I hope this debate develops because all around people were miseducated about each other.

In the Caribbean we have some poor attitudes by those from bigger islands towards those from smaller islands. These attitudes were part of the atmosphere that blocked Caribbean integration. Even in Trinidad and Tobago we can hear derogatory references to Africa and Africans from other Caribbean islands. To further add from my experiences, U.S. Blacks generally display superiority complexes towards other Blacks, especially when U.S Blacks travel abroad. Sometimes one gets the impression that all is well with them in the U.S. as they brag about how great it is back home (the U.S.) while talking down to others. I have witnessed this personally on numerous occasions. These same superiority and inferiority complexes paralleling European false standards are definitely being played out among Blacks.

Since the early dispersion of African people, Africans have not been one homogenous people. We had shared values but a host of differences based on different experiences. Today we have different values alongside different experiences. Acknowledging the differences and not trying to suppress them is the way to go. We could deal with the attitudes by developing better values.

As I previously said, all sides have been misinformed, and one way to help address this among those who wish to develop a more cohesive broad base coalition, is to encourage all sides to learn about the experiences of others, alongside our common history.