A Spanish translation of this article is available here.
Black August is a time to reflect on the global liberation struggle that Black people have waged for centuries. One region with a rich history of resistance is the Caribbean. Caribbean revolutionary history is characterized by an unrelenting pursuit of freedom and justice despite facing severe institutional violence. It is an intrinsic piece of the larger international movement for Black Power and liberation.
Riots, Resistance, and Revolution: Indigenous, Maroon, and Haitian Resistance
Before European settlers arrived, the Caribbean was home to indigenous communities like the Taino and Kalinago, who resisted settler incursions from the late 15th century. Taino leader Hatuey led some of the earliest recorded rebellions against Spanish settlers. By the 17th century, Maroon societies, formed by escaped enslaved Africans, were established in the Caribbean. These communities also engaged in guerrilla warfare against European colonizers. Jamaica’s Windward Maroons, led by Nanny of the Maroons, waged successful campaigns against British occupiers, resulting in a treaty granting them freedom and land. These early forms of resistance laid the foundation for future liberation movements, showcasing the resilience of the colonized and oppressed against imperialism.
The Haitian Revolution in the late 18th and early 19th century redefined global resistance with its ferocious opposition to capitalism. Enslaved Africans, initially organized by figures like Dutty Boukman and later led by Toussaint L’Ouverture and Jean-Jacques Dessalines, overthrew the French Empire. Haiti’s emergence as the first independent nation ruled by formerly enslaved people was significant for banning slavery and supporting other revolutions for other oppressed communities. After the Haitian revolution, unrest continued in the Caribbean. In Trinidad, Carnival evolved from African cultural practices into a form of political resistance, often satirizing the ruling class. The Canboulay Riots of 1881 saw colonial forces violently suppress Afro-Trinidadian celebrations to curb insurrectionist ideals [1].
Percolating Nationalism: Theorizing a Liberated Caribbean
In the 20th century, Caribbean consciousness emerged with an anti-imperialist focus and a call for Black Power that was deeply connected to movements in the United States. In many ways, because the Caribbean was seen as the “backyard” of US imperialism, Caribbean-born and descended people in the region and in the US were exposed to the conditions, contradictions, and crisis of capitalism. In fact, many prominent Black radicals in the US were of Caribbean descent or born.
Jamaican-born Marcus Garvey, for example, advocated for Black self-determination and economic independence, founding the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) [2]. His vision inspired Caribbean intellectuals to challenge colonial and capitalist structures and laid the groundwork for broader revolutionary consciousness. Claudia Jones became a prominent figure in the US for her writing highlighting racial, gender, and economic issues through an internationalist Black, feminist, and communist lens. After being deported to the UK, she founded the West Indian Gazette and established the Notting Hill Carnival in London, celebrating Caribbean culture and resistance.
Trinidadian C.L.R. James, with his seminal work The Black Jacobins, analyzed the Haitian Revolution’s role in global anti-colonial struggles, linking it to the fight against capitalism and imperialism [3]. Martinican Aimé Césaire’s concept of “negritude” critiqued colonialism and capitalism, emphasizing the reclamation of African cultural identity. His works, Cahier d’un retour au pays natal (“Notebook of a Return to the Native Land”) and Discours sur le colonialisme (“Discourse on Colonialism”), celebrated African heritage and critiqued colonialism [4].
Later, Guyanese Walter Rodney furthered the consciousness of independence movements with How Europe Underdeveloped Africa (1972), analyzing neocolonial exploitation [5]. His essays, published in Decolonial Marxism: Essays from the Pan-African Revolution (2021), continued this analysis [6]. Audre Lorde, born to Grenadian and Barbadian parents, focused on the intersections of race, gender, sexuality, and class in her writing, most notably in her book Sister Outsider (1984) [7]. She represents a queer, femme, and Black voice challenging oppressive social structures and advocating for systemic change. These diverse voices theorizing different forms of revolutionary change shaped Caribbean consciousness throughout the 20th century and beyond, and were inextricably linked to the growing consciousness of the Civil Rights and Black Power movements.
Waving the Flag: Caribbean Independence Movements in the 20th Century
Resistance movements continued throughout the 20th century, resulting in both successes and failures. The 1937 uprising in Barbados, led by Clement Payne, addressed unemployment and unsafe working conditions. Despite being suppressed, it led to increased labor activism and reforms. The 1937 Ponce Massacre in Puerto Rico involved the violent repression of nationalist protests for Puerto Rican independence from American rule. Though it resulted in 19 deaths and over 200 injuries, it became a turning point in Puerto Rican nationalist identity. It cemented independence from American colonialism as an ongoing struggle carried on into the present.
The Cuban Revolution of 1959 was a monumental achievement in advancing anti-imperialist thought. Led by figures like Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, and Haydée Santamaría, it overthrew the Batista dictatorship and established a socialist government committed to combating imperialism and capitalism. The revolution implemented reforms in education, healthcare, and land distribution, improving Cuban lives and supporting international liberation movements. Cuba became a staunch supporter of the Black Power Movement, the Black Panther Party, and other Black revolutionary movements. Following Cuba’s success, Caribbean independence movements emerged from the 1960s to the 1980s. Inspired by figures like Kwame Nkrumah in Ghana, Fidel Castro in Cuba, and Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam, these movements came alongside decolonization efforts in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the United States. Leaders such as Michael Manley in Jamaica advocated for independence and sought to address economic and social inequalities perpetuated by imperialism.
Inspired by the Cuban Revolution, the 1959 “June 14 Movement” in the Dominican Republic attempted to overthrow dictator Rafael Trujillo. Although initially suppressed, it set in place events that would lead to Trujillo’s eventual assassination in 1961 and the democratic election of Partido Revolucionario Dominicano leader Juan Bosch in 1962 which was later toppled by a US-backed coup and later outright military intervention in 1965. The Grenadian Revolution of 1979, led by Maurice Bishop and the New Jewel Movement (NJM), aimed to establish a socialist government and overthrow the corrupt regime of Eric Gairy. Similarly to the Dominican Republic, The US overthrew the movement in a violent invasion in 1983 out of fear that the NJM’s ties to Cuba and the Soviet Union would bolster socialist movements in the Caribbean and abroad . These movements, while not always immediately successful, reflect a simmering revolutionary fervor against imperialist rule in the region. Between 1960 and 1989, nations including Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Guyana, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, Antigua, Barbuda, Belize, and Saint Kitts and Nevis all gained independence from colonial rule [8].
These movements were intertwined with Black Power and anti-imperialist ideologies. It was Trinidadian American Kwame Ture (formerly Stokely Carmichael) who coined the term “Black Power.” Ture led significant movements in the US and Africa, including organizing with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), developing close ties with the Black Panther Party, and helping to found the All-African People’s Revolutionary Party. The revolutionary struggle for independence in the Caribbean has been and always will be just one part of the broader international struggle against colonial domination and racial oppression.
Conclusion: Honoring the Legacy
Despite often revolutionary ideals, many Caribbean nations have developed complicated relationships with global capitalist structures and imperialism. This ongoing struggle underscores the need for a nuanced understanding of revolutionary socialism—acknowledging both the achievements and limitations of these national independence movements. Reflecting on Black August and the upcoming West Indian Day Parade in New York City on Labor Day, we must acknowledge the Caribbean diaspora’s rich history of resistance linked to the broader anti-imperialist struggle for Black liberation. When we reflect on the labor movement on Labor Day, it is imperative that we include the labor of Black people in North America and the Caribbean. These empires could not have created the global wealth systems that exist today without the blood of Black people. This also means that it is those that these empires exploited that have the power to uproot these systems, and history shows us that we have the capacity to succeed. The Caribbean heritage we choose to celebrate should, at its core, be revolutionary, one based on historical and ongoing resistance against oppression. It should center on anti-imperialism, international solidarity, and, importantly, Black liberation and liberation for all oppressed people.
References
[1] Campbell, Horace. Rasta and Resistance: From Marcus Garvey to Walter Rodney. Africa World Press, 1985.[2] Garvey, Marcus. Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey. Edited by Amy Jacques Garvey, Atheneum, 1969.
[3] James, C.L.R. The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L’Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution. Vintage, 1989.
[4] Césaire, Aimé. The Haitian Revolution. Monthly Review Press, 1972.
[5] Rodney, Walter. How Europe Underdeveloped Africa. Verso, 2018.
[6] Rodney, Walter. Decolonial Marxism. Verso, 2021
[7] Lorde, Audry. Sister Outsider. Crossing Press, 1984.
[8]. Scott, David. Refashioning Futures: Criticism After Postcoloniality. Princeton University Press, 1999.
