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Jamaican America Club
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Trivia: Name these Jamaican fruits
I was reading Deborah Ga-
briel’s book “Layers of Black-
ness” – Colourism in the Af-
rican Diaspora, and the first
thing that came to mind as I
read, was does colourism
really exist today? Deborah
Gabriel, apart from being the
author of ‘Layers of Black-
ness’ is a teaching profes-
sional and a journalist: The
book was inspired by a fea-
ture Deborah wrote about
skin bleaching in 2005,
which followed a documen-
tary about skin bleaching by
a black female filmmaker
and by the failure of main-
stream writers to discuss the
psychological and historical
factors associated with skin
bleaching. The primary aim
of her book, despite its con-
notations of shades of colour
is, she says: “to unite, not
divide people of African de-
scent”.
The thing is, from my per-
spective, the word ‘colourism’
is a divisive word. For those
of you who are unfamiliar
with the term, it is, in blunt
terms, when someone says
“no badda tawk to him – him
too black” or, “don’t go out
into the sun my dear, you
will get too dark!” Colourism
(according to Wikipedia) is a
form of discrimination in
which human beings are
afforded differing social
treatment based on skin col-
our. The preference often
gets translated into economic
status because of opportuni-
ties at work. Colourism can
be found across the world
and the term is generally
used for the phenomenon of
non-white people discrimi-
nating within their own eth-
nic group! Continue on pg 2
Answer is on page 6
Colorism
Caption describing picture or
graphic.
Table of Contents
Colorism Page 1
Trivia Page 1
Tirade on economy, mar-
ket and crime Page 3
Caribbean Union
Creation - CU page 8
JK Production Publication
www.JamaicanAmericanClub.org
Summer 2016
Jamaican American Club Newsletter
Yes, in plain talking it means blacks
discriminating against blacks because
of their colour, which is why many of
the darker-skinned people have opted
for bleaching creams to make their com-
plexions lighter. I read on the website
that in India, Fair & Lovely, which is a
bleaching cream, have cornered 70% of
the bleaching cream market! And there
is a video on the internet made in Egypt
which claims “if you want to be success-
ful and attractive, bleach your skin
white”. It is this kind of misrepresenta-
tion that gave rise to many tragic mu-
lattos in the early 1900s. How many of
you saw “Imitation of Life” by Fredi
Washington who played Peola, a tor-
tured self-hating bi-racial girl who said
to her Negro mother: “Don’t come for
me. If you see me in the street, don’t
speak to me. From this moment on I am
white, not coloured. You have to give
me up!” Wanting to live as white be-
cause she was tired of being treated as
a second class citizen ‘that is being
treated like a 1930s black American’.
She passed as white and begged her
mother to understand, which along
with the 20th century advert cited
above, implies that success comes with
skin colour. So in answer to my initial
question, does colourism still exist to-
day – yes, sadly it seems that it does!
ized racism. Hume, Krieger, Sidney &
Coakley and many others have tried to
state that the lighter you are, the high-
er your IQ level. Have you ever heard
such a load of tosh!? If that is the case,
why is Professor Geoffrey Palmer, DSc,
OBE whose skin tone is dark, one of
three people in the UK who has a Doc-
tor of Science? A Doctor of Science
(DSc) for those of you who do not know,
There is an argument in the United
States that on average, African-
Americans score 7 to 15 points lower
than European-Americans on IQ tests.
Many conservatives believe this is be-
cause blacks are genetically inferior to
whites. But liberals believe that the IQ
gap is the result of nearly three centu-
ries of slavery and yet another 130
years of segregation and institutional-
is conferred on a member of the univer-
sity who has a proven record of interna-
tionally recognized scholarship. Profes-
sor Geoffrey Palmer OBE is such a
member and as such, was required to
submit a selection of his publications on
Grain Science, to the board of his facul-
ty, which decided that he merited this
accolade, along with Dame Jocelyn Bell
Burnell, a white Scientist and radio
to their offspring? Did the perceived
preferential treatment adversely affect
dark-skinned female slaves, or could it
be that because the light-skinned slaves
were remnants of their offspring,, they
were happy to see them being given an
opportunity to enjoy a marginally bet-
ter lifestyle? We will never know. All
we know is how it has been translated
to us through the centuries, that lighter
is brighter and blacker is slacker – but
is that true?
In order to understand the present, we
need to refer to the past, so let’s have a
look at the possible reasons for colour-
ism. Most of us know that light skinned
Negroes were the ones kept in the
house, while dark skinned Negroes
were made to work in the fields. Did
this imply that the light-skinned slaves
were more superior to the dark-skinned
or was it because the mulattos (as
mixed-race were called back then) were
the product of rape and therefore the
slave masters felt some paternal loyalty
“In order to understand the
present, we need to refer to the
past, so let’s have a look at the
possible reasons for colourism. “
Continued from page 1
Caption describing picture or
graphic.
Page 2 Jamaican American Club Newsletter
astronomer who discovered what
turned out to be neutron stars, also
called pulsars. When I interviewed Pro-
fessor Geoffrey Palmer who is the au-
thor of “The Enlightened Abolished” on
my radio show in March of this year, he
told me that the reason he accepted the
OBE the day before his mother died
(apart from his mother telling him he
should) was to show that he was as
competent and as intelligent as anyone
else on the planet, and that is of course
regardless of colour (shade or other-
wise)! So let’s put this colourism to bed
and end it with the famous words of
Marcus Garvey:
The appeal I now make is: "For God's
sake, you men and women who have
been keeping yourselves away from the
people of your own African race, cease
the ignorance; unite your hands and
hearts with the people Africa, and let
us reach out to the highest idealism
that there is in living, thereby demon-
strating to others, not of our race, that
we are ambitious, virtuous, noble, and
proud of the classification of race.
develops in this, entire population will
be disenfranchised as is the case in in-
ner cities around the world and espe-
cially here in Jamaica . As the flight of
capital retreats from areas because the
policy for these areas are not realistic
for the development growth of formal
markets, public and private sectors will
also retreat as any investment must
show a return on investment (ROI).
lead to complex derivatives and com-
modities futures. Derivatives are really
just complex futures as well.
These futures markets becoming plan-
ning tools that can change the policy of
any nation hence the market control
the policies, the policies control the
economy and the economy is controlled
by private and public sector. If a gap
This ROI can be tangible or intangible
return but a positive return none the
less.As our garrisons in Jamaica has
become disenfranchised the government
past and present has allowed the finan-
cial sector to black list these areas.
Continue on page 8
Carol Lawton
Tirade economies, markets and crime
As our garrisons in Jamaica has
become disenfranchised the
government past and present has
allowed the financial sector to
black list these areas.
Page 3 Summer 2016
Crime blooms where there is a vacuum in
law and order. This space is filled by the
informal organizations known as gangs.
These gangs do not exist because of poverty
but as a power structure to control re-
sources. Poverty does not cause crime but
the lack of law and order coupled with poor
management of economies. Markets it must
be noted cannot be controlled due to the
many variables that encompass it both in-
ternally and externally hence government
can fix economies not markets. Thus with
strong economies the pressures of the mar-
ket can be statically forecasted which will
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Caribbean Union Creation - CU
Cheers went up when it was reported that Haiti would be allowed to join the African Union.
However, a few weeks went by when The African Union (AU) stated that Haiti will be denied
associate member status on May 17th. According to article 29.1 of their AU constitution, only
African countries can have membership. These African countries will Buk dance for their for-
mer colonial masters and coon for the Chinese but deny the 1st Black county, who threw off the
shackles of slavery, recognition and membership.
Is the African Union (AU) the White man’s #1 pet and fetch boy? The African way, according
the African Union, is that Europeans and the Chinese everywhere are welcome to join. However
Black people especially Haiti need not apply. Haiti, don’t allow anyone to disrespect you!
This is an example on why Caribbean counties should form the Caribbean Union – CU. Feder-
ations with various islands were formed in the past and did not last. However, they are many
more things that bind Caribbean than divides the islands. Multinational corporations do not
care where they set up sweat shops or call centers. By uniting, the exploitation and marginali-
zation can be minimized.
To be competitive one has to have marketable skills or your country will become irrelevant.
Caribbean nations must understand that our location and character of each island is an asset,
if marketed correctly. It is time to reexamine a new Caribbean Federation and create The Car-
ibbean Union. The Caribbean region is too small of an area to be so fragmented. I.e. Cuba has a
stronger relationship with Russia than it does with its neighbors.
The Arab league, NATO, and even OPEC are examples of how powerful community of nations
can be forged. One can only wonder if the AU would have responded in the same way or be ef-
fectively willing to shift position if a more prosperous nation, say Brazil, had demonstrated sim-
ilar interest in joining the AU. Don’t go where you are not wanted. Leave with dignity and cre-
ate your own union with other Caribbean nations.
Would you like to become a successful entrepreneur?
Click on the photo below
Mangos
Otaheite
Nesberry
Gunep
Organization
P.O. Box 62 Elk Grove, IL 60009 USA
JamaicanAmericanClub.org
clearly land ownership whereby a per-
son can not be force out of their capital
because of criminal elements as this is
duress. The rule of law and not politics
or fear should apply. If land owners
consider these properties as valuable
assets which the capital market recog-
nizes as assets then a move to destroy
the garrisons can begin. But when a
free for all is allowed to operate with
this basic resource informal organiza-
tions are cultivated as a means of self
preservation hence the ultimate pariah
for a government to control is born and
that is the informal economy which
policy cannot control or direct thus giv-
ing power to the informal organization
as a revenue generator is in place to
fund their activities with no regard to
law and order.
E-mail: JamaicanAmericanClub@yahoo.com info@JamaicanAmericanClub.org
This is not a unique anomaly for Jamai-
ca but the norm around the world espe-
cially third world where informal settle-
ment ie squatting communities exist.
Crime exists because the people here
are at the bottom of Maslow’s pyramid.
The social and economic fabric of com-
munities are gone hence a battle for
scarce resource which most times are
controlled by political and criminal forc-
es.
The government has the ability to end
this blacklisting and informal settle-
ment by using the full force of the state
to enforce law and order. It has the
ability to ensure that a titled property
in the inner city is considered an asset
vs a liability by banks, insurance com-
panies and the owners of property
themselves. It has the power to define
Continue from page 3
United, we can never be defeated.
Www.JamaicanAmericanClub.org
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