The Black Power Movement in Trinidad: An Exploration of Gender and Cultural Changes and the Development of a Feminist Consciousness
2001; Bridgewater State University; Volume: 3; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
1539-8706
Autores Tópico(s)Caribbean history, culture, and politics
ResumoIn February 1970 the Black Power movement in Trinidad exploded as thousands of young people took to the streets in massive demonstrations that rocked the island. The government responded by arresting activists and ultimately declaring a state of emergency. At the same time a group of young army officers, sympathetic to the Black Power movement, mutinied. Prime Minister Eric Williams and the People's National Movement (PNM) government emerged from the uprising, severely shaken but still with a firm grip on powers. Women played an active role in the demonstrations and within the activist groups that were a part of the movement, but scholars and observers generally have failed to document their participation. (1) This article explores the gender ideology of the Black Power movement, the participation of women, the effect of the fight against racism together with an increased level of race consciousness on gender awareness, and the cultural changes inspired by Black Power. It then analyses the emergence of a new and more radical phase of the women's movement in Trinidad in the mid to late 1970s, which led to the beginnings of a feminist discourse. It follows that development by assessing the increased consumerism spawned by the oil boom and how it conflicted with Black Power ideology and affected the gender system. The final section will examine how women and men are portrayed in newspaper advertisements, women's pages, letters, articles and other newspaper items. Although women's activism throughout Trinidad's history is evidence of emerging feminisms, this paper is particularly concerned with the emergence of radical feminism in which women question not only their oppression in society but also the very nature of the gender hierarchy and the hegemonic gender system. I have found the work of R.W. Connell useful in understanding the construction of hegemonic gender orders with hegemonic versions of masculinity and femininity (the latter Connell calls emphasized femininity). Hegemonic gender constructs perpetuate the idea that gender roles are somehow natural and therefore immutable. They are developed in such a way to maintain control of and appeal across class and race by displaying essential ingredients of interest to all groups. Until men and women challenge these hegemonic structures, which are continuously being reinforced by the media and other forces and institutions, gender equality cannot fully evolve. (2) Some women activists in the Black Power movement, w hile fighting against racism and class discrimination, began to question their own oppression as women and did go on to challenge these structures. An examination of gender in the Black Power movement in Trinidad and the subsequent development of a feminist movement make a critical contribution to the study of gender in the Caribbean and in Trinidad in particular. (3) The patterns that arose in Trinidad are also pertinent to understanding the experience of women in the Black Power movement in the United States as well as in Black Liberation struggles in Africa and elsewhere. (4) There are important similarities between the experience of women in the Black Power movement m the US and in Trinidad including the construction of black masculinity. These analogies will be drawn on when relevant to the discussion of Trinidad. Unless stated otherwise all references to Black Power in this paper refer to the movement in Trinidad. It is also important to keep in mind that in Trinidad the Black Power movement arose in the post-Colonial period when a Black government was in power. African Trinidadians were not subjected to the extremes of violent and repressive forc e unleashed on Black Power activists in the U.S. In Trinidad a significant and vibrant activist feminist movement arose leading to the formation in the 1980s of the Caribbean Association for Feminists for Research and Action, (CAFRA) a Caribbean wide feminist organization, which continues to be very active in the region. …
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