Black, Twice Removed

Being Caribbean influences my cultural references and upbringing a lot, from language to food to history. But when it comes to relating to the black community in America, I feel like a second cousin. Let me explain.

We all know what went down in the slave trade. They stole and brought black folks from Africa to North America. Most went to the US and others went to the Caribbean. That created the first degree of separation. The slaves in the Caribbean and America developed a variation of their African cultures and fought to regain their rights and freedoms. At this point in the equation, traveling was not a possibility.

Then as freedoms were fought for and won, the ability to “go home” to Africa ( but that’s a whole continent, most Caribbeans don’t even know which country in Africa we come from) or go to a better opportunity, aka “the US”, started presenting itself. Sadly, with so much time passed and new generations, cultures and operating systems had transformed, creating more gaps. When families started immigrating to the US, as mine did, you were now reunited with your slave trade descendants, but then the second degree of separation from the homeland was formed.

Africans from the African continent are considered pure, the true children from the motherland. Then African Americans, first cousins, direct descendants. Then Caribbeans, we are second cousins, unsure of origins.

I try not to dwell on this, but it consistently affects my mind and has me questioning the validity of my existence and my “blackness”. In media and TV, most black people are African American or African. Caribbean heritage is often below the radar unless its about sun, sea, and sand.

I know I’m not the only Caribbean who feels this way. Not only are the Caribbean’s second cousins, but we are also geographically disconnected. Africans are connected through the land. African Americans are connected through the land. Caribbeans are dispersed throughout the many islands. There are even historical rumors around certain islands not accepting or respecting other islands (Haiti vs Jamaica, Trinidad vs Jamaica, etc).

I wanted to do something that could help bring more unity to the Caribbean and combat this second cousin feeling. That is why I created CITE, Caribbeans in Tech and Entrepreneurship. This is a group that our main focus is to help Caribbean descendants who are entrepreneurs and techies to build a stronger sense of community with other Caribbeans and then with the larger African diaspora.