Black Power
By Dr Kumar Mahabir
I wish to contest the claim held by some academics and spokesmen that there was a "genuine" attempt by the advocates of the Black Power Movement to unite with the Indian community.
I writ the knowledge that there is an attempt by NJAC, and a few militants, to sanitise what, according to historian Dr Kelvin Singh (1970), was really a bid by Afro-Trinidadians to dominate the multi-ethnic society in a totalitarian way.
The Black Power Movement emphasised the re-adoption of African names, African dress, African religion, African Language, and a general African cultural resurgence for African people. La Guerre (1995) states that it hardly occurred to African organisations and activist in Trinidad that were dealing with a plural society in which there were Indians who had a different perspective and different set of priorities.
In his paper "East Indians and the Black Power in Trinidad" (1971:454) Foreign-based researcher David Nicholls states:
Many of the values of the movements were different from those which most Indians had come to accept. And the symbolism did not make them feel at home...The Indians of Trinidad are generally believed to be conservative, to place a considerable emphasis upon the importance of political stability, and on the protection of property. Individual initiative is admired, and it is generally felt that hard work on the part of the individual, supported by his family, ought to be rewarded materially.
NJAC’s leader Geddes Granger chose Woodford Square in Port of Spain as the forum for discussion and decision-making and it became the centre of the 1970 rebellion. The Square was located in the heart of the Urban Black community. If Granger was genuinely concerned about Afro-Indian unity , he would have chosen a forum in Curepe or Caroni-a common space accommodating both ethnic communities.
The movement’s rhetoric and ideology did not invoke any positive emotional sentiment in the hearts of the mass of Indians in Trinidad. The inclusion of Indian drumming, and singing in Woodford Square ("the people’s Parliament") by the NJAC was seen by Indians as representing only a token hand of recognition and inclusion.
In a paper entitled "East Indians Today" (1972:5) La Guerre argues that the Black Power failed to integrate Indians because its advocates were prisoners of an important ideology. " Its early phase had been characterised by much negritude and when the attempt was made to incorporated the East Indian into its analysis, it was too late"
During his visit to Guyana, Trinidad-born Black Power advocate Stokley Carmichael (aka Kwame Ture) remained on the atrocities committed by the Burnham regime, mainly against people of Indian descent. Carmichael’s colleague, Eusi Kwayana of the African Society for Cultural Relations with Independent Africa, was also a Pan-Africanist. He advised Carmichael and other Black brothers to resist fighting against Dr Eric Williams, whom he saw as a Black Brother (see Oxaal 1971:41). Ture is also reported to have said that the term Black does not include Indians (Waterman, 1994).
In one of NJAC’s publications in 1971, NJAC states: "If the Indian had been creolised" it would have been easier for him to unite with the African against the Systems." What does NJAC mean by creolised? Is it Douglarised? Or Africanised?
Or Deculturised? Is it wishful thinking on the part of NJAC? Is NJAC saying then, that the Indians who took part in the Movement- Winston Leonard, Joseanne Leonard and others- were Creolised? And because they were Creolised they took part in the March and the Movement? It is highly ironic that if NJAC wanted Indians to become Creolised, its own mission was to struggle for Africans to reclaim their ancestral heritage in the form of Language, religion, history and name.
I wish to contest the theory held by some academics and spokesmen that Indian culture was "revitalised" as a result of the Black Power Revolution.
I write with the knowledge that there is an attempt by NJAC and a few Indians militants, to sanitise what, according to historian Dr Kevin Singh (1970), was really a bid by Afro- Trinidadians to dominate the multi-ethnic society in a totalitarian way.
Those writers who claim that the Black Power Revolution ignited an outburst in Indian cultural expression have not provided a single shred of evidence in support of their theory.
At the conference on April 19, 2000, one presenter claimed that Mastana Bahar was born as a direct product of the Movement. But Shamoon Mohammed’s (1982) book on Mastana Bahar makes no mention of the Black Power Movement as an influence on the TV programme. The truth is that it is largely the power of Kamal and Sham Mohammed, who were members of the then-ruling PNM Government that was responsible for the birth of Mastana Bahar in 1970.
The vitality of Indian Cultural organisations in Trinidad predated the Black Power Movement.
There was the Bala Joban Hindu movie in 1935, the NAYA Zamana orchestra founded 1944, the Gulshan Bahar concert in 1945, the Indian Centenary Celebrations in the 1945, the Indian talent on parade radio programme in 1947, the construction of the SDMS Hindu schools in 1952, the Indian Variety TV show in 1962 the establishment of the BVS Cultural Arts Schoolin1962, and the Divali public Holiday in 1966.
Dr John La Guerra published Calcutta to Caroni-a collection of essays on the Indian experience in Trinidad-in 1974. Was that an expression of a resurgence in Indian culture as a result of the Black Power Movement? Before 1970 there were a series of Indian-oriented publications like the East Indian Herald in 1925, The East Indian Weekly in 1929, The Spectator in 1948, and The Observer in 1950. It was really the oil boom in the 190’s that increased and intensified Indian cultural expressions in Trinidad.
Of course the violent nation-wide drama of the Black Power Revolution must have had some kind of impact on the Indian community. Some scholars like La Guerre (1985:xvii) Have argued that it "reawakened’ racial and ethnic pride among Indians. I would argue that it provide an argument and a justification for Indians to practice their Ancestral culture for a call for racial equality in all shares of the multi-ethnic society.
As a direct result of the Black Power revolution, the National Commercial Bank was established. The Workers Bank was established in1972 and the PNM Government began its policy of nationalising the financial sector (Constance 1996). Like the Unit Trust and the Central bank, these national financial institutions up to this day continue to employ an overwhelming majority (more than 90 per cent) of Afro-Trinidadians.
Thirty years later what has changed? Nurses are involved in protest march through the streets singing Christian hymns and shaking bells. And filing through the television screen, the Indian sees a graphic picture of a profession that is overwhelmingly dominated women of African descent. Even under a so-called Indian Government, their are only five out of 17 permanent Secretaries who are Indians in the Public Service, and there are only 10 out of 63 CEO’s in the State Enterprises.
If Indians were to lead a demonstration against the various forms of social injustice from which they suffer, they would be met with the cry of "race" and "racialism"- a criticism which was never hurled against the Black Power Movement by Indians. Should Indians now organise a march against racial discrimination in the nursing profession? And against the biased employment practises in the Unit Trust Corporation and the Central Bank? Should they now burn the creative Arts Centre at UWI and Cipriani Labour Collage at Valsayn? Should they now ask their Afro-Trinidadian bothers and sisters to join them in the struggle for equality and justice in employment at TSTT and other State Enterprises?
How would Blacks respond if Indians now raise their clenched fists in the air and shout Indian Power?