Black History Month within the Jamaican Context

I came across a Jamaican group on social media discussing Black History Month and complaining that they only “GAVE US” one month and it is the shortest month. Now, I totally understand why places like the USA, Canada and Britain may want to have a Black History Month because they are Governed by the White World Order, pushing white superiority but I cannot understand why a country like Jamaica and a region with majority black population would want to have a Black History Month or be GIVEN a month, as if we are the minority. So, their logic is that the USA only gave Jamaica one month for Black History and the shortest month.

Unlike the USA, Canada and Britain, Jamaica does not need to have a Black History Month. Black people in the USA, Canada and Britain are minorities living in a white majority, dominated and at times oppressive society. They live in a society, that did not celebrate anything black and in fact tried to limit the knowledge of black contribution to society and the world.

Jamaica Demographics  

• Black 92.1%
• Mixed Race  6.1%
• East Indian 0.8%
• Other 0.4%
• Unspecified 0.7%

92.1% of the Jamaican population is pure Black of African descent. Jamaicans are responsible for the day to day operation of Jamaica. The people in Healthcare, Education, Security, Public Sector, Private Sector, Media and Political Class are majority Black people of African descent. Most of my neighbors and people living around me are all Black of African descent. People in small towns, villages, hills, valleys and cities are mostly black of African descent. So, what problems we are trying to solve by importing Black History Month, that we could not use the Entire Year to solve. Jamaica celebrating Black History Month is like White America, White British and White Canadians having a White History Month. But they are the dominating majority, the dominant culture and as such they have no need to carve out a month, it would be redundant, overkill. Every Day, Week, Month and Years in Jamaica is Black History Day, Week, Month and Year!

I am not shocked that we have imported and adopt Black History Month. Just like I am not shocked that we have imported, adopted and celebrate Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Halloween and some are also celebrating July 4th. It is the same reason, when you ask a Jamaican about the Jamaican Constitution they start to quote the American Constitution and they know nothing about their own. These things are out of context with Jamaica’s Unique Reality but we are an importing people.

However, the fact that we as a people, feel the need to import other people’s holidays and solutions to other people’s problems, tells me that as a society and a people, Jamaicans suffer from an inferiority complex, even when we are the majority, in charge of the day to day running of the country. And I must wonder, why?

Jamaicans should be exposed to every aspect of Black History, as much as they want, for 365 days of the year and as such no need to have a month because it would be Redundant, like carrying sand to the beach. There is nothing stopping us from being intimate with our Black history, which is the history of most of the people on the rock and in the region. I am not against education, I just do not understand why we are suffering the same symptoms as people who were deprived of their history, and no one is denying us access to our history.

Can we all agree that having a Reggae Month, is redundant and not unlike, “carrying sand to the beach”. This is Jamaica, every second of our being is the celebration of Reggae, we are a merriment country, 7 nights a week. But I understand the economic reasons for a reggae month AND WELCOME IT.