Thinking About "The Emergence of Colorism in the Americas"

This is an extremely interesting topic to me. Not just how these prejudices developed but how that even after over half a century later, these issues are still prevalent in today's society. Growing up as a black kid in the Caribbean, the "white people" were the minority. Thus the racism or the perpetual hate between blacks and white were as prevailing as it is in the US. In fact the main source or racial divide are between people of African descent and Indians from India(not indigenous).

My family is a mixture of both cultures but predominantly black. It was common place to be skeptical of and not to associate with Indians or "coolies" the derogatory term often used. This was not a matter of the color of skin but in fact just racism due to culture and origin. This is because many people of Indian descent are very dark, if not just as dark as people with African roots.

Sadly this is not just a local thing. This is a national issue. The two main political parties are seemingly based on African or Indian. Where people will vote just by if the candidate is the same as them and not if they are better. Entire towns are pretty much divided up as Black or Indian communities. Schools, hospitals, businesses etc are all swayed one way or the other. Occasions like Carnival and sports unite the country and it a lot better now as education for the population has increased but it is still a problem.

It is interesting that looking back on history, the racial divide, came about from, you guessed it, slavery. Most of the Indian population came over as indentured laborers who came over and took over for the Blacks who were being emancipated. The Indians workers worked the plantations worked and settles mostly in the central areas, where as the Blacks spread out the North as well as the far South. Thus, when slavery officially ended and the Indians contracts were up, there was already a divide in the country. Most of the Blacks were Christian and most of the Indians, Hindu(with a small percentage Muslim). This meant a huge difference in culture and beliefs. When Independence was gained, both sides the majority, had to grapple for power as the common enemy, the British are now gone. This is probably where the racial intensity really bubbled over and was solidified.

While the racism might not violent and disgusting as it did in the US, it was still a problem, As for colorism, that was also there as there several instances Blacks who were of a lighter shade got much more preferential treatment as those that were darker.

My Opinion on Class and Politics of Writing

Feminism is something that to me, is brushed off in modern society. Most people I know, male and female, think most of the feminist fight is over. However we see multiple examples to day of females being treated differently just because of the gender. One prevalent form is not being paid the same. This even happens in the white house of all places. It took a graphic video of Ray Rice punching his fiancee at the time for him to get the appropriate punishment. Things like these might not be explicitly what Bell Hooks was speaking about in the book but implicitly she is talking about the rights for women, no matter the race, to be afforded the same rights as men and to be treated equally.

Some might point to her article as being race driven but to me the way she patterned her narrative, she was trying her best to avoid that stigma. She made sure not signal out race when she referred to the men in charge. She mentioned women of different races to make her topic balanced and diverse. Trying to make this only abut race, while it is surely a factor, is a narrow view of a larger issue she was trying to address.

Little Failure Response

Little Failure was an interesting read for the most part. As an immigrant myself, some of Shteyngart concerns resonated with me. I too worried about fitting into my new surroundings. I also stuck to my own Caribbean community as I assimilated myself into society. Trying to stay true to my Caribbean roots while embracing being "American" is something I also identify with.

It was also interesting to know about his Russian Jewish upbringing. Of course when you read this memoir, you take most of his accounts with a grain of salt but most of the things he mentioned lines up with brief research into that culture. Comparing it to mine, it wasn't all that different. I grew up with my grandmother and her too had her homemade remedies(that may or may not work) and her superstitions which I found most to be funny than life or death.

Of course there were things I didn't identify with or found odd, like his explanation of racism and the way he didn't mention his wife by name or even really addressed her. The contradictory statements/recollections were head scratching as well. Overall though I don't think reading it was a waste of time and as I said it was interesting.