Stories about Caribbean from June, 2020
Police killings spark protests in Trinidad's capital
Following the killing of three men by police on June 27, residents of communities in Trinidad on blocked roads, burned debris and processed through the streets chanting "Don't shoot!"
Taking down statues: France confronts its colonial and slave trade past
Amid global action against racism, France has been divided for several weeks over what to do about statues of historical figures that are connected to slavery and colonialism.
Old statues, new maps
"It's not an action that Columbus' local devotees ever imagined enacting: for them, the old map not only rules, but should always rule, no matter how much blood drenches it."
Jamaica’s Brian Heap, Caribbean regional winner of the 2020 Commonwealth Short Story Prize, talks storytelling
"Jamaican language [...] is designed to subvert the English language. I love its frequent juxtaposition of archaic English words and African expressions and syntax, [...] used to sometimes devastating effect."
Speaking with Jamaica’s Brian Heap, Caribbean regional winner of the 2020 Commonwealth Short Story Prize
"Jamaica is so rich in stories [...] It’s so important for us to delve into the inner life of Jamaican subjects."
Amid Black Lives Matter protests, fresh calls to remove statuary that hijacks the Caribbean's historical narrative
BLM protests have inspired the denigration and defacement of symbols of black oppression. The Caribbean, with its long history of occupation, has its own symbols of oppression to reconsider.
Black Lives Matter protests in Trinidad & Tobago spark discussions about race
The Black Lives Matter movement brings racism into sharp relief in the twin-island Caribbean nation.
Black Lives Matter in Jamaica, too
"Some of you outraged at the people in America demonizing victims of police brutality and don't realise you do the same thing here."
‘Sit with that discomfort': Two white Trinidadians go public about racism
"If we cannot talk about the legacies of trauma, plundering, violence, genocide and prejudice that are ever present [...] there will be no equality."
World Environment Day should mean more in Trinidad & Tobago this year
While there are encouraging signs, social media users remain unconvinced that the fight to protect the environment is anywhere near over.
Restarting Caribbean economies under threat of COVID-19
As a major source of foreign exchange and employment for most of the region, safely opening up borders to overseas visitors has become ever more pressing.
Is the Caribbean winning the fight against COVID-19?
Could the region be past the worst — or simply enjoying a quieter period before the much-feared second wave?
‘Born fi dead': The Caribbean looks at the George Floyd protests and sees itself
"This Minneapolis fight was Marcus Garvey’s fight; it was Martin’s fight; it was Malcolm’s fight; it was Marley’s fight. It’s a Caribbean fight and it’s a global fight."
‘To speak of George Floyd, it is necessary to speak of my own failures’
"I think of. . . all the times I've bitten my tongue while my uncles raged on about the grotesquerie of blacks, their laziness, their ineptitude, their savagery."
About our Caribbean coverage
Janine Mendes Franco is the Caribbean editor. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.
