CLASS SUMMARY SHEET
The history of the Caribbean, particularly the countries
of Haiti and Cuba, are of extreme importance to Black People in
the United States. Since Black People were enslaved and shipped
to the so called "new world," the experiences of Black
People in the Caribbean and Black People in the United States
have so much in common that they must be studied as if they were
a single process.
The Caribbean gives Us a clear snapshot of two opposing forces
at work. One of those forces is white power, and the other force
is Black Power. By studying the Caribbean one sees how easily
white power has been able to dominate everybody except Black People.
White power came to North and South America and wiped out the
native populations, and was ready to rule without any serious
competition from non-white people. But then white power transported
Black People to the Americas for slave labor purposes. In so doing,
white power placed within its midst a force that is as powerful
as white power, a force that has more substance than white power,
a force that white power could not overwhelm through its usual
methods of military, economic and political violence.
When one studies the Caribbean, one sees Black Power thwarting
white power even when Black Power is relatively unorganized and
without an anti-white power agenda. We see white power with all
of the advantages, including a carefully laid out game plan against
victims who had no political agenda, and we see Black Power,
unorganized Black power, responding frenetically but still frustrating
the white power game plan from time to time.
The history of Ayiti (Haiti) is immensely important to Black People
in the United States. It allows one to see a crystal clear picture
of the Black-white dichotomy as it plays itself out in the Caribbean,
and it demonstrates how effective Black People are at resisting
white power even when Black People do not have a clear plan of
action. Just as the Haitian Revolution prepared the rest of the
Caribbean and South America to resist white power, it is a strong
example of how Black People in the United States can defeat white
power even when white power possesses all of the material advantages.
The history of Ayiti is quite instructive, and Black People in
the United States of America need to be aware of it.
Black People in the United States, Black People in Haiti and Black People in Cuba. Therein lies an Axis of Dominance for Black Power in the Americas that makes white power shudder. The cultural and historical ties that bind the Black brothers and sisters spread throughout Haiti, Cuba and the United States are richer than all others, run deeper than all others and are more capable of utterly suffocating white power than all others. Black People in the United States need to re-learn and re-understand this family relationship. It is the purpose of this course to help Us do just that.