est. 2007

Barbados Underground

Bringing News and Opinions to the People

, ,

Black Enfranchisement a Work in Progress

The blogmaster in between the hustle and bustle of yesterday was able to listen to a few minutes of The Peter Wickham Show. Piquing the interest was an exchange with a caller who sought to raise the issue of Black enfranchisement. Peter Wickham exposing his naïveté was unable to fathom- despite the caller’s best effort…

The blogmaster in between the hustle and bustle of yesterday was able to listen to a few minutes of The Peter Wickham Show. Piquing the interest was an exchange with a caller who sought to raise the issue of Black enfranchisement. Peter Wickham exposing his naïveté was unable to fathom- despite the caller’s best effort to explain- how a country that is Black majority finds its people owning a disproportionate amount of wealth and economic influence in the country, a state brought forward from being an enslaved people.

The argument that because Barbados is majority Black means it inevitably empowers Blacks in Barbados to be craftsmen of their fate is simplistic. Regarding the financial sector Wickham thought he was stoutly defending his perspective by mentioning that bank managers are almost 100% Black. He failed to mention all banks in Barbados are foreign owned and therefore Black managers are binded to policies handed to them. He mentioned the credit unions and other non bank entities that are Black owned. He failed to mention that same institutions have to comply to regulations of international agencies to ensure good standing.

What about the business sector? What is the concentration of ownership of the tourism sector? After answering these questions- who owns the significant interest in retail (food and appliances) sector, who controls distributive trade in Barbados. Do we have active agencies that lend and support entrepreneurs and startup businesses in a meaningful way? What about export earning businesses? What is the predominant ownership?

Let us turn our attention to power generation. Why a Black nation that is strategically located close to the equator, we have been too slow to democratize ownership of this sector? We were quick to sell Barbados Light & Power, a strategic asset. Some of us had hoped by now the legacy of Oliver Headley would have inspired Barbadians to build on it by becoming a model country for the adoption of renewable energy. 

The last point, Black empowerment is about developing a way of thinking in the majority of our people that shouts to the world – we are confident in our abilities to compete and support a quality life for our people. Having this discuss is not about çussin’ minorities. It is about having a mature discussion towards building an equitable society on the little isl;and we love so much.

Listen to the exchange at 2hrs 20 minutes.

https://downtobrasstacks.castos.com/episodes/brasstacks-mar-21st-2022

95 responses to “Black Enfranchisement a Work in Progress”

  1. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley has called on the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to address inequities in the world trading system that disadvantage small island developing states such as Barbados.

    Delivering the inaugural lecture in a WTO series in Geneva today, she said there must be “a strong representative voice that monitors and values the impact of the action of the larger states on international trade and a voice that is prepared to speak up in defence of the international trade system”.

  2. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    and why not…they are cheap hos who sell out their people consistently, am sure the other Trini mini conglomerate is saying the same thing…while hogging everything on the island…which was sold to them lock, stock and barrel years ago, by the useless breathers DBLP…

    hope the majority population is reading the tea leaves….spend less and less with all of them, keep your money in ya pockets, stop buying up their garbage, unless it’s a necessity, save as much as you can….and start new business models which extends world wide and requires no interactions with local or regional minority parasites..

  3. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    Well…it is long over due, but they still gotta OWN IT and call it what it really is..

    https://www.theroot.com/prince-william-condemns-slavery-in-jamaica-after-protes-1848686824

    no it’s not a stain, it’s a curse, the worse possible curse, derived from the most evil, horrific crimes ever perpetrated against the original people of the earth, Afrikans, a curse and crimes that will always follow the perpetrators and their descendants into eternity, there is no getting away from that, time to make amends….don’t know how they expected to escape confronting any of that..

    every half assed group now terrorizing other people. like to falsely claim their short tribulat was the worse with their lying tiefing selves…no. the trading in Afrikans and all the demonic systems attached will never be matched at any time in history or in any century….given its UNENDING lengthy periods and large scale brutality…with the knock on effects and fallout still resonating today, 500 years later…it’s nothing that can be flippantly brushed off like slave master descent Cameron attempted..

  4. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    every half assed group now terrorizing other people. like to falsely claim their short TRIBULATION was the worse ……

  5. David Avatar
    David

    Barbados made the move, here comes Jamaica.

    ———

    Jamaica’s PM announces decision to move to Republic status

    https://www.nationnews.com/2022/03/24/jamaicas-pm-announces-decision-move-republic-status/

  6. William Skinner Avatar
    William Skinner

    @ David
    How many Republics were there in the region before Barbados ? How long did Barbados become Independent after other islands in the region ?

  7. David Avatar
    David

    @William

    The comment was made against the background Jamaica has been one of those Caribbean countries loyal to the Union Jack and the privy council. It seems to the blogmaster the decision by little England served as the tipping point. One suspects others will follow.

  8. angela cox Avatar
    angela cox

    Jamaica sits on a fault line of high violence
    Jamaica best bet is to sit this one out
    Hope Jamaica has the kind of military that can defend the country interest if riots occur
    The social fabric of Jamaica is weak and instable and would need all the help it can get if high tension acts if riots occur

  9. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    https://barbadostoday.bb/2022/03/24/transformation-needed-to-promote-new-world-order/

    pretty words, but when will they TRANSLATE into BLACK ENFRANCHISEMENT FOR THE MAJORITY in Barbados.

  10. angela cox Avatar
    angela cox

    Wickham is adamant in his defense of the white establishment
    Many of his thought process thinks that blacks can progress being hawkers on the side walks of carribbean islands if they pull.themselves up by the boot straps
    Meanwhile a look at places like st. Lawrence gap.a tourist hangout finds entrepreneurs of white ethnicity some even foreigners that made progress by way of govt helping hand

  11. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    Haiti was the very first republic in the western hemisphere…..some people’s heads ARE TOO HARD and high up in a cloud of fantasy and their own BS to learn anything..

    ..if not for Haiti those types will still be in shackles and chains given their propensity to follow intellectual pretenders and LOSERS, right where they are trying to mislead everyone to follow in this new era..

    why bother your head William….

  12. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    The disrespectful, dishones, repulsive RACISTS never stop their anti-black crimes, stopping them should be a PRIORITY…..

    https://www.nationnews.com/2022/03/25/win-ex-sandy-lane-workers/

  13. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    Dishonesty = trying to steal credit from islands that have been republic for centuries in the Americas…and decades in Dominica’s case from 978, Trinidad in 1976….just to give to those who are equally dishonest and MISLEADING.

    nothing has changed since then….

    South Haiti (1806–1820) First Republic of Haiti; Republic of Haiti (1820–1849) Republic of Haiti (1859–1957)

    …Jamaica has said for many, many years they have been looking at going republic..

    .it’s nothing new and the wheel was not invented in Nov 2022..

  14. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    ah see some of them are still trying to invent the wheel…

    remote working has been around for DECADES…..over 20 years ago i personally knew it as telecommuting, that is what it was called back than, a brand-new name for a very old process, spoke of it more than once on BU over the years.

    ….nothing new here, nothing to see here, nothing needs to be researched or looked into….not a new invention…an Act was created for it YEARS ago..in more advanced progressive jurisdictions.

    everything seems new to those who got a answer and solution for everyone else, but lack basic knowledge of most things…….sad

    “What is telework?
    The official definition of “telework” can be found in the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010: “[t]he term ‘telework’ or ‘teleworking’ refers to a work flexibility arrangement under which an employee performs the duties and responsibilities of such employee’s position, and other authorized activities, from an approved worksite other than the location from which the employee would otherwise work.”

    In practice, “telework” is a work arrangement that allows and employee to perform work, during any part of regular, paid hours, at an approved alternative worksite (e.g., home, telework center). This definition of telework includes what is generally referred to as remote work but does not include any part of work done while on official travel or mobile work.

    You may also be familiar with the terms “telecommuting” and “flexible workplace” and both are sometimes used to describe what we now generally refer to as “telework.” While “remote” and “mobile” work are also terms that are sometimes used as synonyms for telework, they tend to operate differently than telework as is apparent in the detailed operational definition.

    For consistency, OPM recommends that all agencies use the term “telework” for reporting purposes and for all other activities related to policy and legislation, as defined in the Act.”

  15. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    https://www.nationnews.com/2022/03/26/pm-remote-work-needs-research/

    PLT could have told them that…..steupppss

  16. William Skinner Avatar
    William Skinner

    @ WURA
    Not “bothering my head “Just frigging amazed that @ David would repeat such crap.

  17. David Avatar
    David

    PM Briceno Comments on the Possibility of Belize Becoming a Republic – Love FM | Belize News and Music Power

    https://lovefm.com/pm-briceno-comments-on-the-possibility-of-belize-becoming-a-republic/

  18. William Skinner Avatar
    William Skinner

    @ David
    @William

    “The comment was made against the background Jamaica has been one of those Caribbean countries loyal to the Union Jack and the privy council. It seems to the blogmaster the decision by little England served as the tipping point. One suspects others will follow.”
    Just cut the crap !! You are trying shamelessly to ascribe a leadership role to us that does not makes sense.
    The independence movement in the Caribbean outside of Haiti, was first accelerated by what was occurring in Africa.
    You seem to forget , that back in the 50s and 60s, there were very close political ties with the emerging Africa independence movement, and those leaders had a tremendous influence on people like Barrow, Williams and others.
    At one point,we used to marvel at how African leadership was respected on the global stage. The OAU’s ( Organization of African Unity) literature was all over the then Barbados Public Library.
    We knew the leaders in Africa and the ties were very strong.
    Backward leaders impressed withAmerica made a conscious decision to look toward Uncle Sam for their salvation and those ties were pushed into the background. Africa was prepared to assist the Caribbean in all areas.
    The television came into popular existence and we started to consume all the garbage out of America.
    Progressives , back then, warned of cultural penetration. What you and others fail to see or believe is that after decades of this cultural penetration, we are now totally Americanized . And that’s why we are stuck because as @ WURA has correctly stated ; we are now only turning to Africa because we have no other choice.
    We were teaching Zimbabweans how to become nurses back then ; today we are depending on nurses from Africa.
    In other words, what Mottley , to her credit, is trying to do is revive those linkages with Africa.
    But again as @ WURA has warned : we cannot go into Africa with the kind of non- productive arrogance for which we are known.
    To put it bluntly: Africa does not need us- we need Africa.
    Peace.

  19. David Avatar
    David

    Caddle stressing systems, not people
    Former minister Masha Caddle is warning that throwing people at problems will not work.
    She was speaking during a resolution yesterday in the House of Assembly that made provisions for the recently announced new senior ministers under the adjusted Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries (Remuneration and Allowances) Order, 2022.
    In January Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley said Senator The Most Honourable Dr Jerome Walcott, Attorney General Dale Marshall, Dr William Duguid and Kerrie Symmonds would be elevated to senior ministers in coordinating roles. Deputy Prime Minister Santia Bradshaw also has that designation.
    Caddle, who was a minister in the 2018 to 2022 Cabinet, was not selected following the Barbados Labour Party’s (BLP) second clean sweep in the January 2022 General Election.
    Function
    “I find myself having to caution about that. Simply having an individual in a function that is called senior minister might be a necessary condition but it certainly is not sufficient. We need to move to the place where we have coordinated systems data and when we leave a meeting work is being done because a meeting is not a result and a meeting is not a management function. Somebody has to go back and do work,” she said.
    Bradshaw, Leader of Government Business in the House, said that during the BLP’s first term it was necessary for a large Cabinet because of the magnitude of the work, but now there was the need for another cadre to hold ministries to account.
    The salary of the Prime Minister is listed at $213 334.38 annually plus
    an entertainment allowance of $54 838. 44 and an official car; while salaries of the Deputy Prime Minister, senior ministers, ministers and parliamentary secretaries salary ranges from $181 345.88 to $155 322. 59 and entertainment allowance from $37 372.56 to $15 671. 04.
    Caddle said she supported infrastructure coordination and the governance coordination functions, areas listed for the senior ministers whose role it is to ensure accountability, but was less enamoured by the notion of a senior minister.
    “I’m more curious to hear what are the systems, and I don’t mean meetings. What are the platforms? What are the points of system of data sharing that is going to mean what is here in this resolution actually makes a difference in the quality of governance in this country?” she said.
    “I do not want to seem unsupportive of the measure but am always wary of the habit of throwing people at problems. I think that we have to get past the notion that if there is something to fix, you identify a person and you have that person assigned to fix it. Now, that may be a necessary condition but most of the time it is not a sufficient condition,” she said. ( AC)

    Source: Nation

  20. David Avatar
    David

    Time to ditch the mace?
    Barbados transitioned to a parliamentary republic last November 30 with all the glitz, glamour and star appeal that made most Bajans here and in the diaspora proud of their nation after so many years under the breastplate of the British.
    Yet today, nearly four months after that night of nostalgia and the birth of a new republic, some Bajans still want to know when the last vestiges of the colonial marks will be erased from public viewing and a new chapter of Barbadiana written on history’s page.
    This conversation and debate were heard last week when Cou Cou eavesdropped on two men having a bowl of their Saturday favourite in a shop in the country.
    Happy with renaming
    One man said he was glad to see the back of Nelson from the top of Broad Street (though the statue was removed since 2019), as well as the renaming of Government House
    to State House; the Royal Barbados Police Force to the Barbados Police Service; and, most importantly, the Queen removed as head of state and replaced with a Barbadian President.
    He said what he wants to see done away with next are names like Queen’s Park, Queen’s College, Her Majesty’s Prisons Dodds, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and King George V Memorial Park.
    Interestingly, he had no problem with the many districts in Bank Hall, St Michael, that carry the names of former British monarchs or royalty, arguing that the area can be used as a heritage spot and help boost economic opportunities for the residents and businesses operating there.
    All such talk has been heard before, but what caught Cou Cou’s interest was the other man’s beef.
    Angry emotions
    He said that having watched the Budget debate during the week, with members of the House of Assembly returning “home” to the Parliament Buildings after being away since February 2020, seeing the Speaker’s mace stirred up some angry emotions in him.
    “Why do we still have to keep that symbol of royal rule and power at the place of our highest decision-making in 2021?” he asked rhetorically.
    To paraphrase his argument, that mace represents a weapon, the king or queen’s fearsome power, a power that not only authorised slavery but permitted it for thousands of years, hundreds for transatlantic slavery in this part of the world.
    He declared: “Every time I see it, I think of our
    colonial masters pounding us in the dirt, breaking our backs in the toiling sun, and yet we talk about being free from the last vestiges of colonialism?
    Get rid of mace
    “If we really want to send a message from our seat of power to the world in our modern democracy – particularly to our former oppressors – then send that mace right back where it came from, or let it keep Nelson’s company up there at the Garrison!”
    He also wanted to know why all the Pan-Africanists, in and out of the House and those “under the armpit” of the Government; the academics “on the Hill”; some the sweet-sounding orators crying out for reparations and the like, not raising a chorus of objections to the retention of this symbol “that is representative of the oppressive and discriminatory rule” black people had to endure.
    The man started to get so hot that others in the shop had to beg him to cool it down before he got a heart attack.
    He ended, slightly more calm, by wondering how someone like Arthur Holder, Speaker of the House, whom he said appeared to be a symbol of successful Rastafari, felt about such an emblem of disenfranchisement so close to him as he sat in the chair and directed proceedings.
    Food for thought, Mr Speaker?

    Source: Nation

  21. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    William…somehow they always manage to espouse first world and world class status while being centuries/DECADES behind everyone else, even many larger and smaller islands in the Caribbean…..only the political pimps and fowls are amused or impressed and continue with the misleading narrative….

    “we are now only turning to Africa because we have no other choice.”

    and they believe Afrika don’t know that and they are all ready to allow their minority criminal parasites to help them burn that bridge too so the majority Afrikan descents would have nowhere else to go or turn and permanently stuck in Slave Society Barbados….

    “To put it bluntly: Africa does not need us- we need Africa.”

    yep…and keep their evil minorities and their black face traitor family and friends away from our ancestral lands, because they were already warned about them also…

  22. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    dis is de defining moment fuh all ah dem…

    slick triks pon de back burna…

  23. Sargeant Avatar
    Sargeant

    Bradshaw, Leader of Government Business in the House, said that during the BLP’s first term it was necessary for a large Cabinet because of the magnitude of the work, but now there was the need for another cadre to hold ministries to account
    ++++++++
    The spurious argument first formulated by the PM is now accepted Gospel in her Gov’t, most Gov’ts inheriting a disastrous economy would announce a freeze on more appointments of that magnitude instead the PM doubled down with a mantra “more hands make light work”, now we are in the realm of “senior Ministers” with appropriate compensation to denote their rank which makes one wonder if the other Ministers should be dubbed “junior Ministers”.

    The “fatted calf” didn’t die with Thompson, it is now golden and alive and well with Mottley.

  24. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    yep…and ALL IMF and LOANS from a long laundry list of other alphabet entities……

  25. David Avatar
    David

    @William

    Belize about to follow Barbados. You deny the visibility of PM MOTTLEY and Barbados (Little England) going republic maybe not be a tipping point for other countries stalling on the issue? How do you rh know?

  26. David Avatar
    David

    @Sargeant

    The large cabinet is political to maintain a small back bench for obvious reasons. The rest is rhetoric. It is politics. It is what politicians do across the globe.

  27. Sargeant Avatar
    Sargeant

    And anudder ting, I visited No.1 son yesterday and he knows that I have been unable to access CBC TV through my desktop switched his TV to that channel (he lives in a 500-channel universe) and the first report was of a venture to offshore (my word) a million sheep to Guyana to help feed the local (bajan) populace. Now a million sheep would keep the Bajan population in mutton (someone on the program said sheep meat but that’s anudder story) for a generation so I thought aha here is an opportunity for an export market, then I thought what if the Guyanese change their mind somewhere along the line and decide that they want to get into the business too, remember its their land. We used to think that we had a monopoly on flying fish until Bajan fishermen sailed into T&T waters

    BTW whatever happened to that project fronted by a deep pocket businessman of growing vegetables in Guyana on a large-scale basis? Bajan Press is good at announcing the start of certain undertakings but follow up is kaput

  28. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    they always misinterpret and misread William….there is so much more going on, and ya don’t see a word of it on BU….

  29. David Avatar
    David

    Steuspe

  30. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    no asking nicely what else is going on that they don’t know about…

  31. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    don’t worry, far be it from me to waste my energy, learned that lesson long time, alyuh know eva ting bout eva ting anyways, ya hooked up and plugged………no need to sey nutten…..

  32. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    @ Sargeant,

    http://www.santafefarm.com/about-us/

  33. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    Everyone is weighing in……but they do need to REVIEW and REMOVE that Royal CURSE, by making amends to Afrikan descents FIRST…….

    …then to all the others who should already be petitioning them and not try to ride on the backs of the descendants of the shackled and chained enslaved…….

    “Whoopi Goldberg calls on Britain’s Royal Family to “apologize” for slavery

    The View host and comedian has called on the Royal Family to apologize for slavery amid Prince William and Kate Middleton’s trip to the Caribbean this week.

    During a discussion about the slave trade Goldberg said, “Let us not forget, when we talk about what needs to happen, all the folks need to apologize.”

    On Wednesday William did tip his hat to Britain’s atrocities in Jamaica, saying “Slavery was abhorrent. And it should never have happened.”

    But not in any rush to hand back any of Granny’s jewels.

  34. Sargeant Avatar
    Sargeant

    Thanks Hants

  35. TheOGazerts Avatar
    TheOGazerts

    Hants to the rescue.
    There is also a FB page

  36. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    “After the couple left Belize on Tuesday, a government minister announced a new commission would begin consulting with people across the country on how the “decolonization process” should proceed”

    William….that’s how you do it, decolonize first, with input from the COLONIZED….it’s a process that should be rigidly observed…if ya intelligent and respectful of the people and ya ancestors…..

    .not make it up as ya go along, half a republic with no republic constitution…and ya STILL COLONIZED….only fools will accept that…

    Belize houses many Afrikan descendants whose ANCIENT ancestors are indigenous to the Americas….and so are they….in would be highly insulting and disrespectful not to consult with them on any decolonization or republic move…

  37. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    heard all kinds ah pretty talk, but heard nothing about decolonization for Barbados though.

    ..that tells me that there was also no consultations among Caricom members on how decolonization should take place….across the region…

    …did they not say that no man is an island…..more pretty words that flow so easily but means squat to the speaker………

  38. TLSN Avatar
    TLSN

    The Windrush scandal was brought into focus by the brilliant Guardian journalist, Amelia Gentleman. Here’s her view on the disastrous royal visit to the Caribbean.

    Any news on the forthcoming republic constitution? Have any dates been given?

    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/mar/25/william-and-kate-caribbean-tour-slavery-reparations-royals

  39. angela cox Avatar
    angela cox

    Here is another tragedy that begs for compensation from the USA thousand of Black lives were lost

    https://lm.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftheconversation.com%2Fthe-panama-canals-forgotten-casualties-93536&h=AT016_-RGlwTacHQ_dw-UMTv4R26zwqqGwABs_miZRPniLYGfWe8vis1YR0mse2p-ubZEGzKJz0iHZ4I8DTvUSdht1pqwZlvy6i1aS-zlSyXFmScJwLui2yhOQZwsQVoe6UgHQcV4yu62jkRi5m9

  40. David Avatar
    David

    Seeing the invisible

    In the United States of America, March is both National Disability Awareness Month
    and Women’s History Month. In Barbados we sometimes adopt these commemorative months from abroad, though the reason that we follow such external leads may be worthy of further consideration.
    American extraction notwithstanding, as March ends, I offer my reflections on disability awareness and women’s history in Barbados.
    There is much ignorance across society about disabilities and the disabled community. I hold myself among the ignorant here. We are largely unaware of the many disabilities that persons live within our society and we may hold biases about what persons living with disabilities can and cannot do. We end up excluding people in our society because we do not comprehend their
    lives. Consequently, we allow differences in abilities to render people invisible. We leave those with disabilities to advocate to simply be seen and considered in our society. The onus remains on them and their families to “keep noise” so that they can experience many of the elements of life that many of us take for granted. In short, we live in an “ableist” society in which the disabled must fend for themselves or go unseen.
    That disability considerations are additive in our society is surely a failure of our politics. Our roads, buildings, public and private institutions should all be accessible as a matter of course. Indeed, accessibility in design can provide benefits both for those with disabilities and for us all. The country will benefit from greater inclusion of the talents and energies that tend to remain hidden from our sight and consciousness. Moreover, improved accessibility in many areas of life is beneficial to us all, both in general and in the event that we become temporarily or otherwise disabled. Mainstreaming our approach to persons with disabilities ensures that we all can participate in society. And yes, this is politics.
    Politics is not just about guile and craft, nor is it about one side outwitting another to win a constituency, control the government or collect accolades. Although perceived as being about politicians and political parties, politics really is of our making and should work in our service. What do I mean?
    Advocating for change, repeatedly seeking to have important issues taken seriously by calling on decisionmakers to craft policy and allocate resources, and even taking action where the state fails, are all critical political ventures. Tiring and futile as persistence in advocacy may seem for those involved, these undertakings are vital for enlivening our politics. These actions constitute the often-underrewarded work that propels us down the road of progress.
    Women’s history
    The matter of tiring and insufficiently regarded endeavours leads me to my second topic, that of women’s history. There is no denying that women in Barbados have made significant strides, though there is still work to do. Yet, we know too little of the contributions that
    women of our past have made to our present.
    Have women been of so little import to our past or have they just been made invisible? Yes, we know that women as a collective have always been important for bearing and rearing children and all the reproductive work. But were individual women of our past so unremarkable that only one woman could be deemed to have been heroic prior to the elevation of the Right Excellent Robyn Rihanna Fenty in 2021?
    As we expand our focus on the country’s heritage in constructing a heritage district – a laudable initiative that prioritises the importance of knowing our rich past – I hope it includes the purposeful political action of unveiling women’s history too.
    Dr Kristina Hinds is a senior lecturer in political science and head of the Department of Government, Sociology, Psychology and Social Work at UWI Cave Hill. She is also a moderator of VOB’s Down To Brass Tacks.

    Source: Nation

  41. TheOGazerts Avatar
    TheOGazerts

    Just when EA dumps his old formula for weekly contributions, KH reaches in the bin, retrieves it and put it to use.

    Ab article that hits a few high notes appeals to a few emotions, but is generally flat.

    The reader can abandon at anytime and misses nothing.

  42. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    “Any news on the forthcoming republic constitution?”

    the shameless got Europe drafting it for them’…apparently…dem int capable of drafing one….incompetents…

    thanks for the article….

    the next in line certainly put things into perspective for everyone to see, will write, started one already, an article about that for a later date, am publishing in days, so it won’t be this issue , gives me time to dissect what can and will happen next….after that enlightening gush…

  43. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    These opinions, among others.. sum it up best..

    “My grandparents could trace generations back to slavery, but they died believing Jamaica was fully independent. Imagine, 60 years later and it’s still an extension of the British empire. It’s an infant colony, not standing alone.””

    ““These are discussions we need to be having with them – not pretty flags and smiling black children pushing their hand through chain fences to say: ‘Oh, you know, I’ve touched the royals’; that’s garbage, that’s fostering something that is completely cringeworthy.””

    don’t yet fully understand why, after the Windrush scandal they could not see this was a bad idea unless they were willing to humble….,did not like the photo op with Black children behind a fence like monkeys waiting to be touched and petted by some girl…..it’s disrespectful and insulting to our children and ancestry…

    we were telling them for YEARS they were not free, still colonized, the lying politicians were telling them the opposite…but now it can hide no longer…..out there for everyone to see except those still residing on la la land with steroids…

  44. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    Don’t know why that foolish error was permitted or if it was just testing the waters, but no, they were not warmly received or welcome anywhere, people were being polite, that’s all….they need to change advisors who are not so pregnant with and high on colonialism…..

    “Royal expert Angela Levin believes the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were ill-advised by close aides during the couple’s recent visit to the Bahamas during their tour of the Caribbean. William and Kate have received backlash for aspects of the tour, which some argued carried undertones of “colonialism,”

    my next issue will deal with that backlash, the only good came out of that is William’s relegating the Caribbean populations to equal “friends” footing with UK, which also comes with attachments…in case he is not aware and was just trying to slick out of the situation..

  45. David Avatar
    David

    No to Marshall’s view
    On Wednesday of this week, an article by Trevor Marshall appeared in this newspaper commenting on the attempt to appoint Khaleel Kothdiwala to the Senate. In his article, Mr Marshall suggested that another person, a young Muslim woman, aged 27, would have been a better candidate.
    We express no opinion on that score. When this newspaper was founded in November 1973, it was obvious that with Independence the people of this country deserved to have a paper that allowed them to have their say on events taking place within this society, free from any previous restraints engendered by their colonial past, but restrained only by the bounds of the law and decency.
    Freedom of expression was allowed to be exercised, conscious that within our colonial past language sometimes of a mild tone and content merited the punishment of imprisonment within Glendairy on the basis that the language used was seditious.
    We were clear then, and we are clear now, that freedom of expression within the bounds of the law and decency would be our watchword. Some of the views of our fellow citizens are not comfortable and some are, in fact, very controversial.
    This newspaper, like its sister company Starcom Network, often allows controversial comment even though it is made clear that the station and the paper, for the matter, do not necessarily share the views expressed on the station or printed as letters or articles in the Press.
    What we fundamentally disassociate ourselves from is the view expressed by Marshall that Mr Kothdiwala should not have been the proposed senator since he describes the young man as not being your typical bright Barbadian Christian teenager, but as being bound by Islamic laws which are immutable,
    while he asserts that Khaleel seems to be the most privileged Muslim in this island.
    That may be Mr Marshall’s honestly held opinion, but given our Constitution and this newspaper’s historic and declared position, this paper is prepared to defend the right of any Barbadian, whatever his or her faith may be, to be considered and, if successful, afforded all the privileges which attach to Barbadians, irrespective of their faith as they pursue political careers.
    We also disassociate ourselves from other comments made by Marshall in his letter. We wish to make it clear that we do not support any idea that a Barbadian is to be disqualified from or not considered for political office or other preferment simply because of that person’s faith.
    This country is not a theocracy, and provided that that cornerstone plank of our constitutional system is respected, there must not be any restrictions or barriers placed in the path of any young man or young woman who may aspire to political office. It would be a dark day if we ever came to that place.
    Mr Marshall’s emphasis on young Khaleel comes very close to declaring that adhering to a particular faith ought to be a definitive consideration of a candidate’s suitability for political office.
    We respect the right of Mr Marshall and others to comment on all matters in this society; but the Constitution of this country clearly permits freedom of religion and that great fundamental right has to be respected.
    The spectre of disqualification or disadvantage because of one’s faith has no place in modern Barbadian society!
    We do not agree with you on this one, Mr Marshall!

    Source: Nation

Older Comments
1 2

The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.

Trending

Discover more from Barbados Underground

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading