By Makeida Antonio From Antigua Observer

A historian and professor believes that slavery is not being used to excuse behavioural patterns and trends among black males, but explains that there are several layers that contribute to behaviours seen today.

Professor of History at Columbia University Natasha Lightfoot said that slavery is still a relatively recent event.

“Slavery really happened a short time ago. It ended roughly 175 years ago and these islands were colonised by the English for about 400 years under all sorts of repressive colonial structure, so how can you say that the moving on should have happened already? I just feel that as a historian, I see things in a longer term, so I don’t see slavery as an excuse at all,” Lightfoot said in an OBSERVER media interview.

She says that what is currently happening in the black community is that people are forced to make difficult decisions due to the lingering effects of slavery.

“Many people’s struggles come from the decisions that they make. I want to highlight the difference between decisions and choices. A choice it what someone makes when they have a range of options and decions are what you make when you’re faced with a lot of circumstances that are beyond your control and you just have to choose the least harmful option in that context,” the professor explained.

She also spoke on the distinct differences that can be found between the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement within the US and the ongoing reparations movement within the Caribbean region. She highlighted that the latter is more supported by the government.

“There’s a certain kind of distrust towards the government in the Caribbean but the fact is that there is governmental support. It stems from the fact that many people who have governmental authority in the Caribbean are the descendants or former slaves. So you don’t have to do as much convincing of the rightness of reparations here as you would have to do about the idea that black lives should matter in a violent police state that is being run by people who are not black,”

Lightfoot, who is the author of “Troubling Freedom: Antigua and the Aftermath of British Emancipation” has done extensive research into the way that black males and females interact with each other and believes that the gender inequality that is still evident today stems from colonialism and slavery.

IMAGE: Taken From: www.factslides.com

For more on this story go to: http://antiguaobserver.com/slavery-is-not-being-used-as-an-excuse-historian-says/