Caribbean Thought Summer 2025: Understanding the Caribbean Beyond the Myths and Into the Margins 3

In the finale of Lecture 6, we wrap up the reflections on Re-Imagining the Caribbean - Understanding the Caribbean – Beyond the Myths and Into the Margins:

...We pick up from Point 3

3. DIASPORAS AND DISPLACEMENT• African Diaspora: peoples of African descent living outside Africa.• Caribbean Diaspora: particularly Caribbean people of African descent scattered across the globe.•

These diasporas still carry the black position and face discrimination, suspicion, and containment.“They are aliens with sharp teeth—feared not for their failure but for their potential.”________________________________________

4. DARK GHETTOES & INTERNALIZED MALADY• Kenneth Clark’s “Dark Ghettos”:

o Exist physically and psychologically.

o Not just urban slums but socio-economic prisons.

o Seen in Philly, Kingston, Port of Spain—spaces where people are victims of fear, guilt, and greed.

o Structural conditions: overcrowding, poverty, crime.

o Psychological toll: despair, self-hate, compensatory bravado.________________________________________

5. POSTCOLONIALISM AND THE VEIL THAT LINGERS• Postcolonialism ≠ Post-colony

o It’s not the end of colonization, but the lingering effects—economic, cultural, psychological.

o Fanon: both white and Black are trapped—one in superiority, the other in inferiority.

o The need for tabula rasa—to begin anew.• Revolutions and the Paradox of Independenceo Haiti and Cuba led true revolutions—but remained outside international community comfort zones.

o Their struggle reflects the cost of radical freedom.________________________________________

6. CENTER VS. PERIPHERY – WHOSE CULTURE MATTERS?• Homi Bhabha – “Location of Culture”:

o The periphery: marginal voices, rejected traditions.

o The center: dominant culture, normalized Eurocentric standards.• Rastas, Revivalists, African spirituality = periphery.• Skin lightening, accent training, rejection of roots = symptom of internalized colonialism.________________________________________

HANDOUT: Tracing Caribbean History – Before Columbus• Challenge the narrative: Begin with victory, not defeat.• Explore:

o Ivan Van Sertima – They Came Before Columbus.

o Ancient African navigators, civilizations that predate European contact.________________________________________

DISCUSSION & MEDIA:• Video Segment: Ivan Van Sertima•

Handout Discussion: Follow timeline through slavery, indenture, resistance, revolution.

This is Episode 6 of the Caribbean Thought Lecture Series Summer 2025 on The Neoliberal Round by Renaldo McKenzie

Rev. Renaldo McKenzie is a Professor at Jamaica Theological Seminary and President of The Neoliberal Corporation.https://theneoliberal.com