“Downpressor man Where you gonna run to? All along that day You gonna run to the sea But the sea will be boiling When you run to the sea The sea will be boiling…” Peter Tosh’s Downpressor Man began playing on loop in my head as I watched the clip …
Read More »Uhmm, Kes… Hello?! Gilkes explains why he takes exception to soca star’s new video
I’ve been a big Kes fan for ages. I love “Wotless” and I’m not sure if I can get enough of the song “Hello”. Its recently released video, however, is a whole different bag of worms. Don’t get me wrong, I’m always happy when our ‘kaiso’—no matter the genre—is given …
Read More »Dear Editor: Jamieson Omega’s curry advertisement is an offensive attack on all curry consumers
“The public should be warned that the claim about the unhealthy effects of curry in this [Omega 3-6-9 Complex] advertisement is false, unscientific and misleading. The advertisement should be immediately removed with an apology made to all curry consumers and educated people.” The following Letter to the Editor on a …
Read More »Gilkes: Message to the Barbergreen; the continuing struggle for emancipation
Despite my shameless semi-appropriation of Malcolm X’s “Message to the Grassroots,” this in no way suggests that I place myself close to the same league of this giant ancestor. This is just my paltry message to those in my country, particularly those who live where there isn’t much grass, far …
Read More »Dear Editor: Citizens deserve “Imbert Treatment” too; time to address class and race bias in T&T
“There is a large body of sociological and psychological evidence that explains that peoples’ experiences with law enforcement personnel are affected by factors such as race, colour, class and status. “Is it that Minister Colm Imbert and TTPS public relations personnel want us to believe that this does not happen …
Read More »Claude’s Comments: Black identity, Pt 5: How Black Panther altered China’s attitude to dark complexion
On Monday March 12, Quartz Media, a respectable, business-oriented, online publication carried an article by film critic, Echo Huang. It was headlined: “A torture for the eyes: Chinese moviegoers think Black Panther is just too black.” The punch line in Huang’s story was provided by a “reviewer on Douban,” which …
Read More »Claude’s Comments: Black Identity (Pt 4): The African confrontation with European-copyrighted blackness
Black Power was primarily a revolution of the mind: the continuation of the revolution of Marcus Garvey. It first aimed to free “black” people who embraced it from seeing themselves and their past through the lens and language of those who trampled on their humanity, denied them the dignity of …
Read More »Claude’s Comments: Black Identity (Pt 3): Diaspora Indians and the negotiation of Black/Creole ethnicity
I ended my “Comments” of 21 February with anthropologist Kumar Mahabir’s opinion that a re-scripting of the “Black Power” label might have seen more Indo-Trinbagonians eagerly embracing the movement. This will remain an open question. But if his reactions to other aspects of Afro-Trinidadian cultural engineering without the “black” label …
Read More »Dear Editor: Afro-Indian unity? Never happened! Granger, NJAC bungled 1970 March by ignoring “Baba”
“Most of us Indians didn’t like Eric Williams and his PNM and would be glad to see them go. But we had no interest in seeing the Eric Williams black gang replaced by another black gang led by Granger/Daaga and company. “[…] Once Williams had got the news that a …
Read More »Indo-Trinis and “Black Power”: why Bhadase and Dr Williams agreed on issue of Indian-African unity
Someday in the future, when Trinbago nationalism becomes a common experience across our multifaceted demographic, February 1970 will surely be memorialised collectively as the month that precipitated the most significant events in the history of the two-island state since Emancipation. I am motivated to write this piece not only because …
Read More »Dear Editor: Do Port-of-Spain-based media have inherent bias against Indian culture?
“[Joan] Rampersad’s ‘December’ section highlighted the relocation of Desperadoes Steel Orchestra, a film featuring the Mighty Sparrow, the trial of soca artistes Machel Montano and Kernal Roberts, and the QED, Lydians and Marionettes Christmas concerts. Not a single Indian cultural event was mentioned.” The following Letter to the Editor, which charges …
Read More »Dear Editor: Kamal Persad wrong to ignore PNM’s history with citizens of Indian descent
“From the inception of the party under the leadership of Dr Eric Williams, the PNM […] could not have succeeded without the important role played by citizens of Indian descent who were either members of the PNM or citizens who put country first in their respective roles. “It was people …
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