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Book Report on Una Marson...

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The book entitled “Una Marson”, written by Lisa Tomlinson is a biography based upon the life of Una Marson. As one of the books making up the Caribbean Biography Series from the University of the West Indies Press it highlights the contributions her literature and advocacy made upon the Caribbean and upon future generations. Una Maud Victoria Marson, born in 1905, was a Jamaican feminist, activist and writer who through her poems, plays and radio programmes contributed largely to the development of both Caribbean culture in the region and Britain. Throughout her life Una Marson had many notable achievements including but not limited to joining the League of Coloured People, Ethiopian Legation, her work with the BBC broadcast, Caribbean Voices, and plays like Pocomania. Lisa Tomlinson is a Lecturer in Literary and Cultural Studies, the Institute of Caribbean Studies, the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica. She is the author of The African-Jamaican Aesthetic: Cultural Retention and Transformation across Borders. This biography not only features Una Marson’s work but contextualises it in the twentieth century Caribbean and the impact it would have made. The book is made up of an introduction and three chapters. The introduction outlines her achievements primarily and throughout the rest of the chapters her experiences from her early life until adulthood are examined. This allows the readers to appreciate the milestones of Una Marson’s life which not only

influenced her work but also changed and developed her own personal beliefs. Through these experiences many themes of Caribbean Civilisation are demonstrated. The main themes to be examined in this book report are colonialism, racism, education and religion and Caribbean identity. Under these main themes are smaller themes such as colourism and Pan-Africanism. None of these themes are independent of each other but instead interact together as interconnecting aspects of the twentieth century Caribbean. Through examining these concepts as the foundation of modern Caribbean society, aspects of our culture can be easily understood along with the importance individuals like Una Marson played in our development. In order to properly understand the themes demonstrated within the book the history of the Caribbean must be referenced, primarily colonialism. Colonialism is the process by which a country extends its assets by acquiring political control over an area and its contents and occupying it with settlers. Colonisation is arguably the historical event which had the greatest impact on Caribbean society. It began with Christopher Columbus’first voyage to the Caribbean in 1492. These territories were seen as a valuable commodity to the Europeans and as a result, beginning with the first Spanish settlement in Hispaniola, the years through which the major European powers: the English, Dutch, French, Portuguese and Spanish settled in the Caribbean and built colonies in pursuit of

wealth and power began. The colonial period was wrought with competition between the Europeans, the genocide of the indigenous people, the development of the agricultural society, the rise of the slave trade, emancipation, indentureship, and resistance before independence was awarded to the colonies. This period played a major role in what we currently consider the Caribbean identity. This period of colonialization fostered inferiority based on race, a classist society and dismissal of Caribbean culture in preference for that of the British. Firstly, Racism is the discrimination directed towards members of a particular race usually based on the belief that one’s own race is superior. Racism was a major theme found throughout the course of the book as Marson experienced various struggles with racism in Jamaica, England and America. Racism continues to play a major role in Caribbean society because it played an integral role in supporting and maintaining slave society and as a result its remnants survive even today. The colonies were based on a racially stratified society where the enslaved Africans were the lowest social class, above them the coloureds and at the top of the social class, the whites. After emancipation, although the now freed slaves were to be considered free men it was difficult for interactions between classes to have a completely new start and discrimination persisted. Developing out of this society was colourism. Colourism is defined as prejudice or discrimination within a racial or ethnic group

favouring people with lighter skin over those with darker skin. Colourism developed from the practices of racism where those with lighter skin, the whites and coloured, enjoyed a more privileged lifestyle simply due to their skin tone. As a result, a lighter skin colour became a representation of social status and an indicator of beauty. Marson had experiences with colourism at the early age of ten when she enrolled in Hampton School. This school was primarily for the upper classes and therefore the white and light skinned girls. Having entered the school on a scholarship like the rest of darker skinned girls she was constantly berated publically by the school’s head mistress for getting her education for free. Even more apparent was the discrimination when her lighter skinned sisters would be favoured by teachers although they came from the same background in which she did. This treatment had a lasting impression on Marson but her experiences with Pan Africanism influenced her to accept her African heritage and their standards of beauty rather than those of the Europeans. Her literature reflected her personal development and promoted ideas like loving your skin tone and insisting that dark skin was just as beautiful to younger generations. Unfortunately, skin bleaching, has become increasingly popular as darker skinned individuals continually seek to achieve the Eurocentric standards of beauty even resorting to dangerous methods to achieve a lighter complexion. This

demonstrates how deeply engrained colourism is within society disguised as ‘preferences’(Robinson 583). In addition to the colourism, the economic disparity between classes also arouse of slave society. Marson continually advocated for the lower classes that were taken advantage of during British Imperialism because of their race and financial situation. Often throughout her work and journalism the struggle faced by these individuals were brought to the forefront and she often critiqued the failure of politicians to take action. “While the structure of Caribbean societies today shows that many descendants of Africans and Indians are in the higher social classes, it also reveals that large numbers of these same groups have not been successful in accessing social mobility. They still comprise the poorest groups in the society, and are at the bottom of the social hierarchy. The wealthier and more powerful groups (white, near-white and coloureds) continue to be found almost exclusively in the higher social classes” (Mohammed 94). Even so Marson’s efforts are noteworthy as the attempt to better the living situation of the less fortunate was essential as she was a voice for their struggles and expectations from society. Pre-independent Jamaica was one of the crown colonies in the Caribbean where it was a part of the British Empire and the crown had control of legislation and administration. During the 20th

century there was a wave of migration from the commonwealth Caribbean to Britain for reasons like better living conditions or occupation. Britain was therefore seen as the ‘ mother country’ where they as any other British citizen would be accepted. When Marson moved to England the treatment she experiences was shocking as she had spent her life being taught that she was a British citizen only to be frankly told she as a black individual was not welcome. This was the experience of many migrants; they faced much discrimination and were even considered inferior workers (McDowell). The book referenced this treatment as Marson was unable to find work and was even told at one point that she had good references but firms didn’t employ black persons. Institutional racism differs because it is accepted as a part of the society and its institutions. In America, after slavery had been abolished, African American’s faced this type of racism generated by the legal system. For example the Jim Crow laws and Black codes legalized racial separation this segregation endeavoured to separate from their Caucasian counterparts in activities from eating in a restaurant, riding a bus or using a public bathroom. It can be seen that even though the enslaved had been freed the society was unwilling for that to affect the social structure where black individuals were to remain the lower class. Marson herself experienced being refused service and at times she would ignore signs telling coloured people where and where not to go which could

be considered passive resistance. Passive resistance was methods through which African Americans announced their dissatisfaction with this system and promoted legal reform without violence. Throughout the period of British imperialism, Victorian cultural and values were imported into the Caribbean to be adopted by the colonies. The post-emancipation nineteenth century, thus, witnessed the wholesale importation of cultural items and symbols from Victorian Britain into colonial Jamaica. These included Christianity, customs and dress (Thompson 352). This strengthened the connection between the colonies and the motherland especially the elite class of the colonies. Their social superiority was enforced by their ability to live life in the Caribbean as if they were in Britain. This was portrayed in the book when the literary circles critiqued her poetry noting that the use of dialect was comical and prevented the emotion appeals from being conveyed because of the broken language and when members of the middle class sneered at the use of Patwa (Tomlinson 35, 63). The education system and Christianity were two of the main British institutions enforced in the Caribbean. Prior to emancipation in 1838, the notion of providing education for the African slaves met strong opposition from plantation owners, despite the efforts of many Christian missionaries seeking to provide religious education to convert enslaved-Africans to Christianity. This was in an attempt

to maintain the status of the slaves and prevent resistance. However, after emancipation the metropole invested more into education. This schooling fostered ethnocentric ideals within the children and through this strengthened their assimilation in the British Empire were ideas of independence should not foster as they practiced British culture and viewed it as superior. “Today, after more than two centuries of British colonial rule the educational systems within CARICOM states continue to reflect the academic traditions of their former colonizer” (Coates 347). Marson had strong anti-colonial beliefs directed towards Jamaica’s assimilation into British culture. Her first two collections of poetry reflected her colonial education and British superiority. The influence of pan Africanism, both a political and cultural movement, which sought to unite individuals in the African diaspora and to oppose slavery and colonialism, strengthened her appreciation for her black heritage. It allowed her to ignore the criticism subsequent poetry collections for use of dialect as they could not understand the use of language to communicate the struggle of the working class. In addition, Marson branched out from her Christian upbringing as the daughter of a reverend. She did not abandon her Christianity but instead she had an open mind towards other religions like Rastafarianism. She advocated against the Racism and discrimination this group faced and that was a monumental decision (Tomlinson 47). Her contributions among

others would have played a role in Rastafarianism even being considered a religion. To a much larger extent, Marson rejected ethnocentric values and practices through her promotion of Caribbean culture. Having witnessed elements of her culture being ignored and suppressed in preference of British values much of the lower class could not practice or achieve and a total rejection of their own ancestral values. She sought to share and allow a facet for Caribbean Literature to flourish through the establishment of her publishing agency and through the broadcast, Caribbean Voices. These projects allowed young writers a platform for their work to carry out her aims of allowing young people to express themselves freely (Tomlinson 9). The Caribbean through its integration of various cultures and practices has a unique identity which West Indians now take pride in and can be considered its most precious commodity. It is through efforts like Una Marson’s that the Caribbean Identity has developed to become such and has moved beyond a copy of the Metropoles and even more so beyond a piece of land whose only use was as in agriculture and manufacturing. In conclusion, the book ‘ Una Marson’was an educational read which forces the reader to really understand how much the Caribbean has developed from Colonisation to Emancipation to today. It forces the reader to appreciate those who took the time to

change Caribbean society for the benefit of future generations no matter how much criticism they faced as they did so. Their efforts were an essential part of Caribbean history which deserved to recognised and remembered. This book really encourages an exploration of history and its effects on current society. In addition, it achieves the aim the University of the West Indies had when publishing this series of books. Una Marson role in creating the current Caribbean identity is easily understood and appreciated by general readers and there is a great influence to read the other books of the series.

Works Cited Coates, Chad O. “Educational Developments in the British West Indies: A Historical Overview.” Bulgarian Comparative Education Society, https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED567093. Jones, Cecily. “Shades of White: Gender, Race, and Slavery in the Caribbean.” OpenDemocracy, 25 June 2015, www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-trafficking-and-slavery/wome n-and-slavery-in-caribbean-whiteness-and-gilded-cage/. Kendi, Ibram X. “Colorism as Racism: Garvey, Du Bois and the Other Color Line.” AAIHS, 24 May 2017, www.aaihs.org/colorism-as-racism-garvey-du-bois-and-the-other-c olor-line/. McDowell, Linda. “How Caribbean Migrants Helped to Rebuild Britain.” The British Library, The British Library, 4 Oct. 2018, www.bl.uk/windrush/articles/how-caribbean-migrants-rebuilt-britai n. Mohammed, Jeniffer Anne. Caribbean Studies for CAPE® Examinations: an Interdisciplinary Approach. 2nd ed., Macmillan Education, 2015. “Racism.” Anti-Defamation League, www.adl.org/racism.

Robinson, Petra A. “Perceptions of Beauty and Identity: The Skin Bleaching Phenomenon in Jamaica.” Semantic Scholar, Adult Education Research Conference, 2011, www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Perceptions-of-Beauty-and-Identit y:-The-Skin-in-Robinson/b68caaeefdd15c29b501dfe05beb91052f0 0f044. Southard, John. “Colonial Education.” Postcolonial Studies, Oct. 2017, scholarblogs.emory.edu/postcolonialstudies/2014/06/20/colonial-ed ucation/. Thompson, Alvin O., and Woodville K. Marshall. In the Shadow of the Plantation: Caribbean History and Legacy. Ian Randle Publishers, 2002. Tomlinson, Lisa. Una Marson. The University of the West Indies Press, 2019....