There’s a certain elegance—and complexity—in Jamaica’s national identity. Our motto, “Out of Many One People,” is spoken with pride and conviction. Yet, behind that unity lie fractures that time cannot simply smooth over. This article seeks to explore why many Jamaicans—even with an intuitive understanding of injustice—struggle to identify racism in its lived, serious form. It's not denial, exactly. It's layered, somewhere between history, culture, and social comfort.
1. Part of the Majority: The Illusion of Homogeneity
When an ethnicity becomes the baseline, it fades into the background. In predominantly Black Jamaica, skin colour—and by extension, race—doesn’t stand out. Many Jamaicans grow up among peers who look like them. Differences of shade are less noteworthy than the rhythm of the everyday. This familiarity, while nurturing, blunts the lens through which racial difference is read. Only when arriving in a society where they become the visible Others—say, Black Jamaicans in the U.S.—does the concept of racism crystallise.
2. Colourblind by Design, But Not by Default
Jamaica's social construct fosters a degree of colourblindness. Reports point out how, when someone pauses awkwardly in a lift or is slow to get served at a restaurant, our first thought is not "they see me as Black," but something entirely different. Such misperceptions are not naïveté, but a reflection of limited exposure to blatant racial prejudice in daily life.
3. “Out of Many, One People”: Unity or Evasion?
The national motto is beautiful—but it can also be misused. Embracing miscegenation is progressive. Yet, the ideology that "we are all the same" can act as a buffer against recognizing injustice. A 2018 study in Social Identities concluded that the ideal of racial mixing in Jamaica is directly tied to a reduced recognition of racial discrimination.
4. Colourism masquerading as Classism
Often, Jamaicans consider inequality as more about class than race. But colorism—light-skin privilege—blurs the lines. Elite circles still skew lighter, beneficiaries of colonial and postcolonial legacies. As a Reddit discussion noted, "Class privilege is more of an issue here… Most privileges… are shared by black Jamaicans of a similar social class."Meanwhile, a Gleaner commentary pointed out that societies in Jamaica subtly assign value to brown skin—“if you are black, step back; if you are brown, stick around.”
5. Denial of Racism as a Protective Mechanism
Many deny that racism exists in Jamaica not out of ignorance, but comfort. The sentiment “there's no racism here, only classism” allows society to sidestep historical and colonial accountability. A Gleaner columnist lamented how Jamaicans passionately rally for Black lives abroad, yet remain silent when injustice surfaces at home.
6. Historical Erasure and Educational Shadows
Jamaica’s education continues to bear the mark of colonial philosophy. Preference for Standard English over Jamaican Patois reinforces a hierarchy of connection with Europe and disconnection from African roots. A lecturer observed that the nation’s elite often reject African identity, perceiving it at odds with status and sophistication.
7. Racism, Not Just a Social Illness
Some profound analyses frame racism as strategic — a tool of control. Norris McDonald argues that in Jamaica, racism has historically enabled elites to hoard wealth and marginalise the majority. These forces endure, far from relics of the past. Understanding this helps shift the view of racism from isolated incidents to structural architecture.
8. The Voice of an Anthropologist: Fernando Henriques
Fernando Henriques’ Family and Colour in Jamaica upended myths about race in the Caribbean, revealing how class and colour are deeply embedded in social structures. His work reminds us that our perceptions are filtered through history—history that you cannot escape simply because you believe yourself detached from it.
9. Hidden Racism Behind Unity: Community Voices
Voices from communities — like Reddit commenters — acknowledge that hidden inequality does exist and must be named. One user called for the racism that's swept under the rug to be “acknowledged… not swept under.”Others point to the over-representation of lighter-skinned or non-black Jamaicans in business and politics, challenging the assumption that everyone truly gets a fair shot.
10. When Acknowledge Meets Action
History shows that public acknowledgement is the first step toward progress. Amy Bailey, in 1937, publicly challenged the racial discrimination that relegated Black Jamaicans to menial jobs. She was criticized — but she began the dialogue that is still necessary today.
11. Cultural Resistance and Affirmation through the Arts
The arts can reveal what polite society often conceals. Groups like the Sistren Theatre Collective use community theatre to tackle racism, classism, and gender oppression — weaving Patois, folklore, and performance into powerful social critique. Through art, the silent issues find voices.
12. Confronting Racism as Emancipation, Not a Past Completed
Peter Espeut, a sociologist, reminds us that Emancipation is not a historical event but an ongoing process. The internalised self-loathing — termed auto-racism — still affects identity and unity. He tells us that the national motto remains more aspirational than actual—“a goal towards which we continue to strive.”
13. Why Denial Persists — and Why Now Is Different
Denial provides social cohesion. But recent reports — such as the UN committee’s findings on discrimination against Rastafari and Maroons — signal that quiet cannot go on indefinitely. The world watches, and Jamaica must reckon with unresolved threads in its fabric.
14. The Urgency of Language, Policy, and Acknowledgment
To effectively confront racism, Jamaica needs laws, public policy, and societal bravery. From racially neutral official forms to equal housing and employment protections — there is work to be done. The silence that conceals racism is as stifling as the system that enforces it.
15. A Together We Can: Where Do We Go From Here?
- Education Reform: Teach colonial and postcolonial history with nuance, recognizing enslaved ancestors, uprisings, and thinkers beyond the surface.
- Public Policy: Enact anti-discrimination laws, protect dreadlocks and cultural expression, and offer redress mechanisms.
- Cultural Platforms: Support community programs and theatre (like Sistren) that explore identity beyond the image.
- National Dialogue: Begin with acknowledging disparity and asking: What does it mean to truly be one people?
The journey matters more than the short-term comfort of unity without justice. As the writer reminds us: you can fool some of the people some of the time—but in Jamaica’s age of awareness, not all of the people all of the time.
Conclusion
Between optimism and denial lies a path few have walked—and yet, perhaps this generation will. To understand racism in Jamaica is not to discredit the vibrant culture or unity we cherish. It is to deepen them. By embracing history honestly and working collectively, unity can be real—and not just beautifully scripted.