cultural influence of their parents. Although two of the children in our study graduated from high school with low scores, they went back to school to further their education. The findings of our research support the thesis that generally, Caribbean families view formal education as being central to personal and national development (Waters, 1999). Even as late as the start of the twenty-first century, many people in developing countries still did not have access to formal education. Historically, Caribbean immigrants migrated to North America to gain better educational and employment opportunities. In fact, Parascandola (1998) cites Walter who indicates that “between 1900 and 1914 over 76 percent of the Black immigrants to the U.S.” (p. 13) were from English speaking Caribbean countries. These immigrants often migrated to other English speaking countries such as the U.S., Canada, and the U.K., as luminaries, following the northern star. The journeys of Jamaica’s Marcus Garvey [1887-1940], (Lewis, 1988) and Claude McKay [1890-1948], (McKay, 1999); as well as Guyanese/Barbadian Eric Walrond [1898-1966], (Parascandola, 1998); all members of the Harlem Renaissance movement, exemplifies Caribbean migration.

THE CONTEXT OF CARIBBEAN EDUCATION As we mentioned in chapter 1, history documents that the Island-Arawaks, Island-Caribs, Guanahatabeyes (Siboneys), and Tainos, lived in the Caribbean centuries before European explorers arrived in the region (Parry, Sherlock, and Maingot, 1987). We learn from Columbus’ logbook that these people were friendly, expressive, and willing to trade. These facts suggest that they were able to function and coexist in the region. Columbus’ log notations (as cited in Cohen, n.d./1969) states: In order to win their friendship, since I knew they were a people to be converted and won to our holy faith by love and friendship rather than by force, I gave some of them red caps and glass beads which they hung round their necks, also many other trifles. These things pleased them greatly and they became marvelously friendly to us. They afterwards swam out to the ship’s boat in which we were sitting, bringing us parrots

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and balls of cotton thread and spears and many other things, which they exchanged with us for such objects as glass beads, hawks and bells. In fact, they willingly traded everything they had. (p. 55)

Columbus’ encounters with the people of the Caribbean represent more or less a clash of worldviews. His diary notes are testimonials to his intent to manipulate the native people for the purpose of European domination. Columbus wrote in his diary that the indigenous groups exchanged cotton threads, which shows that they developed the skill to spin cotton fibers into thread. When and where did they learn this skill? We learn from the discipline of textile and clothing that cotton was first used in Egypt around 12,000 B.C.E., in India (South Asia) by 3,000 B.C.E., and in the Caribbean and the Americas by 2,500 B.C.E. (Joseph, 1986; Shaeffer, 1989). This suggests that these people lived in the Caribbean long before the Europeans arrived. Although we do not know the actual intentions of the people Columbus met, it is fair to surmise that they welcomed the Europeans as visitors, and later paid the ultimate price with their lives and the destruction of their civilizations. The native people’s indigenous knowledge also provided explorers with information about the region’s natural resources, and gold and silver. In addition, they provided agronomists and agriculturists with knowledge of the rare fruits and seed crops that grow in the region. Dei (2000) supports the proposal to incorporate and situate indigenous knowledge within educational discourse. He proposes that “indigenous knowledges are those acquired by local peoples through daily experiences” (p. 19). In this way, we recognize that contributions of indigenous groups can help to dispel the notion that only the knowledge from the dominant group in a society is important. In education, we often hear that one of the purposes of schools is to determine “what knowledge to formally pass along” (Davies and Guppy, 2006, p. 4). The knowledge of the Caribs, Arawaks, and other indigenous people of the Caribbean is vital information that should be included in history books, school curricula, and teacher pedagogy. Freire (1970/2005a) explains: The pedagogy of the oppressed, animated by authentic, humanist (not humanitarian) generosity, presents itself as a pedagogy of humankind. Pedagogy which begins with the egotistic interests of the oppressors (an egoism cloaked in the false generosity of paternalism) and makes of the oppressed the objects of its humanitarianism, itself maintains and embodies oppression. It is an instrument of dehumanization. … The

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G. Wiggan and J. T. Walrond pedagogy of the oppressed cannot be developed or practiced by the oppressors. (p. 54)

Like the indigenous people of the Caribbean, the educational philosophy undergirding African indigenous culture was suppressed during slavery. As a result, Black Caribbean people still feel belittled and dehumanized today because of these omissions in schools and particularly, in the curriculum. This phenomenon is experienced among most oppressed groups. Freire (2005b) explained that:

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One of the violences perpetrated by illiteracy is the suffocation of the consciousness and the expressiveness of men and women from reading and writing, thus limiting their capacity to write about their reading of the world so they can rethink about their original reading of it. (p. 2)

The significance of Freire’s statement underscores the concerns of oppressed groups in developing countries, where historically, education was consistently denied or falsified. Evans (2001) writes “from the beginning of our history, education was seen as the means for escaping the harsh physical conditions of working the soil with little or no return for the effort” (p. 2). Perhaps because of this systematic denial of literacy, Caribbean families placed a high value on education. And this value of education travels with them wherever they migrate (Alfred, 2003; Waters, 1999).

HARNESSING THE CULTURAL MODEL OF CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY In our study, our research participants explained the importance of an education. They recalled that in the Caribbean education was a community affair, and teachers played a central role in the school system. They remembered a school system that was based on a child/teacher/community/ parent model. Community involvement ensured that the children were well nourished and that the schools were meeting the children’s needs. The Breakfast Shed food program was free to all students wherever it was available. In Trinidad and Tobago, for example, the Coterie of Social Workers, a volunteer organization, administered the food program. In Grenada, where this program was not available, teachers supplied lunches to students who came to school hungry. Reddock (1994), in her text, Women and Labour in

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Trinidad and Tobago, recalls that the Coterie of Social Workers not only opened Breakfast Sheds to feed school children, but also organized cultural events such as Christmas parties and children’s carnival parades (p. 170). She adds that the women’s groups in the community were politically motivated and they used their agency to raise “the status of Black … [middle- and lowerclass] women and men in Trinidad and Tobago society” (p. 164). Our participants mentioned that these activities were part of their educational experience. Some parents mentioned that members of the clergy visited their homes and offered support to their families. Furthermore, during this time, most parents had very little formal education and since teachers were more educated, they carried much of the responsibility for children’s education. Seaga’s (1976) 1953 study of parents in Jamaica supports this claim. He concludes:

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Once teachers have proven their ability … [to prepare the students for local exams] parents are likely to feel assured that their children are progressing, in spite of the fact that they can give very little reliable information on these [children’s] pupils’ actual scholastic achievements. (p. 250)

North American educators and school administrators must understand these longstanding relationships that are part of Caribbean culture. Outreach programs can enhance community, teacher, and school relationships. Caribbean communities in the U.S. and Canada must continue to engage and communicate their concerns to school administrators and school boards, to build partnerships to mediate educational challenges.

MULTICULTURAL SOCIETIES Many North American communities such as Edmonton are multicultural. However, although these realities exist, many teachers are not being prepared to teach diverse learners. Therefore, educators in this landscape must see themselves as multicultural workers. Teachers must recognize their responsibility for nurturing students who will live and work in global multicultural societies. With regards to Freire’s view of teachers as cultural workers, McLaren (2005) wrote:

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G. Wiggan and J. T. Walrond Freire sees the role of teachers not as coddling parents and aunts.... Teachers do not live in a pristine world devoid of ideology, of racism, of social classes, but rather they live as social and political agents who ‘challenge their students, from an early to a more adult age, through games, stories, and reading so that students understand the need to create coherence between discourse and practice.’ (p. xxxvi)

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Most existing school curricula are insufficient because they do not prepare students to live and work side-by-side with people from different cultural backgrounds. Today, most teachers are not prepared for this work. Kallen (2003) contended that, “Nowhere is cultural discrimination more evident than in the ‘hidden’ cultural curriculum of the Canadian educational system” (p. 69). This is manifested “in acts of commission and omission” (p. 69). Kallen (2003) explains: A study of the educational history of children from five ethnic minorities in British Columbia carried out in the 1970s clearly demonstrated that there was a strong tendency for the teacher, the curriculum, and the environment of the classroom to apotheosize the achievements of the dominant ethnic group and to ignore the equally important contributions to Canadian society made by members of ethnic minorities (Ashworth 1979). More than 20 years later, a report on Racism in Our Schools released by the Canadian Race Relations Foundation in 2001 reveal that a monocultural curriculum is a continuing barrier to equal educational achievement for visible minority children (CRRF 2001b). (p. 69)

Kallen (2003) argues that exclusionary school practices create “barriers to interethnic understanding and cause [racial] interaction to remain solidly entrenched” (p. 69). The failure to understand “the multifaceted concepts of racism” contributes to “the inability of members of humankind to respect the fundamental human rights and freedoms of peoples they consider inherently different from themselves” (Kallen, 2003, p. 70). Educators must become more aware of the need to create a school-community-family network to meet the needs of all students. It is our hope that our research raises greater awareness regarding the experiences and concerns of Caribbean families with Black children in North American schools. Although our research was conducted within the Caribbean Canadian community in Edmonton, it has broad implications for multicultural education and minority students in North American schools. Similar diversity concerns are evident in the U.S., a nation

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that struggles to redress its racialized social and economic systems. Canada is the number one trading partner for the U.S. [followed by China and Mexico], and both countries have large immigrant populations. Government officials and activists in the U.S. and Canada must continue to have a humane response to immigrants who are trying to escape a life of poverty and political violence, and are following the northern star, seeking a better life for their families. While the Caribbean region has people of many ethnic identities, our research focused on immigrant families of Black Caribbean heritage. And even though an investigation of non-Black ethnic groups was beyond the scope of our study, we recognize that other inquiries are needed that include people of South-Asian, Chinese, and European heritages who are also from the Caribbean. Nevertheless, Caribbean parents have often been overlooked in educational discourse. Thus, our work helps to bring attention to their concerns regarding the education of their children. We hope that parents, teachers, students, school administrators, and community members will find a space where they can share and work together to make education an even more engaging, dynamic, multicultural learning experience for all students, which prepares them for the 21st century globalized world.

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POEM: BROTHER ERROL AND THE EXAMINED LIFE

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In Memory of Uncle Errol Peynado

*Great sounds are heard and bright lights are seen in some of the most obscure places *The life lived with meaning and with purpose, is a life that has been wellexamined *Oh Brother Errol, you are that sound and you are that light, and your life was well-examined *From a small lane in Sav-la-mar, Westmoreland, Jamaica, from the beautiful earth soil, a child of the morning sprang forth, Errol Peynado *‘Kind of fat and round,’ but ‘you were bold and proud’ *Loving and kind, and a voice of consciousness and reason, Oh Brother Errol loved humankind *He travelled far and wide to learn more about his extended family, from Sav, to Strap Boge to Peters-field, you were a man on a mission to ‘know thyself’ *Clinging close to your Big Sister Polly, the two of you were closer than ‘butter pon hard dough bread’ *‘Even up in a de ice cold Toronto de,’ you find more family and made more friends than ‘birds have nests’ *Oh yes, I can still remember when we went to dinner in June of 2010, and you told me what you read and uncovered in the libraries, and how this helped you to know that Marcus Garvey’s ‘Star Liner was for those at home and abroad’

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*As you said in your own words, “Nobody can’t fool me wid no white god” *Brother Errol you lived an examined life, a life of meaning and purpose. You are born in the same town as our own legend, Joel Augustus Rogers, so we knew you would be great *And you were balanced enough to where you were the life of the party. Here comes Mr. Liquor. Wooooh, ‘what a whole heep a friends you have,’ can’t miss the summer Bar-B-Qs in Toronto, wow, ‘because it so cold up de, when the Sun come out, you have to thaw out the blood a little bit in a de Sun’ *Yes Errol, you are sunny, well sunny, you were always kind and always giving, and you never let anyone suffer without reason *Well, now that you have transitioned, I know that you are smiling even as we are having this gathering. You are blessing us as an ancestor, venerated to watch and guide us *As you are gone home to rest in the Hands of our Great Creator, the entire creation salutes you on a life that has been well-lived *Peace and Blessings, Strength and Honor, and Guidance for an Examined Life Blessed Be Brother Errol

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APPENDIX A

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STATEMENT BY THE PRIME MINISTER IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS, OCTOBER 8, 1971 I am happy this morning to be able to reveal to the House that the government has accepted all those recommendations of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism as contained in Volume IV of its reports directed to federal departments and agencies. Honourable members will recall that the subject of this volume is “the contribution by other ethnic groups to the cultural enrichment of Canada and the measures that should be taken to safeguard that contribution.” Volume IV examined the whole question of cultural and ethnic pluralism in this country and the status of our various cultures and languages, an area of study given all too little attention in the past by scholars. It was the view of the Royal Commission, shared by the government and, I am sure, by all Canadians, that there cannot be one cultural policy for Canadians of British and French origin, another for the original peoples and yet a third for all others. For although there are two official languages, there is no official culture, nor does any ethnic group take precedence over any other. No citizen or group of citizens is other than Canadian, and all should be treated fairly. The Royal Commission was guided by the belief that adherence to one’s ethnic group is influenced not so much by one’s origin or mother tongue as by one’s sense of belonging to the group, and by what the Commission calls the group’s: collective will to exist.” The government shares this belief. The individual’s freedom would be hampered if he were locked for life within a particular cultural compartment by the accident of birth or language. It is vital, therefore, that every Canadian, whatever his ethnic origin, be given

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a chance to learn at least one of the languages in which his country conducts its official business and its politics. A policy of multiculturalism within a bilingual framework commends itself to the government as the most suitable means of assuring the cultural freedom of Canadians. Such a policy should help to break sown discriminatory attitudes and cultural jealousies, national unity, if it is to mean anything in the deeply personal sense, must be founded on confidence in one’s own individual identity; out of this can grow respect for that of others and a willingness to share ideas, attitudes and assumptions. A vigorous policy of multiculturalism will help create this initial confidence. It can form the base of a society which is based on fair play for all. In the past, substantial public support has been given largely to the arts and cultural institutions of English-speaking Canada. More recently, and largely with help of the Royal Commission’s earlier recommendations in Volumes I to III, there has been a conscious effort on the government’s part to correct any bias against the French language and culture. In the last few months the government has taken steps to provide funds to support culturaleducational centres for native people. The policy I am announcing today accepts the contention of the other cultural communities that they, too, are essential elements in Canada and deserve government assistance in order to contribute to regional and national life in ways that derive from their heritages yet are distinctively Canadian. In implementing a policy of multiculturalism within a bilingual framework, the government will provide support in four ways. First, resources permitting, the government will seek to assist all Canadian cultural groups that have demonstrated a desire and effort to continue to develop, a capacity to grow and contribute to Canada, and a clear need for assistance, the small and weak groups no less than the strong and healthy organized. Second, the government will assist members of all cultural groups to overcome cultural barriers to full participation in Canadian society. Third, the government will promote creative encounters and interchange among all Canadian cultural groups in the interest of national unity. Fourth, the government will continue to assist immigrants to acquire at least one of Canada’s official languages in order to become full participants in Canadian society. Mr. Speaker, I stated at the outset that the government has accepted in principle all recommendations addressed to federal departments and agencies. We are also ready and willing to work cooperatively with provincial

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governments towards implementing those recommendations that concern matters under provincial or shared responsibility. Some of the programs endorsed or recommended by the commission have been administered for some time by various federal agencies. I might mention the Citizenship Branch, the CRTC (Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunication Commission) And its predecessor the BBG (Broadcasting Board of Governors), the National Film Board and the National Museum of Man. These programs will be revised, broadened and reactivated and the will receive the additional funds that may be required. Some of the recommendations that concern matters under provincial jurisdiction call for coordinated federal and provincial actions. As a first step, I have written to the first ministers of the provinces informing them of the response of the federal government and seeking their co-operation. Officials will be asked to carry this consultation further I wish to table details of the government’s response to each of the several recommendations. It should be noted that some of the programs require pilot projects or further short-term research before more extensive action can be taken. As soon as these preliminary studies are available, further programs will be announced and initiated. Additional financial and personnel resources will be provided. Responsibility for implementing these recommendations has been assigned to the Citizenship Branch of the Department of the Secretary of State, the agency now responsible for matters affecting the social integration of immigrants and the cultural activities of all ethnic groups. An Inter-Agency Committee of all those agencies involved will be established to coordinate the federal effort. In conclusion, I wish to emphasize the view of the government that a policy of multiculturalism within a bilingual framework is basically the conscious support of individual freedom of choice. We are free to be ourselves. But this cannot be left to chance. It must be fostered and pursued actively. If freedom of choice is in danger for some ethnic groups, it is in danger for all. It is the policy of this government to eliminate any such danger and to “safeguard” this freedom. (Fleras and Elliott, 1992, pp. 281–283)

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APPENDIX B CANADIAN MULTICULTURALISM ACT

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R.S.C., 1985, c. 24 (4th Supp.) An Act for the preservation and enhancement of multiculturalism in Canada [1988, c. 31, assented to 21st July, 1988]

PREAMBLE WHEREAS the Constitution of Canada provides that every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and benefit of the law without discrimination and that everyone has the freedom of conscience, religion, thought, belief, opinion, expression, peaceful assembly and association and guarantees those rights and freedoms equally to male and female persons; AND WHEREAS the Constitution of Canada recognizes the importance of preserving and enhancing the multicultural heritage of Canadians; AND WHEREAS the Constitution of Canada recognizes rights of the aboriginal peoples of Canada; AND WHEREAS the Constitution of Canada and the Official Languages Act provide that English and French are the official languages of Canada and neither abrogates nor derogates from any rights or privileges acquired or enjoyed with respect to any other language;

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AND WHEREAS the Citizenship Act provides that all Canadians, whether by birth or by choice, enjoy equal status, are entitled to the same rights, powers and privileges and are subject to the same obligations, duties and liabilities; AND WHEREAS the Canadian Human Rights Act provides that every individual should have an equal opportunity with other individuals to make the life that the individual is able and wishes to have, consistent with the duties and obligations of that individual as a member of society, and, in order to secure that opportunity, establishes the Canadian Human Rights Commission to redress any proscribed discrimination, including discrimination on the basis of race, national or ethnic origin or colour; AND WHEREAS Canada is a party to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which Convention recognizes that all human beings are equal before the law and are entitled to equal protection of the law against any discrimination and against any incitement to discrimination, and to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Covenant provides that persons belonging to ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities shall not be denied the right to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practise their own religion or to use their own language; AND WHEREAS the Government of Canada recognizes the diversity of Canadians as regards race, national or ethnic origin, colour and religion as a fundamental characteristic of Canadian society and is committed to a policy of multiculturalism designed to preserve and enhance the multicultural heritage of Canadians while working to achieve the equality of all Canadians in the economic, social, cultural and political life of Canada; NOW, THEREFORE, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

SHORT TITLE Short title 1. This Act may be cited as the Canadian Multiculturalism Act.

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Appendix B

207

INTERPRETATION Definitions 2. In this Act,

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“federal institution” « institutions fédérales » “federal institution” means any of the following institutions of the Government of Canada: (a) a department, board, commission or council, or other body or office, established to perform a governmental function by or pursuant to an Act of Parliament or by or under the authority of the Governor in Council, and (b) a departmental corporation or Crown corporation as defined in section 2 of the Financial Administration Act, (c) but does not include (d) any institution of the Council or government of the Northwest Territories or of the Legislative Assembly or government of Yukon or Nunavut, or (e) any Indian band, band council or other body established to perform a governmental function in relation to an Indian band or other group of aboriginal people; “Minister” « ministre » “Minister” means such member of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada as is designated by the Governor in Council as the Minister for the purposes of this Act. R.S., 1985, c. 24 (4th Supp.), s. 2; 1993, c. 28, s. 78; 2002, c. 7, s. 129.

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APPENDIX C MULTICULTURALISM POLICY OF CANADA Multiculturalism Policy 3. (1) It is hereby declared to be the policy of the Government of Canada

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to (a) recognize and promote the understanding that multiculturalism reflects the cultural and racial diversity of Canadian society and acknowledges the freedom of all members of Canadian society to preserve, enhance and share their cultural heritage; (b) recognize and promote the understanding that multiculturalism is a fundamental characteristic of the Canadian heritage and identity and that it provides an invaluable resource in the shaping of Canada’s future; (c) promote the full and equitable participation of individuals and communities of all origins in the continuing evolution and shaping of all aspects of Canadian society and assist them in the elimination of any barrier to that participation; (d) recognize the existence of communities whose members share a common origin (e) ensure that all individuals receive equal treatment and equal protection under the and their historic contribution to Canadian society, and enhance their development; law, while respecting and valuing their diversity;

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(f) encourage and assist the social, cultural, economic and political institutions of Canada to be both respectful and inclusive of Canada’s multicultural character; (g) promote the understanding and creativity that arise from the interaction between individuals and communities of different origins; (h) foster the recognition and appreciation of the diverse cultures of Canadian society and promote the reflection and the evolving expressions of those cultures; (i) preserve and enhance the use of languages other than English and French, while strengthening the status and use of the official languages of Canada; and (j) advance multiculturalism throughout Canada in harmony with the national commitment to the official languages of Canada.

Federal Institutions

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(2) It is further declared to be the policy of the Government of Canada that all federal institutions shall (a) ensure that Canadians of all origins have an equal opportunity to obtain employment and advancement in those institutions; (b) promote policies, programs and practices that enhance the ability of individuals and communities of all origins to contribute to the continuing evolution of Canada; (c) promote policies, programs and practices that enhance the understanding of and respect for the diversity of the members of Canadian society; (d) collect statistical data in order to enable the development of policies, programs and practices that are sensitive and responsive to the multicultural reality of Canada; (e) make use, as appropriate, of the language skills and cultural understanding of individuals of all origins; and (f) generally, carry on their activities in a manner that is sensitive and responsive to the multicultural reality of Canada.

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IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MULTICULTURALISM POLICY OF CANADA General Responsibility for Coordination 4. The Minister, in consultation with other ministers of the Crown, shall encourage and promote a coordinated approach to the implementation of the multiculturalism policy of Canada and may provide advice and assistance in the development and implementation of programs and practices in support of the policy.

Specific Mandate

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5. (1) The Minister shall take such measures as the Minister considers appropriate to implement the multiculturalism policy of Canada and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, may (a) encourage and assist individuals, organizations and institutions to project the multicultural reality of Canada in their activities in Canada and abroad; (b) undertake and assist research relating to Canadian multiculturalism and foster scholarship in the field; (c) encourage and promote exchanges and cooperation among the diverse communities of Canada; (d) encourage and assist the business community, labour organizations, voluntary and other private organizations, as well as public institutions, in ensuring full participation in Canadian society, including the social and economic aspects, of individuals of all origins and their communities, and in promoting respect and appreciation for the multicultural reality of Canada; (e) encourage the preservation, enhancement, sharing and evolving expression of the multicultural heritage of Canada; (f) facilitate the acquisition, retention and use of all languages that contribute to the multicultural heritage of Canada; (g) assist ethno-cultural minority communities to conduct activities with a view to overcoming any discriminatory barrier and, in particular, discrimination based on race or national or ethnic origin;

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G. Wiggan and J. T. Walrond (h) provide support to individuals, groups or organizations for the purpose of preserving, enhancing and promoting multiculturalism in Canada; and (i) undertake such other projects or programs in respect of multiculturalism, not by law assigned to any other federal institution, as are designed to promote the multiculturalism policy of Canada.

Provincial Agreements (2) The Minister may enter into an agreement or arrangement with any province respecting the implementation of the multiculturalism policy of Canada.

International Agreements

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(3) The Minister may, with the approval of the Governor in Council, enter into an agreement or arrangement with the government of any foreign state in order to foster the multicultural character of Canada.

Responsibilities of Other Ministers 6. (1) The ministers of the Crown, other than the Minister, shall, in the execution of their respective mandates, take such measures as they consider appropriate to implement the multiculturalism policy of Canada.

Provincial Agreements (2) A minister of the Crown, other than the Minister, may enter into an agreement or arrangement with any province respecting the implementation of the multiculturalism policy of Canada.

Canadian Multiculturalism Advisory Committee 7. (1) The Minister may establish an advisory committee to advise and assist the Minister on the implementation of this Act and any other matter

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relating to multiculturalism and, in consultation with such organizations representing multicultural interests as the Minister deems appropriate, may appoint the members and designate the chairman and other officers of the committee.

Remuneration and Expenses (2) Each member of the advisory committee shall be paid such remuneration for the member’s services as may be fixed by the Minister and is entitled to be paid the reasonable travel and living expenses incurred by the member while absent from the member’s ordinary place of residence in connection with the work of the committee.

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Annual Report (3) The chairman of the advisory committee shall, within four months after the end of each fiscal year, submit to the Minister a report on the activities of the committee for that year and on any other matter relating to the implementation of the multiculturalism policy of Canada that the chairman considers appropriate.

GENERAL Annual Report 8. The Minister shall cause to be laid before each House of Parliament, not later than the fifth sitting day of that House after January 31 next following the end of each fiscal year, a report on the operation of this Act for that fiscal year.

Permanent Review by a Parliamentary Committee 9. The operation of this Act and any report made pursuant to section 8 shall be reviewed on a permanent basis by such committee of the House, of the

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Senate or of both Houses of Parliament as may be designated or established for the purpose.

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APPENDIX D

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A NEWSPAPER ACCOUNT OF THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN EXODUS TO CANADA General Exodus of Negroes into Canada: Movement Follows Colonizing Campaign by Canadian Representatives During Winter Months OKLAHOMA CITY, MARCH 26. —The final action of the Canadian government in admitting to that country Negro families from Oklahoma is having the effect of further colonization movement among the Negroes, especially in Okfuskee, Muskogee and Creek counties, where there is a heavy Negro population and several exclusive Negro towns. The first emigration to Canada during the past week was of ninety families, perhaps 500 Negroes in all, from Okfuskee county. They sold all their property in this state, intending to homestead quarter section claims in Canada. Many other Negroes are making preparations to start and indications are there will be a general exodus. It develops that the Canadian colonization work among the Negro has been in progress for several months, the intention being to move 1000 families, or about 7000 Negroes, this spring, of which the Clearview emigrants formed the advance guard. It is understood a treaty provision admits them to Canada if they have $5 [$50.00] each in cash. The emigrants as a rule are educated Negroes, many of whom were taught in the government schools for Indians in old Indian Territory. They are leaving Oklahoma because of adverse legislation, “Jim Crow” coach and depot laws, the “grandfather clause” act that prohibits them from voting, separate school laws and others. (The Gazetteer and Guide, 1903; as cited in Carter and Aliki, 1981, p. 6; Hooks, 1997, p. 24)

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS Greg Wiggan is an Associate Professor of Urban Education, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Sociology, and Affiliate Faculty Member of Africana Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. His research addresses urban education and urban sociology in the context of school processes that promote high achievement among African American students and other underserved minority student populations. In doing so, his research also examines the broader connections between the history of urbanization, globalization processes and the internationalization of education in urban schools. His books include: Global Issues in Education: Pedagogy, Policy, Practice, and the Minority Experience; Education in a Strange Land: Globalization, Urbanization, and Urban Schools –The Social and Educational Implications of the Geopolitical Economy; Curriculum Violence: America’s new Civil Rights Issue; and Education for the New Frontier: Race, Education and Triumph in Jim Crow America 1867-1945. Jean Walrond is an instructor at Concordia University College of Alberta and Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Her research interests are in cultural capital, social capital, and political capital as predictors of wealth and community aspiration.

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INDEX # 20th century, 15, 27, 40, 46, 47, 54, 94 21st century, 49, 167

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A abolition, 31, 36, 38 Abraham, 39 access, 11, 43, 64, 86, 99, 119, 137, 162 accounting, 105 acculturation, 43 action research, 186 activism, 36, 80, 85, 91, 95, 97, 128, 129, 132, 137 administrators, 65, 111, 125, 140, 165, 167 adolescent female, 147 adolescents, 117, 158, 190 adult education, 182 adulthood, 172 adults, 95, 111 advancement, 45, 210 aesthetics, 23 Africa, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 17, 18, 23, 28, 29, 30, 34, 35, 36, 39, 46, 47, 54, 83, 127, 128, 174, 178, 180, 183, 184, 188, 190, 191, 192 African Americans, 35, 39, 46, 61, 71, 73, 93, 95, 96, 215 African languages, 30, 45

age, 11, 42, 76, 88, 92, 97, 98, 101, 103, 104, 105, 117, 118, 121, 138, 166, 180 agencies, 201, 202, 203 aggression, 107 agriculture, 2, 10, 105 alienation, 129 ambivalence, 135 American culture, 114, 149, 190 American Educational Research Association, 171 ancestors, 24, 30, 32, 36, 42, 45 anger, 72 anthropology, 57, 58, 60, 195, 196 anxiety, 65, 73 appetite, 14 articulation, 83 Asia, 15, 36, 54, 174 aspiration, 43, 217 assessment, 92, 127 assets, 24 assimilation, 65 asylum, 18 athletes, 113, 114, 146, 148, 149, 185 athleticism, 114 atrocities, 10, 25, 27, 35 attitudes, 36, 78, 88, 92, 124, 139, 202 authority(s), 4, 11, 13, 17, 101, 111, 121, 123, 124, 146, 152, 207 autonomy, 13 autopsy, 78

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Index

220

awareness, 67, 68, 69, 74, 75, 116, 127, 128, 130, 135, 136, 166

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B backlash, 107 bail, 107 Bank of Canada, 108 banks, 77, 94, 108 Barbados, 24, 29, 46, 104, 172 barriers, 166, 202 base, 4, 202 basic needs, 148 bauxite, 2 behaviors, 60, 61, 92, 100, 103, 126, 139, 143 benefits, 70, 147 benign, 80 bias, 139, 202 Bible, 13, 14, 18, 25, 44, 119 birds, 36, 169 Black students, 112, 114, 139, 150, 175 Blacks, 14, 29, 30, 31, 32, 35, 36, 38, 39, 40, 43, 44, 45, 46, 52, 73, 83, 93, 94, 95, 96, 107, 148, 194 blame, 15 bleaching, 23, 135 blood, 170 bones, 6 border control, 49 border crossing, 116 brass, 33 Brazil, 2, 29, 67, 198 breakdown, 172 Britain, 12, 14, 22, 38, 40, 41, 174 British colonialism, 11, 38 brothers, 19, 28, 192 bullying, 143 burn, 107, 173, 180, 198 businesses, 91, 108 buyers, 94

C Cabinet, 96 cancer, 17 candidates, 70, 72 capitalism, 70, 175 Caribbean countries, 125, 162 case study, 186, 197 cash, 215 catastrophic failure, 127 Catholic Church, 9, 11, 13, 14 Catholic school, 138, 139 cattle, 9 Caucasians, 71 CBS, 186 Census, 194 certificate, 82, 104, 105, 117 challenges, 10, 54, 72, 93, 137, 138, 142, 143, 151, 153, 156, 165 chaos, 41 Chicago, 34, 174, 181, 183, 191, 195 childhood, 20, 42 childrearing, 160 China, 6, 7, 38, 167 cholera, 10 Christianity, 3, 7, 8, 19, 173, 184 Christians, 9 CIA, 175 circulation, 69 cities, 11, 92, 101 citizens, 75, 79, 99, 126, 131, 132, 137, 201 citizenship, 190, 197 civil rights, 47 civil servants, 40 civil war, 24, 36, 41 civilization, 3, 8, 174, 178 classes, 42, 108, 131, 142, 156 classification, 99 classroom, 57, 61, 65, 68, 69, 71, 73, 89, 102, 139, 141, 146, 158, 166, 176, 177 classroom settings, 71 clients, 108 climate, 2, 96, 110, 125, 126, 128 closure, 107 clothing, 62, 163, 186

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Index coffee, 33 coherence, 166 collaboration, 174 colleges, 70, 106, 126, 156, 182 colonial rule, 126, 137 colonization, 4, 7, 9, 14, 24, 29, 39, 57, 129, 132, 136, 158, 215 color, 3, 19, 83, 192 commerce, 36 commodity, 132 communication, 59 community support, 160 compensation, 64 complexity, 64 composers, 77 comprehension, 46 computer, 150 conception, 12 conceptualization, 112 conference, 195, 196, 198 conflict, 5, 28, 129, 177 confrontation, 95 Congress, 39 connectivity, 20 consciousness, 61, 71, 77, 129, 164, 169, 175, 181, 189 consent, 186, 206 consolidation, 7 Constitution, 40, 79, 205 construction, 59, 171 consulting, 10 consumption, 60, 189 consumption patterns, 60 contextualization, 40 contradiction, 148 controversies, 183, 188 convention, 7 conversations, 88, 121, 159 cooking, 6, 121 cooling, 2 cooperation, 211 copper, 9 corruption, 54 cost, 53, 118, 119 cotton, 163

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counseling, 145, 184 country of origin, 92, 96 cracks, 145 creativity, 134, 210 credentials, 144 crimes, 33 critical analysis, 75 critical thinking, 184 criticism, 171 crops, 10, 163 crown, 40 CT, 172, 176, 191 Cuba, 1, 5, 11, 29, 34, 41 cultural differences, 84, 85, 149, 173 cultural heritage, 61, 209 cultural identities, 44, 84 cultural influence, 162 cultural practices, 76, 135 cultural tradition, 28, 30, 64 cultural values, 61, 113 curricula, 116, 144, 163, 166 curriculum, 42, 68, 69, 70, 72, 73, 91, 117, 126, 127, 133, 152, 155, 158, 164, 166, 172 curriculum development, 69, 70, 91, 155

D damages, 34 dance, 76 danger, 203 data collection, 57 decolonization, 57, 75, 76, 77, 135, 158 decoration, 198 dehumanization, 68, 74, 127, 163 deinstitutionalization, 173 delusions, 186 democracy, 78, 126, 129, 183, 184, 186 demonstrations, 129 denial, 64, 72, 164 Department of Education, 67 Department of Homeland Security, 196 Department of Justice, 79, 178 depression, 49 depth, 76, 88

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Index

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despair, 74 destiny, 8, 137 destruction, 5, 107, 163, 176 developing countries, 162, 164 dignity, 126 diplomacy, 4 disability, 122 discrimination, 35, 52, 73, 79, 80, 92, 93, 94, 106, 107, 108, 109, 112, 114, 139, 140, 143, 151, 166, 205, 206, 211 diseases, 10 dislocation, 147 distribution, 194 diversity, 54, 55, 63, 66, 77, 79, 80, 81, 83, 84, 88, 105, 109, 110, 143, 155, 158, 161, 166, 173, 179, 185, 197, 206, 209, 210 DNA, 53 dogs, 31 DOI, 197 domestic violence, 53 dominance, 60, 133 Dominican Republic, 2, 16, 30, 41 donations, 131 donors, 131 dough, 169 drawing, 113, 133 dream, 1, 40, 93 duality, 67, 129

E Eastern Europe, 97 ecology, 61, 173, 174, 194, 197 economic disadvantage, 101 economic independence, 100, 137 economic power, 93 economic relations, 76, 158 economic status, 43 economic systems, 46, 63, 97, 167 economics, 104, 194 educational experience, 42, 82, 114, 121, 130, 138, 165 educational institutions, 141 educational opportunities, 43, 45, 119

educational policy, 70 educational process, 67, 68, 75, 76, 127 educational settings, 135 educational system, 72, 113, 115, 135, 144, 153, 158, 166 educators, vii, 40, 42, 54, 66, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 85, 86, 106, 112, 140, 165 egoism, 163 Egypt, 8, 29, 163, 172, 190 El Salvador, 67 elders, 197 election, 39, 103 elementary school, 98, 129 Emancipation, 40 emigration, 47, 95, 101, 215 emotion, 108 emotional well-being, 100 employees, 53 employment, 45, 92, 93, 96, 97, 99, 119, 137, 144, 160, 162, 210 employment opportunities, 93, 119, 137, 162 empowerment, 44, 70, 175, 199 enemies, 33 energy, 147 enforcement, 53 engineering, 7 England, 9, 14, 20, 22, 29, 36, 40, 47, 48, 54, 60, 103, 104, 117, 133, 136, 175 enrollment, 99 enslavement, 4, 7, 9, 10, 12, 15, 24, 25, 29, 45, 47, 100 entertainers, 114, 148 environment, 65, 69, 71, 161, 166 environmental factors, 191 epistemology, 74 equal opportunity, 82, 206, 210 equality, 31, 33, 41, 206 equipment, 38, 125 equity, 82, 93, 185 ethics, 10, 66, 177 ethnic diversity, 41 ethnic groups, 7, 44, 46, 78, 91, 157, 167, 201, 203 ethnic minority, 54, 64

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Index ethnicity, 19, 59, 60, 68, 112, 147, 171, 183, 184, 185 etiquette, 3, 141 Europe, 4, 6, 7, 10, 13, 14, 23, 36, 40, 41, 54, 117, 127, 128, 137, 159, 192 everyday life, 58 evidence, 3, 24, 29, 34, 53 evil, 9 evolution, 79, 192, 209, 210 examinations, 112 exclusion, 69, 72, 158, 199 execution, 212 exercise, 124 exile, 67 exploitation, 38, 74 exposure, 18, 108, 159, 160 expressiveness, 164 extinction, 38

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fluid, 111 food, 6, 34, 110, 120, 121, 164, 174 football, 148, 149 force, 2, 10, 31, 60, 74, 82, 92, 97, 162 formal education, 42, 44, 76, 135, 161, 162, 165, 180 formation, 13, 23, 114, 147, 186 foundations, 189 France, 9, 14, 34, 40, 184 freedom, 15, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 44, 46, 57, 74, 78, 83, 95, 128, 129, 158, 184, 195, 201, 202, 203, 205, 209 freedom of choice, 203 friendship, 162 fruits, 1, 3, 163 funding, 7, 8 funds, 202, 203

G

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F faith, 162, 192 families, vii, 20, 24, 28, 45, 48, 54, 55, 58, 59, 80, 86, 87, 89, 92, 94, 95, 97, 100, 101, 103, 104, 119, 120, 137, 153, 160, 162, 164, 165, 166, 177, 197, 215 family history, 15, 17, 18 family life, 160, 172 family members, 20, 100 family relationships, 101 family system, 101 fanaticism, 83 farms, 33, 39 fat, 169 fear(s), 5, 35, 41, 63, 64, 72, 73, 129 federal government, 77, 109, 203 feminism, 64 fibers, 163 fights, 142, 143 financial, 106, 112, 203 first generation, 18, 42, 115, 153 fish, 6, 122 fishing, 2 flight, 94 flour, 6

Galileo, 13, 183 GCE, 105, 117 gender differences, 182 gender ideology, 160 General Certificate of Education, 105, 117 general education, 143 genocide, 5, 12, 64 genre, 110, 136 geography, 15, 111, 182, 195 Germany, 9 gestures, 80 gifted, 156 global leaders, 60 globalization, 173, 186, 188, 217 God, 4, 9, 18, 29, 33, 138 google, 195 governance, 41, 125 governments, 30, 34, 41, 49, 109, 119, 125, 132, 203 governor, 44 grades, 99, 107, 122, 145, 146, 147, 150, 152, 156 grass, 1 Great Britain, 183, 184 Greater Antilles, 2, 5

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Index

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Greeks, 8 Grenada, 67, 87, 101, 102, 103, 115, 121, 130, 131, 132, 137, 153, 164, 176, 184 growth, vii, 120 guardian, 152, 157 Guatemala, 39 guidance, 23 guilty, 13, 36, 46 Guinea, 30, 67 gunpowder, 7 Guyana, 2, 5, 6, 19, 30, 31, 39, 46, 137, 190

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H hair, 8 Haiti, 2, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 39, 47, 183, 189 harmony, 5, 65, 127, 210 health, 174, 190 hegemony, 64 helplessness, 72 hemisphere, 34 heterogeneity, 84, 196 high school, 88, 97, 98, 102, 103, 105, 118, 129, 130, 131, 144, 145, 146, 148, 157, 162, 185, 186, 191, 194 higher education, 92, 104, 116 Highlands, 191 HIV, 188 HIV/AIDS, 188 home culture, 65 homes, 88, 94, 106, 120, 165 Hong Kong, 38 horses, 24 host, 45, 57, 65, 73, 84, 92, 99, 114, 143 House, 36, 96, 178, 190, 191, 196, 201, 206, 213 housing, 73, 93 human, 9, 12, 13, 18, 23, 25, 29, 32, 37, 38, 46, 58, 61, 62, 67, 69, 74, 79, 83, 95, 108, 129, 132, 166, 174, 186, 188, 189, 194, 195, 206 human development, 174 human experience, 62 human right, 79, 95, 108, 132, 166, 186 human suffering, 23, 69

humanitarianism, 163 husband, 87, 88, 161 hybridity, 113 hybridization, 65

I identification, 84, 103 identity, 15, 25, 48, 55, 57, 59, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 72, 73, 77, 78, 84, 113, 114, 115, 124, 135, 147, 155, 171, 172, 178, 183, 184, 186, 187, 196, 202, 209 identity politics, 57, 65 ideology, 12, 17, 79, 102, 147, 166, 186 illiteracy, 164 illusion, 129 image(s), 36, 60, 114, 146, 147, 157 imagination, 132 imbalances, 75 imitation, 61 immigrant experiences, 57, 89 immigrants, 48, 53, 54, 57, 63, 64, 73, 75, 77, 79, 80, 92, 93, 94, 96, 97, 99, 103, 104, 106, 108, 109, 112, 114, 115, 143, 153, 155, 162, 167, 173, 202, 203 immigration, 48, 52, 80, 94, 96, 97, 99, 182, 194, 196 imperialism, 8, 9 improvements, 112 income, 45, 67 indentured servant, 12, 18, 38 independence, 31, 33, 34, 40, 41, 43, 45, 49, 55, 77, 92, 100, 115, 117, 118, 125, 126, 127, 137, 153, 198 India, 6, 7, 15, 18, 19, 27, 29, 38, 163 Indians, 7, 11, 19, 39, 215 indigenous knowledge, 163, 194 individual development, 45 individuals, 40, 43, 44, 55, 57, 59, 60, 61, 62, 70, 79, 84, 85, 87, 88, 206, 209, 210, 211, 212 indoctrination, 133 industrial revolution, 38 industrialization, 38 industrialized countries, 117

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Index industry, 2, 109 inequality, 198 inferiority, 29, 40, 46 inflation, 97 inhumane treatment, 11 innocence, 33 insects, 31 insecurity, 147 institutions, 41, 52, 54, 57, 63, 70, 72, 73, 80, 89, 91, 94, 106, 109, 112, 127, 138, 202, 207, 210, 211 instructional materials, 81 integration, 68, 194 intelligence, 46, 133 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 79, 206 international relations, 130 internationalization, 217 inventions, 38 investors, 29 invitation to participate, 115 iron, 4 Islam, 9, 19, 173 islands, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 11, 19, 35, 38, 39, 40, 41, 45, 47, 52, 110, 132 issues, 55, 66, 68, 71, 76, 79, 80, 82, 83, 89, 105, 108, 137, 139, 140, 151, 158, 189, 197 Italy, 9

J Jamestown, 29 Japan, 9, 54 Jews, 29, 191, 193, 198 junior high school, 102 jurisdiction, 143, 203 justification, 7, 9

K kill, 107 kindergarten, 42, 117, 153 kinship, 160

225

L labor force, 11 labor shortage, 109 landscape(s), 59, 63, 65, 66, 70, 72, 73, 78, 93, 137, 158, 165, 175 language skills, 210 languages, 29, 92, 201, 202, 205, 210, 211 Latinos, 71 law enforcement, 52, 53 laws, 11, 52, 79, 81, 99, 108, 125, 178, 182, 215 lead, 22, 43, 73, 74, 83, 95, 104, 117 leadership, 27, 32, 54, 78, 131, 137, 143 learners, 68, 70, 73, 165 learning, 52, 69, 70, 71, 73, 86, 104, 122, 126, 127, 159, 167, 171, 182 learning environment, 69 legend, 20, 170 legislation, 80, 215 lending, 94 lens, 58 liberalism, 190 liberation, 67, 75, 76, 77, 136, 181 Liberia, 35, 44 liberty, 11, 12, 31, 33, 95, 195 life cycle, 152 life expectancy, 15 lifelong learning, 44 light, 82, 123, 169 linguistics, 190 literacy, 67, 117, 164, 181 loans, 94 love, vii, 23, 110, 128, 135, 162, 175, 195 loyalty, 27

M machinery, 38 mail fraud, 53 majority, 12, 14, 23, 104, 107, 108, 109, 117, 121 man, 14, 17, 18, 33, 35, 52, 53, 59, 101, 102, 106, 134, 147, 169, 173

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226

Index

management, 68, 79, 193 marches, 102 marriage, 87 masculinity, 113, 147, 148 mass, 1, 132, 176 material resources, 53, 69 materialism, 60 materials, 81, 131, 136, 177, 192 matter, 41, 61, 64, 81, 212, 213 measles, 10 media, 60, 61, 65, 107, 108, 114, 138 medical, 40 membership, 45 mentor, 42, 109, 123 Mesopotamia, 29 messages, 65 metals, 8, 9 Mexico, 3, 4, 167 microcosms, 106 middle class, 157 Middle East, 9, 36, 106 migrants, 52, 64, 100, 103, 109, 189 migration, 18, 22, 25, 48, 54, 55, 73, 91, 92, 96, 100, 105, 106, 162, 173, 190 military, 5, 7, 9, 12, 14, 28, 34, 40, 108, 133 military success, 7 militias, 11 Ministry of Education, 143 Minneapolis, 176, 183 minorities, 54, 72, 80, 94, 159, 166, 190, 191, 206 minority groups, 63, 76, 80, 135, 158 minority students, 65, 69, 72, 107, 140, 151, 155, 158, 166 misconceptions, 23, 47 missing brother, 19 mission, 3, 7, 137, 169 Missouri, 188 models, 124, 148, 185 modernity, 181 monopoly, 9 moral development, 152 mother tongue, 201 motivation, 46, 147

multicultural education, 54, 57, 85, 86, 89, 155, 158, 159, 161, 166, 173, 181, 185, 187, 193, 194 multiculturalism, 54, 64, 66, 68, 70, 71, 78, 79, 80, 81, 83, 91, 107, 113, 172, 176, 180, 181, 182, 183, 185, 187, 190, 197, 202, 203, 205, 206, 209, 210, 211, 212, 213 murder, 34, 53 music, 21, 76, 110, 124, 125, 136, 139, 140, 156, 193, 198 Muslims, 9

N naming, 25 narratives, 41, 65, 67, 85, 101, 109, 114, 135, 156, 175, 178 national borders, 159 national culture, 39, 83 national identity, 69 National Party, 137 nationalism, 60, 172 nationality, 59, 60, 79 Native Americans, 77 native population, 5, 10, 32, 38, 64 natural enemies, 33 natural resources, 163 negative consequences, 158 negative experiences, 82, 140 New Zealand, 54 Nicaragua, 67 Nigeria, 190 Nile, 173, 174 Norway, 178 nucleus, 114 nurses, 97 nursing, 98

O objectification, 84 obstacles, 42, 73 officials, 65, 96, 141, 142, 143, 145, 167

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Index OH, 176 oil, 2, 38, 109 Oklahoma, 94, 215 omission, 166 operations, 41 opportunities, 22, 27, 28, 43, 54, 69, 92, 99, 100, 116, 117, 127, 159, 161 oppression, 28, 42, 44, 67, 70, 74, 75, 83, 128, 163, 193 organ, 59 Organization of American States, 171 organize, 65, 112 outreach, 113 oversight, 115 ownership, 28

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P Pacific, 184, 190 paradigm shift, 13 parallel, 127 parental involvement, 113 parenting, 87, 161 Parliament, 78, 125, 207, 213, 214 participants, 44, 86, 87, 88, 91, 97, 99, 115, 117, 120, 121, 128, 135, 137, 143, 153, 156, 157, 164, 202 paternalism, 163 peace, 5, 27, 161 pedagogy, 54, 57, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 74, 75, 76, 77, 83, 85, 86, 113, 116, 128, 130, 135, 136, 137, 158, 163, 179, 181, 182, 184, 185, 189, 196 pediatrician, 138 peer group, 124 performers, 76 permission, 13, 86, 123 permit, 63, 144 perseverance, 41 personal autonomy, 160 personal development, 45 personal goals, 63 personal relations, 157 personal relationship, 157 personality, 189

227

Philadelphia, 179, 190, 192, 198 physical education, 148 piano, 124 pipeline, 48 piracy, 11, 34 pitch, 3 platform, 126 playing, 21, 149, 150 pleasure, 132 pluralism, 43, 113, 201 poetry, 126, 134 poison, 6 police, 52, 53, 54, 103 policy, 39, 42, 54, 72, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 96, 97, 106, 107, 113, 158, 162, 178, 181, 182, 187, 197, 201, 202, 203, 206, 209, 210, 211, 212, 213 policy makers, 97, 106 political force, 84 political leaders, 137 political party, 126 politics, 33, 41, 64, 65, 68, 72, 73, 83, 84, 85, 102, 106, 113, 114, 116, 130, 131, 175, 176, 177, 181, 182, 183, 189, 191, 195, 199, 202 polygamy, 39 population, 10, 12, 14, 16, 17, 22, 28, 30, 35, 36, 40, 41, 44, 54, 80, 94, 106, 126, 155, 160, 178, 194, 215 population growth, 94 port of entry, 96 Portugal, 9, 10, 14 Portuguese colonies, 14 positive attitudes, 92 positive reinforcement, 122 poverty, 54, 67, 69, 121, 160, 167, 190 power relations, 68, 72, 112 practical knowledge, 66 praxis, 66, 74, 75, 181, 195 prayer, 32 predictability, 70 prejudice, vii, 23, 33, 35, 43, 46, 52, 91, 140 preparation, 6, 155 preservation, 6, 30, 159, 205, 211 preservative, 6

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Index

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228 presidency, 39 president, 16, 24, 130 prestige, 69 primacy, 66, 127 primary school, 118, 132 prior knowledge, 70 professionalism, 195 professionals, 160, 190 programming, 116 project, 75, 76, 86, 113, 211 propaganda, 29, 34, 44, 46 proposition, 6, 75 protection, 23, 79, 205, 206, 209 Protestants, 13 psychologist, 138 psychology, 45, 84, 99, 174 public education, 54, 85, 86, 118, 127 public interest, 187 public life, 130 public schools, 54, 65, 69, 85, 86, 87, 115, 117, 139, 160 public support, 202 public welfare, 33 publishing, 107 Puerto Rico, 2, 4, 41 punishment, 33, 121, 122 purity, 83

Q Quakers, 13, 36 qualifications, 138, 152 qualitative research, 172, 175, 176, 177, 179, 180, 181, 183, 186, 187, 188, 191, 192, 193, 195, 196 questioning, 13, 71 quotas, 118

R race, 15, 39, 40, 52, 58, 59, 60, 66, 68, 71, 73, 82, 93, 96, 171, 173, 174, 176, 181, 184, 185, 187, 194, 206, 211

racism, vii, 12, 14, 23, 46, 52, 73, 76, 82, 83, 92, 93, 94, 108, 109, 114, 138, 140, 155, 157, 166, 175, 176, 177, 181, 183, 187, 199 radicalism, 189 radicals, 107 reading, 30, 121, 128, 133, 164, 166, 181 real estate, 12, 93 reality, 11, 65, 113, 147, 158, 178, 210, 211 reasoning, 69 rebelliousness, 129 recall, 102, 123, 201 recognition, 64, 83, 84, 180, 183, 195, 210 recommendations, 77, 82, 161, 201, 202, 203 recruiting, 34, 38 redistribution, 180 reform, 133 regulations, 14 reinforcement, 9, 30, 185 rejection, 124 relatives, 16, 32 relevance, 176 reliability, 192 religion, 7, 8, 9, 14, 25, 41, 63, 81, 174, 205, 206 religious beliefs, 9 religious traditions, 9 remittances, 45 repatriate, 35 repression, 76, 158 reproduction, 69 reputation, 69, 147 requirements, 96, 97, 144, 145, 149 researchers, 3, 46, 47, 88 resettlement, 188 resilience, 93 resistance, 4, 20, 25, 31, 34, 36, 79, 84, 95, 109, 174, 182, 189, 191, 194 resources, 38, 48, 53, 158, 202, 203 response, 77, 78, 108, 126, 136, 141, 143, 167, 203 restaurants, 80 retail, 77 rewards, 17, 124

Following the Northern Star: Caribbean Identities and Education in North American Schools : Caribbean Identities and

Index rhetoric, 172 rhythm, 136, 140 rights, 12, 28, 33, 43, 46, 64, 77, 79, 95, 172, 175, 190, 205, 206 risk, 7, 41 Roman Catholic Church, 9, 11, 13, 14 Roman Catholics, 7 root(s), 6, 32, 111, 147, 173, 184, 198 routes, 7 rules, 158 rural areas, 109 Russia, 9

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S San Salvador, 3, 4, 5 savings, 67 scholarship, 89, 187, 211 scholastic achievement, 165 school achievement, 198 school activities, 110 school culture, 113, 123 school failure, 139, 140 school success, 155, 156, 175, 191 schooling, 42, 66, 86, 87, 98, 99, 103, 104, 116, 117, 118, 121, 125, 130, 145, 156, 175, 182, 186, 191, 195 science, 105, 156, 171, 186 scope, 65, 167 secondary education, 117, 118, 171 secondary schools, 118, 175 second-class citizens, 43 seed, 163 segregation, 14, 65, 72 self-actualization, 25, 30, 46, 74 self-awareness, 57, 140, 158 self-concept, 124 self-confidence, 127 self-esteem, 119, 122, 124, 139 self-knowledge, 132, 136 Senate, 96, 206, 214 sensing, 3 separatism, 91 September 11, 49 services, 86, 213

229

settlements, 11, 12, 30, 32 sex, 182 sexism, 73 sexual desire, 101 sexual orientation, 71 sexuality, 71 shape, 59, 63, 137, 188 shock, 35, 93 shock waves, 35 shoot, 103 shortage, 108, 118 siblings, 22, 42 Sierra Leone, 34, 35 silver, 4, 9, 163 singers, 76, 136 skills training, 104 skin, 8, 19, 23, 31, 83, 135, 179 slavery, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 20, 23, 27, 29, 30, 31, 33-36, 38, 39, 41, 43, 44, 45, 63, 92, 95, 160, 164, 176, 178, 198 slaves, 10, 11, 14, 16, 20, 24, 27, 29-31, 34, 36-40, 44, 45, 63, 64, 95, 101, 178 smallpox, 10 soccer, 131 social capital, 118, 141, 217 social change, 67, 68, 69, 81, 132, 135, 137, 179, 188 social class, 39, 43, 71, 97, 125, 166 social construct, 58, 176 social context, 45, 55, 89, 111 social control, 76 social group, 58, 60 social inequalities, 60, 69 social institutions, 59, 61, 63, 80 social integration, 203 social justice, 74, 108, 182 social network, 48 social oppression, 13, 82 social problems, 74, 138 social promotion, 19, 22 social psychology, 186 social reality, 71 social relations, 92 social structure, 9, 17, 57, 60, 186 social theory, 180, 183, 187, 193, 199

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230

Index

socialism, 190 socialization, 61, 114 socioeconomic status, 92, 101, 118 sociology, 43, 57, 58, 60, 171, 176, 189, 196, 199, 217 solar system, 13 solidarity, 35, 69, 75, 84, 129 solution, 66, 97, 127 South Africa, 76 South America, 2, 3, 6, 7, 11, 28, 29, 54, 159 South Asia, 39, 97, 163, 173 sovereignty, 38 Soviet Union, 130 Spain, 3, 4, 5, 6-11, 14, 17, 21, 40, 41, 133 speculation, 139 speech, 34, 75, 135 spending, 53 spin, 163 spirituality, 15, 23, 63 St. Petersburg, 192 staff members, 107 stakeholders, 65, 75, 85, 86, 161 starvation, 40 state(s), 8, 10, 14, 30, 31, 32, 39, 44, 45, 47, 63, 79, 81, 82, 84, 92, 96, 116, 125, 129, 133, 134, 162, 183, 212, 215 state control, 125 statistics, 196 statutes, 79 stereotypes, 83, 147 stereotyping, 147, 155 stratification, 59, 125 stress, 102, 119, 160 structural barriers, 93 structure, 59, 60, 97, 108, 123, 139, 152, 194 student achievement, 55, 84 student populations, 217 style, 3, 95, 159 subjectivity, 178 suicide, 10 Sun, 170 supernatural, 3 supervision, 67, 82

supervisors, 102, 124 suppression, 25, 127, 178 survivors, 40 Sweden, 188 Switzerland, 126 syndrome, 138 systemic change, 82, 128

T Tanzania, 67 teacher relationships, 193 teacher training, 140 teaching strategies, 75 techniques, 68 technology, 38 teens, 53 temperament, 152 tension(s), 64, 65, 75, 112 territory, 3 terrorists, 49 tertiary education, 117, 119 testing, 118, 138 textbooks, 118 texture, 31 theatre, 195 Third World, 160 threats, 52, 147 throws, 174 tides, 23 time-frame, 83 tourism, 2 trade, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 29, 34, 37, 101, 104, 105, 128, 129, 131, 162, 178 trade union, 129 traditions, 23, 60, 63, 64, 136 trainees, 65 training, 44, 73, 116, 125, 131, 155 Transatlantic Slave Trade, 9, 14, 15, 40, 63 transformation, 69 transportation, 38, 118 trauma, 5 treaties, 12, 27, 28 treatment, 11, 16, 36, 43, 44, 92, 140, 209 trial, 13

Following the Northern Star: Caribbean Identities and Education in North American Schools : Caribbean Identities and

Index Trinidad, 2, 3, 5, 11, 19, 24, 39, 41, 43, 47, 87, 99, 100, 104, 105, 108, 110, 111, 120, 125-128, 131, 133, 136, 137, 164, 171, 180, 185, 188, 189, 191, 195, 198 Trinidad and Tobago, 2, 3, 5, 24, 39, 41, 47, 87, 105, 108, 110, 125, 126, 127, 128, 131, 137, 164, 171, 180, 185, 191, 198 Turks, 2 tutoring, 42, 160 twist, 12 typhus, 10

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U unification, 35 uniform, 123 United Kingdom, 9, 22, 103, 115, 179, 197 United States, 2, 9, 37, 48, 49, 51, 73, 92, 93, 105, 107, 117, 126, 147, 149, 178, 191 universe, 13 universities, 8, 40, 106, 125 urban, 52, 54, 92, 96, 109, 112, 191, 217 urban areas, 109 urban schools, 217 urbanization, 217 UWI, 176

231

W wages, 73 walking, 150 war, 9, 14, 28, 34, 40 Washington, 171, 174, 192, 196 water, 3 watershed, 107 wealth, 4, 11, 15, 38, 54, 118, 217 weapons, 5, 14, 31 web, 23 welding, 105 West Africa, 16, 17, 27, 29, 30, 35, 37, 44, 136 West Indies, 6, 11, 108, 125, 126, 171, 172, 179, 188, 191, 195, 198 Western Europe, 12, 36, 159 work ethic, 92 workers, 12, 16, 17, 18, 19, 38, 40, 97, 109, 165, 180, 182, 189 workforce, 10, 97, 109 working conditions, 73 working mothers, 121 workplace, 92, 109 World War I, 97 worldview, 59, 73, 115

X V xenophobia, 91 Vatican, 13 vegetables, 6 Venezuela, 2 venue, 88 victims, 15, 64 violence, 10, 54, 74, 78, 111, 167, 178 vision, 80, 132, 137, 194 volunteerism, 120, 151 voting, 215

Y Yale University, 191 young people, 45, 106

Following the Northern Star: Caribbean Identities and Education in North American Schools : Caribbean Identities and