The curtain has just been closed on a month of activities in which many Barbadians, primarily schoolchildren, celebrated African Awareness Month, as some have dubbed it, or Black History Month for others. While we can argue about exactly what to call the celebrations held during the month of February, the evidence is clear that we are witnessing a changing cultural landscape and a sense of maturity on our part.
For a conservative country whose people for many years were genuinely ashamed or made to feel so about things of Africa and even about black people, the celebrations during the past month highlighted the benefits of education, relevant education.
Fortunately, the exposure provided by many of our primary and secondary schoolteachers to a relevant education has helped us to dismiss the nonsense of those years when many older Barbadians were indoctrinated in European history only and suffered from the portrayal – whether in popular mass media or even in history books – of Africa, Africans and, by extension, Blacks, as being largely inferior. Many people’s self-worth suffered.
But these celebrations, thanks to our formal education system, seem to have achieved the objective of a cultural awakening. It is obvious that the younger generation of Barbadian now feel as proud of their ancestry as do the Italians, the Irish, East Indians, Jews or Polish do and celebrate all over the world.
We have raised the question previously of whether we really need to adopt what was originally an American concept to observe and highlight the achievements of black people there. Despite certain similarities, the American experience was much different from ours.
The celebration of the achievements of African people and people of colour should not be restricted to a month-long period nor marginalized as a historical exception. What we really ought to have is an ongoing education about the culture and successes of people of African origin wherever they have made an impact across the globe.
We now live in a truly global community, if only because of the gains in technology, and Barbadians, regardless of colour, must therefore be well versed in the history of the world, and it must no longer be skewed. One must not take precedence over the other.
So when we celebrate Black History Month or African Awareness Month in this country, we also need to remember those newer Barbadians who have made this island their homeland and have added their stories about their struggles for survival to our story.
We speak of the people from Guyana, the Eastern Caribbean and Jamaica who add to that mosaic that depicts Barbados. We need to embrace them, celebrate their achievements, and see them as equals.