Being born in Trinidad and Tobago, a country where the Afro-Trini population is approximately 40%, it always surprises me when I am treated like a minority. Normally it is the minority who is racially profiled or seen as a threat. I have experienced both in this land where the majority of people are of my hue. I give two instances. The first is what I experienced some years ago when I lived in Woodbrook, one street from Tragarete Road. That morning around one o’clock, I was alone, heading in. A police jeep full of officers came heading towards me. The driver stopped, and without saying a word, he, and the others, looked at me accusingly. Their expressions said, “A black man walking into Woodbrook at this hour is suspicious.” Knowing that I did nothing wrong or had no illegal substance on my person, I looked them in the eye without missing a step. When I turned the corner and got to my gate, which was two houses from the corner, I saw the driver had reversed the jeep for them to have a look at me with further intimidation. I shouted, “I live here!” and went in. I was a bit annoyed because the driver was the same complexion as I. I am sure if it were a man of a much lighter colour, they would have driven without stopping, or they may have even stopped and told that gentleman to be careful walking alone at those hours.
The second is something that I have noticed several times. I would be walking on the street and a woman would be approaching. She would notice me then clutch her purse/bag tightly below her arm or execute some other safety measure. Would she have done that if I were another ethnicity? I think not.
I have always thought that our race issues were a result of echoes from our colonial past. I never thought that advertising, the field in which I work, could also be an instigator to what I, and many in the African diaspora, face. Today I came across a video post from UK publication The Guardian, which spoke of racism as a business. I never thought of such a thing and the commentary was food for thought.
