Identities

     Since a quick Internet search on "Caribbean islands" indicates that this archipelago is made up of thousands of isles, it is strange to try and fathom a single, unifying Caribbean identity. Yet, within this variety of landscapes, cultures, languages, and traditions, there is common ground. In "The Roots of Caribbean Identity: Language, Race and Ecology," Peter Roberts tackles the many facets of the Caribbean identity and all concepts that it entails. His introduction is clear and concise, and does a good job of putting forward his general ideas. Three of them are particularly interesting: first of all, his comments on the idea of home; second of all, the idea of one group being made to look superior than another; and last, the action of labeling and naming a specific group.

     On the idea of home, Roberts mentions that there's a certain instinct of territoriality within human beings. However, he also adds:

Because the human being does not necessarily remain in one place through a lifetime, home is variable and may be place of birth, place of residence or may be defined by the popular notion 'where the heart is'

While I do agree wholeheartedly with his proposal of home being variable, I would like to take it a step further. I altogether reject the idea of home as one single place. Home, I believe, should be thought about more as a network, as a series of places that hold emotional value for a specific person. Home is not just a shifting, changing thing but rather a collection, in our hearts and minds, of the different times when we have felt belonging and have achieved some sort of personal growth. As we grow up, travel, and move, what happens is that we "accumulate" homes.

     This topic is always relevant when discussing Caribbean identities. Especially considering these islands' histories. When colonizers arrived in the 15th century, Caribbean countries were not empty; they were already homes to the indigenous population. With colonization, our current nations were constructed on the idea of a different kind of home. As more and more colonizers arrived and fewer left, as more generations were born and grew up in the Caribbean, the idea of home changed not just for Europeans, but for Africans and indigenous people, too. Currently, it is important to always keep these issues in mind, since nations such as Puerto Rico are living through times of simultaneous immigration and emigration.

     While Roberts does not elaborate about it in the introduction, is essential to mention colonization and European domination when talking about the Caribbean identity. Apart from relating it to the idea of home, it is of the utmost importance to consider the way this relationship influence society and culture. In our day-to-day lives, sometimes we do not realize how much our perceptions are shaped by European mindsets:

which one group is seen to be or made to look clearly superior in some respect, the instinct for preservation causes the inferior group to concede superiority. This is typical in situations where one group dominates another

When one group reaches a certain level of superiority over another, its opinions and lifestyles are also seen as superior. One example that comes to mind is the perception of beauty. Despite the fact that most Caribbean people look distinctively mixed-raced, facial features such as fair skin and thin, straight hair are still valued. In the case of Puerto Rico, in theory we seem very proud of our heritage: all kids grow up listening to history teachers explain that the Puertorrican identity is made up of Spanish, African, and Taíno heritage In practice, however, there is not doubt that European features are prized and even considered the norm in our society. It is imperative to acknowledge that apart from all the elements that Roberts lists that contribute to the development of an identity, we can not ignore the powerful (and occasionally violent) influences that dominant countries can have on the countries they control. We cannot picture identity as solely as something that is an internal reflection. Outside influences, must be taken into account.

     Finally, Peter Roberts notes the process of naming identities. In our culture, adults are constantly reminding children that labels are inherently bad. How can we reduce a person, or a group of people, to a word? We are taught that it is bad, that it is offensive. Yet this mentality fails to capture the whole picture. In reality, it is vital to stress the significance of personal labeling:

Naming of a group, however, can be done by the group itself or by others, which means that a name may be reelection of a shared experience of sameness across individuals, or on the other hand, it may be projection of beliefs, values and desires on to people without them having any prior consciousness of identity. Whether the one name prevails over the other is a matter who controls the dissemination of information.

There is a significant difference between choosing a label, and having a label imposed on oneself. In the first case, it is about strangers forcing someone into a "box," into a set of predetermined (read: stereotypical) ideas. These strangers will never understand all of the small peculiarities that make up an identity. People who choose to name a difference group usually do it out of a place of ignorance and of willful "othering." In the second case, it is about creating a space, and naming it, and making it one's own. 

     The Caribbean identity is many things. It is mixed, complex, and in constant change. It has a beautiful history, as well as a violent one. It is hard to define, not just from the point of view of scholars, but also from the point of view of actual Caribbean people. Yet we have accepted this; over the years, we have come to terms with the fact that our identity is not easily put inside a neat box. At the end of the day, the most important thing is not which words we choose to describe ourselves, but rather the knowledge that we are the ones choosing these words for ourselves. Historically, many ideals have been imposed upon us, but we have the power to take back our identity and little by little, truly make it our own.