THE EDITOR, Sir:IT'S ANOTHER Black History month and I would like to take this opportunity to implore my fellow Jamaicans not only to reflect on our past but also to reflect on what we have learnt from our past. Each year we reflect on some of our outstanding black persons who have contributed positively to our race and nation. Individually, we should examine ourselves and find out if we have been contributing positively to our nation and race.
As a race we have come a far way. We were emancipated from slavery and we are recovering from discrimination. We are no longer enslaved by the whites but are enslaved by our own people.
For instance, there are black rulers in Africa where women and children have no rights. And not too far away in our own Caribbean, people in Haiti and Cuba are still enslaved by authorities who simply ignore the rights of the citizens.
As a nation, we have come a far way. We have graduated from donkeys to cars from canoes to ships and aeroplanes. But sad to say, some of us have chosen to become enemies of our own people. It was not the English who just recently began shooting wildly in Spanish Town, killing and causing people to seek refuge in the plaza and Police Station; it was some brazen men who were identified with our own colour. It was not the English who took away our women and children and raped and killed them; it was our own colour.
I hope we will all wake up and stop being enemies of our own people. Like Malcolm X, Marcus Garvey and other great contributors, each of us can also contribute positively.
I am etc.,
ROGER WILLIAMSON
Rose Hall
Linstead P.O., St Catherine
