Member of the National Reparations Committee, historian Curtis King, is calling on Vincentians to get engaged more on the issue of reparations.
King made the call while speaking at a cultural event in Chateaubelair on Saturday.
The event, dubbed Culture Fest, was spearheaded by the Generation Next – North Leeward youth group as part of activities to mark this country’s National Heroes and Heritage month.
King said Vincentians have to repair the damage done to us as black people by starting the discussion and have to support those that are fighting for justice.
“As black people we don’t want to talk about that, but we can speak about the Jews and the Japanese. They received reparations,” King noted.
In making his case for reparations argued that what was practised in the Caribbean was native genocide.
“Chateaubelair was a Carib community and now we hardly have Caribs here, because of the destructive and murdering policies of the British,” King told the gathering.
“The Caribs did not roll over and die easily; they were engaged in warfare fighting against the mighty British and holding them off for over 34 years,” he said.
Noting that the Caribs were banished and exiled, King said that the onus is on the citizens to support the cause and the struggle for reparations against the cruelty to our ancestors.
“In 2002 they had major conference in South Africa where they said slavery and native genocide were not crimes, but we are saying today that they must pay and we need reparations to continue our thrust and development,” King said.
The only way we can comprehend our present is to come to terms with our past. This is fundamental to healing and moving forward. Its a conventional approach in psychotherapy which I’m sure can work on a larger national scale.
There is a lot to be proud of in our history. Our ancestors may have been enslaved, but they were never willing slaves. They fought tooth and nail to hold on to their identities and their dignity. They would be extremely disappointed to see the way that we, their descendants, have decided to roll over, give up and forget about what they fought to resist.
I respect the views of Curtis King but I am not sure how exactly we are to be reparated. To me, it seems like the scars of racism continue to hinder our progress to be more competitive with the likes of say the Jews and the Japanese. Maybe they used their reparations to better themselves? I don’t know but we as blacks need to worry about cleaning ourselves up before we could be taken seriously. I think that our biggest issue on the table is not the need for a pay-back but the need to move on and move up. The need to seek better education, to decrease the instances of black on black crime, the tendency to be stagnant, to be examples rather than followers. We are known more for our weaknesses than our strengths.
Maybe it’s not such a bad thing for Vincentians not to talk about slavery. If talking about it makes us angry and vengeful while waiting for some form of appeasement, then yes, let’s move on and treat it as what it is, HISTORY. It’s 2014.
I definitely agree Carlos, we as blacks need to worry about cleaning ourselves up before we could be taken seriously”. Lets start with the likes of you first. Sorry Bro’, you haven’t got a clue…this discussion is way over your head; excuse yourself for now.