Caribupdate Weekly
February 6, 2013
By Lincoln Depradine
This 39th year of independence is as good a time as any to reexamine Sir Eric Matthew Gairy, the “Father of Independence’’ and our first prime minister in 1974.
Let’s relook Gairy not to debate his politics, economic and social programs, or his ideology. But let’s put Gairy under the microscope to see whether he represents something Grenadians would rather deny or pretend doesn’t exist in our country – prejudice based on skin colour or “colourism’’.
Like other Caribbean and African countries, Grenada’s slave and colonial history was steeped in the superiority of one race over another; and the standards of all things – including beauty, aesthetic, and law and order – were established and enforced by the domineering slave and colonial rulers.
Before and after emancipation and independence – often willingly but many times unconsciously – we embraced what the slave and colonial masters had created, even when doing so was damaging to our psyche and instilled self-hate in us.
And, nowhere is that psychic damage and self-hate more prevalent in Grenada than in the way we treat with skin colour. Even parents are known to practise “colourism’’, showing preference to a child of light complexion over a dark-skinned child.
The parents, truly, may not be aware of displaying preference, and would vehemently deny it and fly into a fitful rage, at the charge against them. But, it is not uncommon to hear parents and other adults still today – as in the past – refer to someone as “ugly,’’ not because of any facial, physical disfigurement; but only because the person is black.
Conversely, a “nice’’ child may only be “nice’’ just by the luck of having a light skin tone or “pretty’’ hair that doesn’t require a cornrow plait.
Gairy was no saint; but neither have been any of our other prime ministers. Gairy’s positive contributions to our nation have been significantly downplayed. And, it’s absolutely certain that, in part, his negatives have been overplayed and overemphasized because he was black; and he received a lot of blows and was rejected, in part, because he was black.
Starting with Gairy, we have had eight prime ministers since independence. Of the eight – and again, none has been a saint – think about the two who have been branded with labels such as “evil,’’ “devil,’’ “witchcraft’’ and “obeah’’. Perhaps, they deserve the labelling; or, perhaps, it’s mere coincidence that the two are our darkest prime ministers.
But, perhaps, it is likely not deserving or coincidental; and, it really has to do with something in our psychic makeup that causes us to automatically attach black with evil and with bad people and things.
Grenada may not have the race tensions of Guyana or Trinidad and Tobago; or the dangerous obsession of some black Jamaicans to bleaching their skins. But, we are in denial of how judgmental and prejudicial we are when it comes to skin colour.
The problem of “colourism’’ may not be as bad as Gairy faced when he burst onto the scene in 1951 and in subsequent years as a labour and political leader. Nonetheless, it’s a lingering – mostly subtle – problem that we’ll do good to admit with a view to eradicating.
And, as a matter of full disclosure, I am black. I’m also from a staunch Gairyite family.
On this 39th anniversary of independence, I’m proud to claim both my Africaness and my working class Gairyite roots.
