My identity rooted in feminism, civil rights ONT Edition

As a little girl growing up in Jamaica in the 1960s and 70s, I was fascinated by the news reports of civil rights and feminist marches across the United States broadcast on our black-and-white television set. Women of colour were standing on podiums declaring that the black female identity was somet...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inToronto star
Main Author Walter, Ingrid
Format Newspaper Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Toronto, Ont Torstar Syndication Services, a Division of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited 11.03.2006
Subjects
Black people
Civil rights
Color
Feminism
Hair
Middle class
Minority & ethnic groups
Patriarchy
Women
Canada
Jamaica
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Summary:As a little girl growing up in Jamaica in the 1960s and 70s, I was fascinated by the news reports of civil rights and feminist marches across the United States broadcast on our black-and-white television set. Women of colour were standing on podiums declaring that the black female identity was something to be celebrated, a source of pride. As far as my father was concerned, I was no Negro. Even in the '60s and '70s, the legacy of 18th-century slavery and colonial society's division of blacks into categories of dark to lighter shades still affected the way people of colour perceived themselves. The lighter you were, the straighter your hair, the better you were. In the 1970s, Bob Marley and reggae music burst onto the international stage, resonating with millions as they dealt with the issues of race and class oppression. Although Marley's music and Rastafarianism gave black people a voice in popular culture, aspects of the religion bothered me. I was a young black woman who had come to know herself as strong, independent and equal to men.
ISSN:0319-0781