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.