By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
October 19, 2011
Addressing the 15th Divali Celebration organized by the United National Congress Siparia Women’s Association last Friday, the Hon. Prime Minister offered the following remarks to her followers: “I thank you for your support, for your prayers and the adjustments you have made to your lifestyles during this period of the State of Emergency [SOE].”
Continue reading Moving Backward Into Slavery
By Dr. Kwame Nantambu
October 09, 2011
Apology for Slavery
In April 2006, the Church of England voted “to apologize to the descendants of victims of the slave trade” and in March 2007, considered paying reparations.
Continue reading Question of Apology for Slavery and Reparations: Updated
By Corey Gilkes
October 01, 2011
On Wednesday I went to MovieTowne in Port of Spain for the first time ever (no, seriously). Now before the last seven friends I have left in this world get vex with me, rest assured I haven’t had a change of heart and decided to be like everyone else. It was only because that was where the documentary “Fire in Babylon” was being shown and allyuh know how strongly I feel about cricket and social consciousness. So yuh boy gone and took in the thing (and again on Sunday to see the documentary on the Black Power Movement “70s the Movie”).
Continue reading My Two Cents on ‘fire in Babylon’: And a Slightly Different Take on ‘Calypso Cricket’
By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
September 20, 2011
Sooner or later it had to happen. Amidst the chaos and head-in-the-sand posture, a mature voice had to rise up and address the implications of the state of emergency (SOE) that was declared by the government. While so many of my fellow citizens, buoyed by the apparent calm of the society welcomed the suspension of many of our civil liberties, it took a brave voice to remind us that a constitution cannot suspend itself and that the declaration of a SOE does not automatically abrogate all of our right as citizens.
Continue reading The CJ’s Wisdom
By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
September 14, 2011
William Hardin Burnley was the biggest slave holder in Trinidad and Tobago. In 1813 Sir Ralph Woodford arrived in the island as the governor. One of his first tasks was to secure sufficient laborers for the island, Trinidad being notorious for not having sufficient laborers to till its soil. One year after he arrived he asked each member of his Board of Council to come up with suggestions to induce laborers to settle in the country.
Continue reading Fulfilling Prophecy
By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
August 03, 2011
If one opened the dailies the day after Emancipation Day one could not miss the photographs of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Arts and Multiculturalism sitting proudly in their African threads on either side of Kafra Kambon (Express, August 2nd) with a headline that proclaimed: “PM: No more last minute funding.” Just to reinforce her concerns, she cooed: “As a testimony to the recognition in the Emancipation Support Committee, I have requested a convening of an inter—ministerial team charged with the review of all festival—based commemoration to ensure matters of funding and production will no longer be matters of last minute intervention. We stand committed to the success of this intervention and the Minister of Multiculturalism Winston ‘Gypsy’ Peters will head this very special committee to ensure that you get the funding and support you need at the appropriate time.”
Continue reading With Respect to All
By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
July 26, 2011
On Monday next (Emancipation Day) black folks will come out in full ethnic regalia to commemorate the emancipation of our forefathers and foremothers. They will march from the Brian Lara Promenade to the Savannah and make uplifting speeches (as they should) about our condition. The next 364 days thereafter they shall continue their slide into penury and humiliation as the People’s Partnership (PP) government does everything to ensure that African people eat the bread the devil kneads. In this new dispensation no mercy will be shown and no sympathy offered.
Continue reading The Hidden Agenda
Emancipation Day Special: Part 2
By Dr. Kwame Nantambu
July 26, 2011
Part 2 of this Emancipation Day Special focuses on the power dynamics between Trinbagonians of Indian descent versus the powerlessness of Trinbagonians of African descent. And this overt ethnic imbalance is real despite the current United Nations-sponsored year-long celebration.
Continue reading Power versus powerlessness in T&T
Emancipation Day Special: Part 1
By Dr. Kwame Nantambu
July 19, 2011
As T&T celebrates the United Nations-sponsored “International Year for People of African Descent,” it is a sine qua non to analyze/investigate the crucial reality of being Trinbagonian versus, albeit compared to, being of African descent in this Euro-centric environment.
The stark reality is that the ordinary Trinbagonian of African descent does not regard himself or herself as African. He/she is Trinbagonian, period.
Continue reading Trinbagonian versus African Descent
By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
June 07, 2011
When I asked whether our honorable Prime Minister has a drinking problem I did not mean to be uncharitable or to be “sexist.” Given Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s difficulties I thought it responsible to raise an issue that has gained a life of its own. I still contend that the enabling role Strauss-Kahn’s friends played in supporting his illness may be analogous to the deafening public silence that surrounds the PM’s purported drinking problem. Many of Strauss-Khan’s close friends knew he had a problem. None was bold enough to speak about it publicly.
Continue reading Truth and Consequences