by Oliver Benoit, PhD, MFA
Professor of Sociology, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, SGU
The recent demonstration against the alleged violent abuse of a “Black Grenadian” by a “white foreigner” as reported in the media, in the vicinity of Fort Jeudy on Saturday, 27 June, should cause all citizens and residents of Grenada to reflect on why it ignited fervent dialogues about racism in Grenada.
As I listened to some of those discussions on the local media, I became convinced that the United States 24 hour TV news channels are having a devastating effect on the population of Grenada; the inability to contextualise events as they unfold in other societies.
The Black Lives Matter-led protest in the United States sparked by the murder of George Floyd, is one of many acts of police brutality of African Americans that has resonated across the world, including here in Grenada. This awareness is welcomed, but it must be understood within the long history of systemic racial discrimination in the United States that serves to disadvantage Black people in all areas of life including healthcare, education, housing, banking, among others. Grenada and the USA share a history of slavery by Europeans. However, the distinctiveness of Grenadian society renders attempts to explain racism in Grenada, through the lens and experiences of racial discrimination in the United States, is somewhat futile.
When Grenadians decided to protest against racism in Fort Jeudy, because (1) a “white” or “Caucasian” person is alleged to have violently abused a “black” Grenadian over the killing of a family dog, and (2) the Grenadian police not detaining the “white man” for the “racist attack,” such an incident has to be a matter of concern and reflection for all Grenadians. The concern and reflection must be about the way we consume news events from the United States or elsewhere, while assuming that a similar version of events is taking place in Grenada. The danger is that we run the risk of importing concepts of racism from the United States into Grenada and applying it to local situations such as this alleged act of violence over the death of the family dog.
While I am in no position to say that the alleged acts of violence on the presumed victim was not racially motivated, my concerns are that the protesters were using slogans that appear to parrot those of the United States protesters who are struggling against entrenched racism in that country. This approach runs the risk of misunderstanding the nature of racism in Grenada and how it affects our society.
For this reason, it is necessary to explain what racism is and how it operates. Racism is socially constructed. The idea of “races” appears to have entered our consciousness at the inception of colonialism and slavery. The concept of racism became useful as a justification for European exploitation and conquest of foreign lands and the subjection of the people. We can define racism as the prejudice of someone based on the colour of one’s skin or “ethnic” origin. Racism may manifest itself in institutional ways where one group exercises power over the other based on those prejudices. Those who hold political and economic power always invent concepts that allow them to maintain a privileged position in society. So, it was still useful to believe that people without power are somewhat inferior — not quite human. In the United States, over time, the discrimination and perceived inferiority of African Americans have become cultural so that people can be racist without recognising it. It is not surprising that many white Americans did not recognise the extent and brutality of racism in their country until they were forced into national pause due to Covid-19 and then consumed the video of the murder of George Floyd.
Historically, the social relations of Grenadian society developed on the basis of slavery founded on the dehumanisation of Blacks. After the abolition of slavery in 1833, race and class became the basis of the stratification system of Grenada. Throughout that history, particularly from the 1950s onwards, class may have become more critical than race. The rise of Eric Gairy and even the 1979 Grenada Revolution alerted the expression and experience of racism in Grenada. What that means is that racism after Gairy was quite different since he made it possible for darker-skinned Grenadians to work in the public service, banks and other businesses that once only employed whites or brown-skinned Grenadians. The point is that race and class as developed through colonialism, was always central to Grenadian social life, so racism has always existed in Grenada. Though some will contend that the Gairy Social Revolution of the 1950s eliminated racism, but this is not the case — racism continued. However, concepts like “Caucasian,” “White,” or “Black Grenadian” are rarely used in the Grenadian context to describe the racism that exists here. Perhaps “white” or “Caucasian,” constitute such a small percentage of the Grenadian population and may not hold political and social power for racism to express itself as a Black/white issue, without broadening the definition to include class and others often referred to as light or brown-skinned. It is well known that those identified as white here — invariably include brown-skinned descendants of slaves and former white plantation owners — will never be considered white in the United States. The racism that exists in Grenada today has to be understood within this context — the historical development of race and class.
Racism in Grenada should not be equated with racism in the United States. If we do, we run the risk of importing racism that does not exist and ignoring the peculiar nature of racism and other prejudices that permeate Grenada social and economic life.
First, there is the problem with internalised racism that has been ignored in Grenada; white and brown-skinned superiority is accepted and that power at times is exercised racially — in restaurants, hotels, and important enterprises in this country. There are many instances where Grenadians are denied opportunities because their nose is too wide or their skin tone is too black. If it were the case that the police should have detained that couple, it might well be that those officers were affected by internal racism.
Second, our reliance on foreign investors may place us in a compromising position, thereby accepting racist behaviour for economic gain. Such behaviour can affect our workers in those enterprises, particularly where local managers can play the role of “house slaves” to the detriment of workers, and workers do not feel that they have a voice because of their underprivileged existence determined by race and class.
Third, we should not forget that we still engage in the use of derogatory name-calling of people with darker skin tones. And other forms of violence that are accepted in our societies such as the legally allowed and explicit prejudices against the LGBTQ2 community in Grenada.
Finally, as Grenada becomes more interdependent on the increasingly globalised world, racism invented as part of the colonised project will not go away unless we confront it with strong institutions where the population becomes more critical and reflective of media that is produced and consumed. As a nation, we must become aware of all forms of discrimination in our society.
How do I get to visit Grenada I’m from Tanzania
While this commentary appears well written, it seems very confusing and misleading in the sense that it does not provide any functional definitions for “racism”, “ethnicity”, “African American”, “Caucasian”, “White”, “Black” and other critical terms used:
-First, empirical evidence shows that racism has nothing to do with prejudice as I can go about prejudging things/people all day long and not be a racist;
– Second, if racism has something to do with colour, what colour is an “African American” or a “Caucasian” or an “Ethnic” person? What colour are the victims of racism?
-Third, is an “African American” person necessarily equivalent to a “Black” person by definition?
-Forth, is a “Caucasian” person necessarily equivalent to a “White” person by definition?
-Fifth, what is the relationship to “ethnicity” by use of the terms “African American”, “Caucasian”, “Black” or “White”?
Lastly, the commentary seems to ignore that racism is a global system by attempting to regionalize the varied impacts on victims and victims’ inter-influenced reaction to racism in the form or demonstrations, so-called classism, etc., which are merely manifestations of ways to hopefully cope with racism.
Dr. Benoit, I must say that I wholeheartedly agree with your second concluding point i.e. our reliance on foreign investment has placed us in a comprising position – we accept poor treatment because we are in “need” of their resources.
What I found interesting and even one-sided was your conclusion that we are patterning after the USA media. It is common knowledge for years that the US forms a large part of our influence… in dress, morals etc.. you mentioned LGBTQ…. isn’t it the same US media that influences the one’s here to come out and “stand up for their so call right”. Isn’t it the US media that shows us through commercials and TV shows that is an acceptable lifestyle and they shouldn’t be ashamed? Isn’t it the US media that shows us clips of “pride parades”? Isn’t it the US that passed laws for same sex marriage? The same US influence that says if we want to receive certain funding etc we must sign unto certain “human rights regulations ” of “equality” and we must go against the bible (like many US states have banned prayers and other religious activities in school etc.) to remove our laws that state buggary is illegal in Grenada?
So if we followed the US pattern all these years and we still continue to do so…. how come all of a sudden we must stop following it when it has to deal with racism? Isn’t that convenient? We must leave it alone because no one wants to speak about it? Fight for all other rights just don’t speak about white vs black?
Let’s do better …..
I have considerable respect for Oliver Benoit – I admire his art work immensely and therefor implicitly his brilliant mind and thought processes. However I think it is important to also important to highlight two related facts:
1. The human race is obsessed with social and economic Supramacy – be it based on race, tribe, religion, or financial gain. Look across the world and you will find numerous examples of it.
2. Grenadian politics itself is extremely discrimatory. Paradoxically, the people in positions of power deliberately suppress black initiative in favour of white privilidges.
These two schism place us in a fourth dimension: we are not happy promoting our own kind, bend over backwards to embrace and proactively promote white privilidge (obnoxious duty and tax free concessions to foreign investors who are mostly white) and then “complain” about the very privilidged positions that we have willingly granted them.
A very good analysis of racism in Grenada. I would like however to add a couple of valid points to the narrative that we Grenadians should not become to engaged in the BLM movement. I am of the belief that racism affect black and brown people everywhere. It permeate our very being and will take as long as it was experienced to eradicate that inferiority complex that black people experienced over the 400 years of slavery. Example: as I drove along the Tanteen road a couple years ago at “walking speed” I was able to overheard a conversation by some AGHS students discussing “as girls do” some activity of the day which were not unusual but what caught my ear was the statement by one student thus: For a Red girl she too stupid! Why did that young lady perceived that a Red girl should be smarter than girls of darker colour? Such thinking must be eradicated and only time and the BLM movement will bring about the desired result
I think this article grievously misunderstands the significance of the ongoing Black Lives Matter demonstrations in the US, in the context of the
Covid-19 pandemic, the economic crisis it has precipitated, and the polarizing, white supremacist presidency of Donald Trump. This significance is precisely that it draws attention to the global reach of white supremacy (the demonstrations have occurred in more than 50 countries worldwide, and not only in Grenada), meaning that white supremacist attitudes, beliefs, agendas, and behaviors thoroughly and completely undergird every aspect of everyday life everywhere on the planet, and that the solution has to be global too. The pandemic, and Trump’s impending gotterdammerung, throw in a terrifying touch of urgency: whatever solutions we come up with to our social problems, many if not most of them directly linked to racism and white supremacy, better work —or we’re dead. More specifically, racism in Grenada is: high rates of dropping out of school and failure among High school students of working class or farming backgrounds; very high youth unemployment, teenage pregnancy, mental health problems and alcoholism; poverty and food insecurity; lack of ready access to quality health care; family and community dysfunctions; etc. Effective solutions would include a universal basic minimum wage, and a complete overhaul of the educational and health care systems, and job creation. When a white family in Ft. Jeudy manifests behaviors that remind us of global white supremacy and its global adverse consequences, which actually spread the disease, worsen the attendant economic crisis, and fuel Trumpism, use of the Black Lives Matter rhetoric and the movement’s organizational techniques is very appropriate. What’s needed in addition, instead of a lecture on the history of Caribbean race relations, is a specific Grenadian plan for working on the solutions.
The only racist here is you, Andy.
Good analysis! However I would like you to expand on the phrase “descendants of plantation owners.” Plantation owners never really lived on their plantation s in the islands. Plantations were run by lawyers and mostly Irish overseers. Unless in the latter times when the said lawyers an creole business men bought up estates when the system was under the strain of the abolition movement. And the preceding abolishment of the slave trade.
I agree with this article, it makes a lot of very valid and true points. I think jumping on the BLM movement of the US is not what is needed here but Grenada and Grenadians need to address the long-standing effects of Colorism, Status and class and how these things affect race in the Grenadian society.
Racism been alive and kicking worldwide and social media is bringing it to us at a faster pace than before so we acting on that evidence.
Some black folks still think some white folks are better than them hence the issues we are dealing with when there are any disputes between the races.