THE EDITOR, Sir:
WHILE I am not in support of the idea of seeking reparations I would like to congratulate the Blacks who invoked one of Marcus Garvey's most sacred principles by objecting to the presence of whites (whites could not join the UNIA) at the recently held 'African And African Descendants World Conference.' It is no surprise that they were not from the Caribbean. This results from the fact that Jamaica and the Caribbean have spent the last 62 years since his death philosophically, culturally and politically fleeing from his ideas and principles.
The institution which is one of the primary culprits in this failure to socialise Black people in a way that would ensure their empowerment is the UWI. It has developed a mythology called creolism to usurp a Garveyist worldview. The statement made by Hilary Beckles 'a sad day in the history of Barbados' therefore is typical of Caribbean intellectuals.
The incredible depth of the mental slavery afflicting Negroes such as Melville Cooke and all those who are against the resolution is demonstrated by the fact that the conference was named the 'African And African Descendants World Conference' and yet they still felt the need for white people to be involved.
Cooke made a lame attempt at an apology on behalf of the Blacks from Britain who led the resolution to exclude the Whites saying, "they are in the heart of the beast." That is they face overt racism back home.
What he fails to recognise is that excluding the Whites from the meeting represents a principle that precedes these Blacks and is an indispensable philosophical and political position developed by Marcus Garvey, Carlos Cookes, Bobby E. Wright et al. All brilliant and successful social scientists.
The psychopathology of the Caribbean Negro is displayed by the contradictory behaviour of the Barbadian government who established The Commission of Pan-African Affairs in the office of the Prime Minister "to explore and develop African culture and African history" (Afrikan Business And Culture magazine vol.3. No.18) yet still they condemned the resolution of the Africans to eject the Whites from the African conference, a confounding conundrum!
The Negro will not improve economically as long as retrograde development psychologically continues to be his lot.
I am, etc.,
NZINGA OSANYIN
13 Margaret Villa Road
Kingston 10
