There are conversations that are required of us that we simply aren’t having. One of those on which we continuously drop the ball, is that of racism. When it comes to instances of ethnic and racial discrimination, we usually have several predictable reactions. One of our favourites is denial. There are those who will fight you to the ends of the earth to deny that racism exists and continues to impact lives daily. They use their limited experiences and interactions with racism or the lack thereof as being representative of the experiences of others. Usually cut from cloths woven with ethnic and economic privileges, many are unable to analyze how race and history continue to shape our individual and collective lives today.
Conversations that threaten to upend the delicate fiction of a postcolonial colourblind nation, usually falls prey to a quick and effective silencing. If we were to dare begin to talk about race, then we would have to have difficult conversations surrounding: why we support racially motivated politics, why we can have friends of different races, but never marry them and why we can never work at certain companies because we know we would never be accepted.
Yes, the way in which we discuss race rarely moves past surface level analysis. We are satisfied to wax lyrical about our rich and diverse nation; a poster-child for multi-culturalism and inclusivity no doubt. This fictive kinship is best represented through our diverse cuisines, fashions and festivals indicative of our aspirational togetherness. It is a myth that we religiously build upon, referencing it as evidence of how we have made the best out of the brutal and violent circumstances that brought us together.
It is a nice thought, but it lacks depth and more importantly, it lacks truth. All this superficial veil does is ensure that we do not move past one dimensional narratives of the things that separate us as Guyanese of different ethnicities. It is also very dangerous as under that veil there exists sinister elements rooted in stereotypes and prejudices that negatively influence and impact us all.
A workaround to the implications of racism that is often carelessly thrown around is that of the colourblind ideology. Colourblindness simplified dictates that if we all act as if colour does not exist, then the dream of a post-racial society could be quickly realized. However, we cannot achieve this mythical post-racial society without first seeking to engage with and dismantle the systems of oppression that racial and ethnic minorities are still subjected to. Overt and covert racism affects every single facet of our lives, from our economic opportunities to our love interests. If our goal is a future in which the long strived for racial and ethnic equality is seen, our solution should not be that of erasing powerful social realities.
For those who seek to move away from a past long gone (not so long ago) in the interests of a post-racial future, I hope you someday soon see the limits of this fairytale and work towards having the actual hard conversations that need to be had. It must also be recognized that we cannot talk about race, without acknowledging the historical dynamics of it. Firstly, it makes it easier to understand that what we are dealing with is a system based on social and institutional power. Secondly, it can be enlightening to see how race was used as a manipulative tactic to divide and conquer in the age of the colonies and post-Independence Guiana.
Under colonialism, ethnic tensions – particularly between blacks and Indians –were stoked by colonists in an attempt to maintain control over the labour force. They spread harmful stereotypes about the laziness of blacks and the greediness of Indians. These stereotypes, which still exist today, saw the fostering of an intense ethnic polarization that would be exacerbated post-independence with the ascendency of our two deified ethnic premiers. The two would unleash a brand of politics unseen to Guyana, one based on ethnic dominance and subterfuge.
It is a fact, the occurrences and politics of yester-year were built upon and exacerbated by the generations before us. However, recognizing this has seen many shirking the responsibility of confronting racism by throwing the older folks under the bus. We are so fond of this cliché of the racist geriatric who refuses to budge from the stifling grasp of ethnic politics that it is common to hear phrases such as, ole people ga dead out for this race ting to stop. This simplistic and macabre way of viewing the future of race relations frames the conversation as something that should have been addressed by our fore parents and that we are now just passive agents in. It rests on the very flawed belief that time which is fabled to heal all wounds, would work its charm on the structural effects of a history built off of the backs of racial division.
The way in which we skirt around race and its real effects on our lives needs to stop. Maintaining the fiction only empowers the lie and will see us making no progress, now or never. Let us get rid of the illusory truth of togetherness and have honest and difficult conversations with each other. We were forged out of a history of us vs. them but we do not have to remain there.
