The Black Power movement in Trinidad: an exploration of gender and cultural changes and the development of a feminist consciousness.

In February 1970 the Black Power movement in Trinidad exploded as thousands of young people took to the streets in massive demonstrations that rocked the island. The government responded by arresting activists and ultimately declaring a state of emergency. At the same time a group of young army officers, sympathetic to the Black Power movement, mutinied. Prime Minister Eric Williams and the People's National Movement (PNM) government emerged from the uprising, severely shaken but still with a firm grip on powers. Women played an active role in the demonstrations and within the activist groups that were a part of the movement, but scholars and observers generally have failed to document their participation. (1)

This article explores the gender ideology of the Black Power movement, the participation of women, the effect of the fight against racism together with an increased level of race consciousness on gender awareness, and the cultural changes inspired by Black Power. It then analyses the emergence of a new and more radical phase of the women's movement in Trinidad in the mid to late 1970s, which led to the beginnings of a feminist discourse. It follows that development by assessing the increased consumerism spawned by the oil boom and how it conflicted with Black Power ideology and affected the gender system. The final section will examine how women and men are portrayed in newspaper advertisements, women's pages, letters, articles and other newspaper items.

Although women's activism throughout Trinidad's history is evidence of emerging feminisms, this paper is particularly concerned with the emergence of radical feminism in which women question not only their oppression in society but also the very nature of the gender hierarchy and the hegemonic gender system. I have found the work of R.W. Connell useful in understanding the construction of hegemonic gender orders with hegemonic versions of masculinity and femininity (the latter Connell calls "emphasized" femininity). Hegemonic gender constructs perpetuate the idea that gender roles are somehow natural and therefore immutable. They are developed in such a way to maintain control of and appeal across class and race by displaying essential ingredients of interest to all groups. Until men and women challenge these hegemonic structures, which are continuously being reinforced by the media and other forces and institutions, gender equality cannot fully evolve. (2) Some women activists in the Black Power movement, w hile fighting against racism and class discrimination, began to question their own oppression as women and did go on to challenge these structures.

An examination of gender in the Black Power movement in Trinidad and the subsequent development of a feminist movement make a critical contribution to the study of gender in the Caribbean and in Trinidad in particular. (3) The patterns that arose in Trinidad are also pertinent to understanding the experience of women in the Black Power movement in the United States as well as in Black Liberation struggles in Africa and elsewhere. (4) There are important similarities between the experience of women in the Black Power movement m the US and in Trinidad including the construction of black masculinity. These analogies will be drawn on when relevant to the discussion of Trinidad. Unless stated otherwise all references to Black Power in this paper refer to the movement in Trinidad. It is also important to keep in mind that in Trinidad the Black Power movement arose in the post-Colonial period when a Black government was in power. African Trinidadians were not subjected to the extremes of violent and repressive forc e unleashed on Black Power activists in the U.S. In Trinidad a significant and vibrant activist feminist movement arose leading to the formation in the 1980s of the Caribbean Association for Feminists for Research and Action, (CAFRA) a Caribbean wide feminist organization, which continues to be very active in the region.

The Black Power Movement

The Black Power Revolution in Trinidad in 1970 presented a serious challenge to the dominant cultural ideology based mainly on a European model, which had, to a large extent, been left intact from the colonial era African Trinidadians had a long history of struggle mirroring that in the rest of the African Diaspora so that events in the late 1960s and early 1970s were part of a continuum of struggle that reached back to slavery, through the local branches of the early Pan-African movement, the United Negro Improvement Association founded by Marcus Garvey, and numerous other African nationalist organizations and the labor riots of the 1930s. Eric Williams' challenge in the 1950s was of particular significance as for the first time in Trinidad the black middle class gained control of the legislature. Yet, for the most part, by 1970 this challenge had turned out to be largely rhetorical. Despite the government's achievement of providing increased access to education, it had not fulfilled many of the other promi ses of independence. Institutionalized racism remained. For example, a 1970 study showed that whites represented 53 percent of the business elite in companies employing over 100 persons, while, 'off whites' represented 15 percent, mixed race 15 percent, Chinese 9 percent, Indians 9 percent and Africans only represented 4 percent. (5)

A number of events in the late 1960s led to the articulation of Black Power in Trinidad. The government had passed the Industrial Stabilization Act in 1965 at a time of severe worker unrest. It was the first piece of anti-worker legislation that the government had implemented, exemplifying the split between the PNM government and a significant segment of the organized labor movement. (6) In passing the Act, the government severely restricted workers' rights to protest and settle grievances. At the same time unemployment was growing, especially among young people, many of whom had benefited from increased access to education provided by the PNM, but who by the late 1960s, were leaving school only to find that the limited availability of jobs quashed their aspirations. (7) The transport workers strike in 1969 was also of significance because of the range of support it garnered from crucial elements on the left, including trade unionists, students and members of grass roots organizations. The police severely re pressed the strike, which further galvanized opposition to the government, setting the mood for 1970. Finally, many Trinidadians began to feel that the black government of Eric Williams had done little to help the majority of poor people of both African and Indian descent.

Besides internal factors the influence of international events also played an important role in the changes that were taking place in Trinidad. The Cuban revolution of 1959, the African and Asian Independence struggles, and the Civil Rights movement and subsequent growth of more militant groups like the Black Panthers all had substantial influence on Trinidad. Consequently, the 1960s had brought forth a cultural revolution, which reached fruition in the 1970s. Khafra Kambon, an activist and one of the leaders of the Black Power movement, commented on the range of literature that ordinary people, not just intellectuals, were reading. Besides a growing interest in African and Indian history, many young people became interested in black and revolutionary literature, by writers and thinkers such as Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and Regis Defray, Frantz Fanon, Walter Rodney, Stokely Carmichael, Eldridge Cleaver, Malcom X and others who reflected the mood of the changing times. (8)

In response to unrest in Trinidad and to the unfolding events in Canada the Joint National Action Committee, which later become NJAC, had been formed in 1969. The committee, which was to be at the forefront of the Black Power demonstrations, consisted of around 26 groups and organizations, including youth groups, trade unions, students, and sporting and cultural associations. Geddes Granger (now Makandal Daaga) was the chairman and he played a major leadership role in the revolution. (9)

A march in solidarity with the Trinidadian students on trial in Canada was a major catalyst for the demonstrations to begin. This, together with disillusionment with the PNM, (which, ironically, the spread of mass education had fuelled) culminated in February 1970 with the massive demonstrations of the Black Power movement, which came very close to overthrowing the government. Among the many demands behind the slogan of Black Power, perhaps the most urgent were against the racial discrimination in the society as a whole and in employment in particular. For example, commercial banks employed few black people. Other demands included an end to exploitation by foreign capital and the local mostly white business class, and for a change in the dominant cultural ideology, supported by the government, the Christian churches, the media and the education system, which revered aspects of European culture whilst denigrating those aspects, which had origins in India and Africa. (10) The imprisonment of its leaders and th e government's imposition of a state of emergency eventually repressed the movement. The events of the demonstrations have been described elsewhere. (11) The literature, however, has seriously neglected the involvement of women in the Black Power movement. Yet women played an active part in both the mass demonstrations and the subsequent guerilla struggle.

The Gender Ideology within the Black Power Movement

Although gender as a category of consciousness was not developed by this period, looking back at the movement with a gendered analysis does give some important insights that may not have been obvious at the time. The Black Power Movement clearly demonstrated the resilience of the gender system. The language of the movement is particularly interesting. Black Power advocates used a very masculine language that focused almost exclusively on the Black Man. Even if Black Power leaders felt the need to focus on recruiting men, it is interesting why they did so in gendered language. They equated the lack of power with the denial of manhood, thus tying masculinity to power. The movement derived its concept of manhood directly from the model of hegemonic …