“[…] Some of our citizens, unfortunately, seem to hold the view that the natural hair type of students of African descent and their African ancestry/heritage and culture are not valid considerations in the crafting and implementation of school rules. “[…] It is refreshing that like in 1970, the heroes of …
Read More »CRFP: Indigenous Peoples express hope and concern at Vatican’s repudiation of Doctrine of Discovery
“[…] In what could have been a ground-breaking and historic repudiation of the Doctrine of Discovery, the Vatican instead released a series of political statements that sought to rewrite history, shield the Catholic Church from legal liability and shift the blame for the Doctrine of Discovery to governmental and colonial …
Read More »Daly Bread: T&T spoiled by deadweight of no credible political choice
In July 2021, I wrote: ‘There is now an urgency also to get real about ourselves in light of the nasty, and now what seems a dangerous and emotionally unbalanced feuding between the Government and the Opposition. ‘The country has descended almost exclusively into the practice of the poisonous …
Read More »Dear Editor: Gov’t indifference to the man on the street offends me, not Kamla Susheila’s ‘slave master’ jibe
“[…] The fact is that 2015 – 2025 was declared by the United Nations as the International Decade for People of African Descent with the theme: Recognition, Justice, Development. “[…] Has our country ticked off any of the objectives of the Decade? […] Why be outraged by a pure, if …
Read More »Kambon: CoP must go! Abominable handling of the death of two suspects
“[…] [Griffith’s] defence of the arresting units in this matter—without a proper independent investigation or indication of concern about the coroner’s report—with a complete disregard for the truth, is abominable. It is even more so as he bears the responsibility for setting up SORT, a team from which arrested the …
Read More »Dear Editor: Congratulations to Hilary Beckles on Peace and Freedom Award
‘… [This award] has come at a good time to stimulate regional governments and non-governmental organisations to refocus our energies on the issue of reparations. Caricom’s historic decision in 2013 to put reparations for chattel slavery and native genocide on its agenda gave impetus to this struggle for justice globally. …
Read More »Dear Editor: Racism and medicine—a toxic mix; decertify the ranting doctor
“[…] The sentiments expressed in such outbursts are not new. They are getting much broader exposure due to the nature of social media that is widely available. Our society cannot continue moving towards that precipice, more dangerous in a time when Covid and increasing economic challenges are pushing us to …
Read More »Emancipating old narratives of ‘emancipation’ and examining colonials’ ‘deceitful bait-and-switch’
In defiance of the rapid community spread of Covid-19, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, kept the promise he made on Emancipation Day 2019 to unveil T&T’s first emancipation monument—the only live public event on Emancipation Day 2020. Like many thousands of other Trinbagonians, I missed the commemorative spectacles of the …
Read More »African groups demand ‘reparative action’ from Prestige Holdings for KFC’s Emancipation Day ad
“[…] We cannot allow a major Caribbean corporate player to perpetuate demeaning images of African People at any time—and more so on a day that is sacred to us, when we pay homage to our ancestors whose sacrifice resulted in the freedoms we celebrate on Emancipation Day. “In light of …
Read More »ESC to unveil special monument during online 2020 Emancipation celebrations
“[…] Unlike other Emancipation celebrations, which included a festive, colourful procession through the streets of Port-of-Spain and ending at the Queen’s Park Savannah, this year’s Emancipation Day will be observed online. “[…] People who traditionally participate on the day are encouraged to share their personal observances with the ESCTT via …
Read More »Kambon: It is in T&T’s self-interest to help Venezuela, but don’t let USA find out
“[…] If the government sold oil directly or indirectly to Venezuela they did not breach any national law and, according to the Charter of the United Nations, they did not breach any international law… “Apart from our moral and humanitarian obligation to Venezuela, our own self-interest is involved…” The following …
Read More »Dear editor: The issue of African hairstyles in T&T schools is neither resolved nor frivolous
“At issue is the widespread, pernicious and fundamentally racist belief that the hair and hairstyles of African people are not suitable for formal settings and are intrinsically messy, unkempt, unhygienic and even disruptive. The insidious nature of this deeply ingrained idea encapsulated in the popular phrase ‘bad hair’ guarantees that …
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