295 p., In the Bahamas, racism disguises itself under nationalism, education,language, and immigrant status. This study describes the racial dynamics (within African- Diasporic populations) rooted in European colonialism. The Bay Street elite represented European colonialism in the Bahamas as late as the 1970s and transformed the Bahamas into a liberalized economy that relies primarily on tourism. The tourist industry began in the late 1950s, when the Bay Street elite recruited Haitian workers as Cuba denounced tourism at the beginning of the Castro regime. As the profits from the tourist industry declined during the 1970s, Bahamians accused Haitian migrants of being a threat to national security rather than a necessary source of cheap labor. Bahamian print media is the main vehicle for the practices of discrimination against Haitians. This study examines editorials, articles, letters to the editors, and cartoon images from 1959 to 2012 to understand how Bahamians marginalize Haitians and their descendants.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
219 p., This hurricane devastated the northwest Bahamas and impacted the economy of the Bahamas for years to follow. This storm occurred during the peak of the sponging era. Many boats were out at sea on sponging trips and were caught at sea during this storm not knowing a massive storm was approaching the Bahamas and many persons perished on-board these ships. The storm was one of the main reasons why the government of the Bahamas switched from Sponging to Tourism as the number one industry of the Bahamas.
