“๐๐ง ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ข๐๐, ๐ ๐๐๐๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ค๐ ๐ ๐ก๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐ง ๐๐๐ข๐ง๐ .” โ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
I was pondering what I should write about on this last day of Black History Month when I came across an old newspaper article from the Jamaican Gleaner posted in one a WhatsApp group.
The quote from Dr. King grabbed my attention:
“๐๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ข๐ช๐ค๐ข, ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฆ, ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐๐ข๐ฑ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฆ, ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ช๐ข๐ฏ๐ด, ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐๐ฆ๐จ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฆ๐ด, ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐๐ฏ๐จ๐ญ๐ช๐ด๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ, ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐ฅ๐ช๐ข๐ฏ๐ด. ๐๐ถ๐ต ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ช๐จ ๐ง๐ข๐ฎ๐ช๐ญ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ข๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ฏ๐ด. ๐๐ฏ ๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ข๐ช๐ค๐ข, ๐ ๐ง๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ฉ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ!”
Hear me out on this one…
Growing up in Jamaica, I didnโt know I was Blackโnot because I wasnโt, but because that wasnโt how we identified ourselves. We were Jamaicans, first.
I remember writing a letter to the editor of the Jamaican Gleaner age 11, asking why some adults were saying we should “go back to Africa.” I argued that we were Jamaicans and should stay in Jamaica because we wouldnโt even know where in Africa our ancestors came from. Of course, as I grew older and learned more about world history and slavery, I understood.
In Jamaica, whether you were Black, Chinese, Indian, or light-skinned, we didnโt grow up carrying the racial trauma of being told there were places we couldnโt go or positions we couldnโt hold because of our race.
Now, before you start thinking I am (or was) naรฏve, let me be clearโyes, colourism existed. But growing up, we didnโt fully grasp it.
Later in life, we learned that the lighter your skin colour, or if you were considered โJamaica Whiteโ, the more likely you were to get jobs in banks, for example. By the time I started working, things had started to change. In fact, after college, I had two job offers, and one was with a bank. I turned it down for more money at the other. ๐ฐ
Why am I saying all this? Because Jamaica’s national motto is “Out of Many One People”. As children, we grew up knowing in our heads and hearts that we could be anything we wanted to be if we studied and worked hard.
It wasnโt until I came to North America that I quickly learned how much skin colour could determine how fast one could advance in the corporate world. A rude awakeningโbut the Jamaican in me wouldnโt settle for that.
As I reflect on Black History Month, I truly wish we could all say, like Dr. King, “We are all one big family,” but thatโs not the reality.
The backlash against DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) and the rollback of certain rights we once took for granted seem to be pushing us even further back.
What if we start seeing each other as human beings instead of using the social construct called “race” to keep us apart?
Thatโs my optimistic wish on this last official day of Black History Month.
BTW, remember that Black history is everyday history!
