When African-Trinidadians complain about their Post Emancipation period concerning marginalization in government institutions in jobs, schools, and within the social strata pre/post-independence they are plagiarizing the African-American Civil Rights historical narrative. After emancipation, Africans were integrated into the white Anglo bureaucracies in Trinidad, perhaps not at full capacity but a lot more than the sugar field COOLIE RACE who were uneducated and under contract to continue working.
The Pre-Independence African-Trinidadian was schooled to be the New Improved educated class Anglo Race looking down on the newly arrived Coolies as recalcitrant, Hindu Pagans and hence more sympathetic to Muslims, their Abrahamic religious counterparts. African-Trinidadians were trained to be skilled workers as carpenters, masons, policemen, soldiers and also held even a governmental post at the lower levels. Post-Independence Africans in Trinidad inherited all the WHITE institutions: the government, schools, jobs, and the legal system, a privilege African-Americans did not have. It’s true that Africans in Trinidad like Uriah Butler (African) and Vishnu Deonarine (Rienzi) fought for workers’ rights, but this is not the same as civil rights.
In Trinidad Africans used the same streets, side-walks, buses water fountains and the same restaurant as Whites. This privilege Coolies / Indians did not have. Africans in Trinidad attended the best schools and were well entrenched in government institutions 80 years before coolies (Indians) could play catch up and catch up the Indians did. Well, they caught up academically. Politically, they are still meditating and doing a hunger strike on that one. Academically Indians shine, but politically Indians are dim-witted. In Trinidad there are two kinds of Africans: the real local Trinidad Africans and the imported Africans from other islands. The Real Trinidad Africans were emancipated slaves who “inherited” the government of Trinidad in 1956. These Real African Trinidadians today are well educated and financially powerful.
The Imported African Trinidadians are those the PNM- Eric Williams government- imported to Trinidad for PNM – Vote Bank and enforcers for the PNM party. The Imported African Trinidadian [I A T] main purpose was limited only to supporting the Real Anglo-African Trinidadian [ R A A T] politically and physically i.e. to give them a bad-john support against coolie Indian people. These Imported Islander Africans are the ones mainly responsible for the crimes committed by the black population in Trinidad in places like Laventille; NOT the actual Trinidadian Blacks. Imported Africans were NOT meant to rise to a political level as Karl Huddson Phillps [Grenadian] to challenge the RAAT PNM – Eric Williams’ Government. They were to remain uneducated, on welfare, constantly in need of hand outs and hence loyal to the PNM party. This is exactly what Democrats are doing to poor welfare blacks in America and no matter how much African-American Republicans speak out on this issue, they are so dependent on Democrats they cannot see where their downfall and poverty is coming from.
The DOCTRINE of the PNM Government that the 23 African endorsees fail to understand the Imported Africans by the PNM was / is to keep the imported Africans from other islands in political darkness and ignorance by means of inferior schooling and economic deprivations to ensure their political support base. The African 23 endorsers must place the blame only on the PNM party / Government and NOT Indian people or “Indian” Government. An enlightened Northern Imported African will NOT vote PNM.
