Effects Of Racism In Trinidad And Tobago Society

In the Caribbean, the twin island republic of Trinidad and Tobago is a multicultural nation due to the variety of cultures that can be found in the country. From Syrian to Asian and African to East Indian, Trinidad and Tobago have become the destination for every creed and race over the years. However, within this multicultural society, one assured issue is racism. Racism is defined as the belief that human races have distinct characteristics which determine their perspective cultures, usually involving the idea that one’s own race has been superior and has the right to rule or dominate others. Racism is also a form of prejudice and discrimination where prejudice is defined as negative attitudes and feeling toward or about a group or category

This is because, in the process of socialization, individuals adopt the values, beliefs and perceptions of their family, friends and culture. As a result of this process, any form of prejudices which the individual’s family, friends or culture may have had would have been learned by that individuals whether it was taught directly or intentionally. This individual would now hold the same negative attitudes and feelings toward a specific category of people similar to that of the socializing factor. In the Trinidad and Tobago society, racism a form of prejudice often forms out of society’s stereotypes. Stereotypes are cognitive frameworks that influences the processing of social information and is defined as the beliefs about social groups in terms of the characteristics and traits they are believed to

The music industry over the years have grown and involved similarly in society and what it considers acceptable and the norm. Popular genres of music like hip hop and dancehall which play on the radio stations daily and are mostly favourable amongst adolescents, especially within the Caribbean, fuels racism against the LBGT and White community. Today, many children are being unconsciously socialized to hold prejudices and stereotypes against the targeted group in society while they sing and dance along to this music. Apart from the music industry, the media also fuels racism through news broadcasts and newspaper articles. This is usually done by the way in which they publish or broadcast their news story. The continuous use of colour terms as it relates to individuals can cause persons to develop prejudices of individuals who fit into the category described. These individuals would develop a generalized incorrect opinion that everyone of that particular race is always responsible for a certain negative event. One example of this would be the stereotype that all Muslims are