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Short Essay

Engagement of Caribbeans in the social movements since 1960

The people living in the Caribbean region of the United States have been struggling for their due rights for a very long time. Since the era of Toussaint L'Ouverture, when he and his fellows had to fight against slavery. Caribbean People have only seen dark days. One of the major issues that was always being faced was the problem of slavery. The people residing in Latin America were always considered inferior and were heavily pushed towards the profession of slavery. If not slavery, they were treated so poorly that many residents of the region, preferred to either take their lives or move to .some other areas CITATION Elk \l 1033 (Elkan) The subjects were heavily tortured and were denied their basic rights. The social movements, despite the desperate attempts and policies by the government, have only ben intensified. Seems like the new approach of neo-liberalism and the Governments attempts to enforce it, have been failing badly in this respect.

Two major forms of activism have been seen in the region for many years, especially after 1960. One of the major forms of activism is the political activism that has been going on in the Caribbean islands or Latin America since decades. It started in very early years of the 1960s when the worker’s movement in Trinidad and Tobago started participating in a number of strikes against the government’s policy of not allowing the Indian sugar workers to work in collaboration with the African oil workers. The tussle went on so long that the government had to initiate a committee of inquiry in the “Subversive Activities in the Trade Union Movement” and immediately ban all the strikes by the workers. This sparked a new wave of rage among the workers and they once again came together, this time also including the cane farmers as well. They name their formation as the United Labor Party and contested for elections in 1976, becoming the largest opposition party to the Parliament.

The second most prominent and notable form of activism could be seen in the form of the female activism being conducted by the Caribbean Association of Feminist Research and Action (CAFRA). This movement has given much awareness to the females living in Latin America and provided them with a sense of belonging to their nationality and a wider movement. CAFRA has proved to be the most active and the most connected social movement to the region’s local platforms and the world social forums for justice. In addition to all this CAFRA has been closely linked to the political scenario of the region and is often seen participating in various processes like the Assembly for the Caribbean People. The main mission or agenda of CAFERA is gender equality, social justice, poverty and issues of trade. The associations working towards the betterment of the Caribbean people have been often seen actively working with the NWCTs. CAFRA often puts the issue of the Caribbean people on the national platforms and the Caribbean Social Forums (CSF).

Change in the Social and Economic realities within the Caribbean Communities in the United States since 1940.

It has never been easy for the people of the Caribbean Islands to lead their lives. They have faced multiple issues since their movement in the United States of America. Even in today’s modern times, it has been very tough for them to survive. The basic rights of the community have been curbed since ages and they have been exploited regarding their rights and properties. Two huge trends have been followed by the Caribbean people in the past and history has observed some of the trend-setting traditions of the time.

The first one of these popular trends is migration. Almost all the Caribbean found today in Latin America came to the region as a result of the migration. The migration in the region did not happen once but took place in the form of waves. The very first wave of migration started in the very initial years of the twentieth century. It was an entirely unplanned and involuntary act like no one from the African region wanted to leave their lands and migrate towards the American Region. The first Caribbean people were brought here as a result of a very common and prevalent practice, slavery ("The Haitian Revolution - Documentary (2009). The very first people of Latin America were brought as slaves, which were then followed by a large population of the people from the British West Indies. The third wave of migration took place from 1930 to 1965 and mostly consisted of skilled labourers and workers. The fourth wave of migration is still going on.

The second most popular and prevalent trend that has been followed and carried on by the Caribbean people or people who had then settled into Latin America was change and continuity. The people, who had moved to the United States of America as a result of these waves of migration are now settling down and adapting to the new environment and the changes. As per the figures represented in data, most of the Caribbean people who have migrated to the United States of America, except the Cubans have made the New York State and the New York City as their principal destinations of stay. They have largely came and settled in the city and the surrounding suburbs, and have contributed to the economy of the city by finding jobs here and starting businesses. The state of Florida is especially notable in this respect, where the population has grown over a period of decades, as a number of Jamaican and Haitian immigrants have moved and settled in here but the highest number of immigrants and settlers is still with New York, where more than half of the Jamaican, Guyanese, Haitian, Barbadian and Trinidadian immigrants have come and settled. Brooklyn and Queens are the cities which are brimming with these immigrants. The number of immigrants from the Dominic republic is also very high as compared to the other countries, where three-quarters of the immigrants live in the United States.

Works Cited

BIBLIOGRAPHY \l 1033 Elkan, Daniel A. "The Rise of Revolutions in Racial and Class Context." n.d.

"The Haitian Revolution - Documentary (2009)". Youtube, 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sn32cWUT83E&feature=youtu.be.