I was just curious to find out how many of us Bahamians have been in the presence of racial discrimination and the stories behind it! Weither it be here in the Bahamas or abroad! Please share!

Well...of course.Both here and in da States.Here by Southern American or Brit tourists mostly. In the States almost entirely in the South,even the ones that seem nice to you are sometimes frontin',I mean jus look at their eyes,either darting or with no warmth.I think Florida is da most tricky place,as it is populated with misfits,that act educated and cultured but jus front on your arse takin u fa a fool!:(
But all tings being equal...I don't too take it to heart.Why? Because I see prejudice errywhere,between all group especially here,among us!:footmouth

I was just curious to find out how many of us Bahamians have been in the presence of racial discrimination and the stories behind it! Weither it be here in the Bahamas or abroad! Please share!

I don't know if "discrimination" is the correct way to put it. After all, in none of the cases I've experienced was my life, liberty, job, etc threatened by someone's remarks. And then, one has to take into account the culture of the country you're in. What you may see as racial discrimination may be someone's lack of understanding of anything different. For example, I'm mixed - my mother is black, and my father is white. Growing up in the Bahamas around predominantly black people in my community, I always had to endure the "you're so white" remarks from my peers - and they always said it as though it was a bad thing. And then the jeers started around adolescence..you know, "you must be gay because you're white." Or, "your father's white, so he must be gay". But then, when you're the majority, and you've only had the mass media to guide you in life, what other conclusion would they come to? Most gay people in the media are white, so there's that "connection". I'm not excusing it (especially since those remarks were at my expense), but it does give way to an explanation at the very least. Strangely, I never experienced racial tension/remarks/attitudes from white Bahamians.

In the US, it was a little different - and quite honestly, racial tension can be worse in the northern states than the southern! I went to college in Maryland, and in my circumstance, seeing someone who's mixed created confusion (why is beyond me) rather than tension. People looked at me as an oddity, and when they found out my heritage, they were shocked! An (insert gasp here) 'interracial marriage'? That lasted this long??? (My parents have been married now for 26 years). Instead of "you're so white!" I heard (from white people) "wow, so are you black? or white?" - as if I'm supposed to "choose" a colour. From black people in the US, it was "oh, you're black. *One-drop-rule* you know". Those remarks angered me in particular. I don't speak with a Bahamian accent (I don't have one at all), and I don't speak "ebonics" (my mother would 'cut my hip' now if I came home talking like that). It hurt that people would be so shallow as to drop you into some predefined category of stereotype and treat you accordingly. There were white people who expected me to talk "black" and black people who didn't approve that I had white friends (Uncle Tom and all that - it's apparently un-black not to have a chip on your shoulder). To all of them, I just shook my head and explained that I wasn't raised to judge people based on their colour, or expect any more or less of them because of their colour.

So in a nutshell, I can't say I've been outright discriminated against. But there have been times where there was uncomfortable silence when we couldn't see eye-to-eye on something that should never have been an issue in the first place.

I don't know if "discrimination" is the correct way to put it. After all, in none of the cases I've experienced was my life, liberty, job, etc threatened by someone's remarks. And then, one has to take into account the culture of the country you're in. What you may see as racial discrimination may be someone's lack of understanding of anything different. For example, I'm mixed - my mother is black, and my father is white. Growing up in the Bahamas around predominantly black people in my community, I always had to endure the "you're so white" remarks from my peers - and they always said it as though it was a bad thing. And then the jeers started around adolescence..you know, "you must be gay because you're white." Or, "your father's white, so he must be gay". But then, when you're the majority, and you've only had the mass media to guide you in life, what other conclusion would they come to? Most gay people in the media are white, so there's that "connection". I'm not excusing it (especially since those remarks were at my expense), but it does give way to an explanation at the very least. Strangely, I never experienced racial tension/remarks/attitudes from white Bahamians.
In the US, it was a little different - and quite honestly, racial tension can be worse in the northern states than the southern! I went to college in Maryland, and in my circumstance, seeing someone who's mixed created confusion (why is beyond me) rather than tension. People looked at me as an oddity, and when they found out my heritage, they were shocked! An (insert gasp here) 'interracial marriage'? That lasted this long??? (My parents have been married now for 26 years). Instead of "you're so white!" I heard (from white people) "wow, so are you black? or white?" - as if I'm supposed to "choose" a colour. From black people in the US, it was "oh, you're black. *One-drop-rule* you know". Those remarks angered me in particular. I don't speak with a Bahamian accent (I don't have one at all), and I don't speak "ebonics" (my mother would 'cut my hip' now if I came home talking like that). It hurt that people would be so shallow as to drop you into some predefined category of stereotype and treat you accordingly. There were white people who expected me to talk "black" and black people who didn't approve that I had white friends (Uncle Tom and all that - it's apparently un-black not to have a chip on your shoulder). To all of them, I just shook my head and explained that I wasn't raised to judge people based on their colour, or expect any more or less of them because of their colour.
So in a nutshell, I can't say I've been outright discriminated against. But there have been times where there was uncomfortable silence when we couldn't see eye-to-eye on something that should never have been an issue in the first place.

:biggie: Ya mean to tell me say,you dn't use Yina,Bey.Alla, Dey and the like? How sad for you bey.Hands NASBWI a glass of coconut water.

I don't know if "discrimination" is the correct way to put it. After all, in none of the cases I've experienced was my life, liberty, job, etc threatened by someone's remarks. And then, one has to take into account the culture of the country you're in. What you may see as racial discrimination may be someone's lack of understanding of anything different. For example, I'm mixed - my mother is black, and my father is white. Growing up in the Bahamas around predominantly black people in my community, I always had to endure the "you're so white" remarks from my peers - and they always said it as though it was a bad thing. And then the jeers started around adolescence..you know, "you must be gay because you're white." Or, "your father's white, so he must be gay". But then, when you're the majority, and you've only had the mass media to guide you in life, what other conclusion would they come to? Most gay people in the media are white, so there's that "connection". I'm not excusing it (especially since those remarks were at my expense), but it does give way to an explanation at the very least. Strangely, I never experienced racial tension/remarks/attitudes from white Bahamians.
In the US, it was a little different - and quite honestly, racial tension can be worse in the northern states than the southern! I went to college in Maryland, and in my circumstance, seeing someone who's mixed created confusion (why is beyond me) rather than tension. People looked at me as an oddity, and when they found out my heritage, they were shocked! An (insert gasp here) 'interracial marriage'? That lasted this long??? (My parents have been married now for 26 years). Instead of "you're so white!" I heard (from white people) "wow, so are you black? or white?" - as if I'm supposed to "choose" a colour. From black people in the US, it was "oh, you're black. *One-drop-rule* you know". Those remarks angered me in particular. I don't speak with a Bahamian accent (I don't have one at all), and I don't speak "ebonics" (my mother would 'cut my hip' now if I came home talking like that). It hurt that people would be so shallow as to drop you into some predefined category of stereotype and treat you accordingly. There were white people who expected me to talk "black" and black people who didn't approve that I had white friends (Uncle Tom and all that - it's apparently un-black not to have a chip on your shoulder). To all of them, I just shook my head and explained that I wasn't raised to judge people based on their colour, or expect any more or less of them because of their colour.
So in a nutshell, I can't say I've been outright discriminated against. But there have been times where there was uncomfortable silence when we couldn't see eye-to-eye on something that should never have been an issue in the first place.

I don't doubt a word u say,but Maryland is below da Mason Dixon line and was a slave state.:gi: So...I een suprised of their reaction.Maryland een the north!:rolleyes:

I think Florida is da most tricky place,as it is populated with misfits,that act educated and cultured but jus front on your arse takin u fa a fool!
You aint neva lie.

how bout descrimination in the bahamas cause you're bahamian and not a foriegnor :hammer:

how bout descrimination in the bahamas cause you're bahamian and not a foriegnor :hammer:

I cant say that Ive ever experienced racial discrimination here cuz um..most everyone here is my race. Gender discrimination, yeh, and the "girl you so fine you look like somebody draw you dread!" hateration - yeh! lol :rolleyes:

I don't doubt a word u say,but Maryland is below da Mason Dixon line and was a slave state.:gi: So...I een suprised of their reaction.Maryland een the north!:rolleyes:

True, but one thing I failed to mention was that this mostly happened in college - and a large portion of the college students were not from Maryland. We had a large population of kids from NJ and NY.

I don't know if "discrimination" is the correct way to put it. After all, in none of the cases I've experienced was my life, liberty, job, etc threatened by someone's remarks. And then, one has to take into account the culture of the country you're in. What you may see as racial discrimination may be someone's lack of understanding of anything different. For example, I'm mixed - my mother is black, and my father is white. Growing up in the Bahamas around predominantly black people in my community, I always had to endure the "you're so white" remarks from my peers - and they always said it as though it was a bad thing. And then the jeers started around adolescence..you know, "you must be gay because you're white." Or, "your father's white, so he must be gay". But then, when you're the majority, and you've only had the mass media to guide you in life, what other conclusion would they come to? Most gay people in the media are white, so there's that "connection". I'm not excusing it (especially since those remarks were at my expense), but it does give way to an explanation at the very least. Strangely, I never experienced racial tension/remarks/attitudes from white Bahamians.
In the US, it was a little different - and quite honestly, racial tension can be worse in the northern states than the southern! I went to college in Maryland, and in my circumstance, seeing someone who's mixed created confusion (why is beyond me) rather than tension. People looked at me as an oddity, and when they found out my heritage, they were shocked! An (insert gasp here) 'interracial marriage'? That lasted this long??? (My parents have been married now for 26 years). Instead of "you're so white!" I heard (from white people) "wow, so are you black? or white?" - as if I'm supposed to "choose" a colour. From black people in the US, it was "oh, you're black. *One-drop-rule* you know". Those remarks angered me in particular. I don't speak with a Bahamian accent (I don't have one at all), and I don't speak "ebonics" (my mother would 'cut my hip' now if I came home talking like that). It hurt that people would be so shallow as to drop you into some predefined category of stereotype and treat you accordingly. There were white people who expected me to talk "black" and black people who didn't approve that I had white friends (Uncle Tom and all that - it's apparently un-black not to have a chip on your shoulder). To all of them, I just shook my head and explained that I wasn't raised to judge people based on their colour, or expect any more or less of them because of their colour.
So in a nutshell, I can't say I've been outright discriminated against. But there have been times where there was uncomfortable silence when we couldn't see eye-to-eye on something that should never have been an issue in the first place.


Slipped of the topic a little, but got back on track! I know exactly how you feel! I am not conceived with the white race, but there is traces of it in my deep ancestral history as with many others! I am told by my friends all the time that I talk AMERICANIZED! It really doesn't bother me cause I know and feel that I am Bahamian! If they disagree, prove me wrong!

:biggie: Ya mean to tell me say,you dn't use Yina,Bey.Alla, Dey and the like? How sad for you bey.Hands NASBWI a glass of coconut water.

LOL just because I didn't "talk" Bahamian didn't mean I didn't participate in Bahamian things ;) I love coconut water, as well as benny cake, peas n rice, peas n grits, fire engine, sheep tongue souse, johnny cake, coconut tart, and Mummy's raisin cake. Maybe that's why I can't seem to keep the weight off - man, it's a good thing the airlines don't have that 110lb rule anymore LOL

Oh, and for the record, it's yinna hehehe

LOL just because I didn't "talk" Bahamian didn't mean I didn't participate in Bahamian things ;) I love coconut water, as well as benny cake, peas n rice, peas n grits, fire engine, sheep tongue souse, johnny cake, coconut tart, and Mummy's raisin cake. Maybe that's why I can't seem to keep the weight off - man, it's a good thing the airlines don't have that 110lb rule anymore LOL
Oh, and for the record, it's yinna hehehe
Yeah ya got me on that one.:)

I cant say that Ive ever experienced racial discrimination here cuz um..most everyone here is my race. Gender discrimination, yeh, and the "girl you so fine you look like somebody draw you dread!" hateration - yeh! lol :rolleyes:

Nation, you look that good or they really is be bull-skating. Speak the truth and shame the devil! :angel:

LOL just because I didn't "talk" Bahamian didn't mean I didn't participate in Bahamian things ;) I love coconut water, as well as benny cake, peas n rice, peas n grits, fire engine, sheep tongue souse, johnny cake, coconut tart, and Mummy's raisin cake. Maybe that's why I can't seem to keep the weight off - man, it's a good thing the airlines don't have that 110lb rule anymore LOL
Oh, and for the record, it's yinna hehehe

Yeah, you Bahamian all right even if you look like the 20% of us. lol

Nation, you look that good or they really is be bull-skating. Speak the truth and shame the devil! :angel:


we want photos .. :driving: