Destiny Britt
City College of New York
Professor Bell
10/15/22
“The Hardships of the Mixed Caribbean American,”
The person I interviewed was Alvin Ramdhanie. Alvin is a nineteen-year-old attending city college studying computer engineering. Alvin identifies as an American-born Guyanese male. He classifies himself as being mixed with both Indian and Black. The community that Alvin is a part of is the Caribbean-American mixed community. This community is joined by both physicality and commonality. The Caribbean American community exists because it is located throughout America, as many Caribbeans have immigrated to this country and have American-born children in various areas. This community is joined by commonality because of the shared traits; for example, Alvin is Indian and Black, which is why he is in the diverse community, a shared trait for many others. Alvin was born into this community because of his parents and the geography of where he was born.
The Caribbean-American diverse community is marginalized from the American mainstream society. American mainstream society is uneducated about the diversity of Caribbean people and their children. When thinking about Caribbean people, Americans often think of black people or the Latin community. However, many Americans fail to conceptualize diversity in the Caribbean. When meeting an Indian- Caribbean person, the automatic assumption is that the person was born in India or their parents were. The Caribbean-American community is often overlooked as well as its diversity, in a country where everything is Black and White. Frequently, Americans invalidate Caribbean Americans because they are born in America or because of their features. An example of the lack of knowledge on diversity in the Caribbean is that Alvin himself is often judged on his features and people jump to the conclusion that his parents were born in India. People often discredit his cultural background not only because of his features but also because of where he was born.
Alvin’s cultural identity/ community has shaped his perspective because he has found happiness in his cultural identity. Alvin has come to terms with his American and Caribbean identities. He acknowledges his advantages because he was born in America, for example, going to college free of charge in New York City, which his parents, as immigrants, were unable to get (free education) while still remembering and embracing his Caribbean background. He often participates in listening to reggae, dancehall, and soca and even eating the food and going to Carnival. Although there are times when he is made to feel less Caribbean because of his features and his country of birth, he makes it a point to educate those who may make assumptions about his cultural identity.
I asked Alvin what he thought made a strong community during my interview. “Relatability creates a strong community; sharing the same morals, traditions, foods, and music helps bring a community together despite our differences,” he responded. Alvin helped me understand the importance of keeping up with your cultural identity and how despite feeling isolated because of where you were born, keeping up with your roots helps counteract that, especially when you are born as a first-generation American-Caribbean child. I asked Alvin about some challenges his community experienced due to being marginalized. “There are many challenges as a first-generation American-Caribbean; your cultural identity is always being compromised or discredited because you were born in America. There is much identity-washing as well, many people aren’t in touch with their roots or cultural background as a result of being born here, but many people lose touch with their cultural background as a result of coming here,” he responded. During this interview, we discussed how detrimental identity washing could be or the invalidation of cultural identities due to the country of birth. We discussed how the invalidation of cultural roots could also be the origin of identity-washing as a way to assimilate into American culture.
Alvin and I are from similar communities; however, I am not mixed, although my father is. Therefore, I have not faced all of Alvin’s struggles, specifically regarding the assumption of my cultural identity based on my features. We both have been invalidated regarding our cultural identities; however, my experience is not due to my features but my country of birth. Before this interview, I assumed Alvin’s parents were from India rather than the Caribbean. I assumed he did not face any real struggles because of his features or cultural identity because it was not evident what he identified as – although I was wrong. After the interview, I learned how black and white American society could be because of the lack of education on specific backgrounds and how the effects can be detrimental to someone’s outlook on themselves. I agree that the diverse community in the Caribbean is often overlooked, and there should be more education on it. I can advocate by educating not only myself but others. We live in a world where education is power, and being able to pass on knowledge to benefit someone is one of the best things you can do. As social scientists, being able to see things from numerous perspectives and educating yourself and others on imperative topics without bias is what we do. Education eliminates bias, and deploys people to make a difference.
