Ottawa, Ontario: Library and Archives Canada = Bibliothèque et Archives Canada
Location:
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
Reprint of the author's 2010 M.A. thesis (Carleton University, 2010), 252 p., 3 microfiches + 1 CD-ROM., In 1970s Bahamas, a radio serial cum soap opera called The Fergusons of Farm Road that ran for almost 190 episodes over a five year period became a cultural phenomenon. Ironically, it was originally a part of a courtesy campaign designed to teach Bahamians the importance of being friendly to tourists. This thesis is the first significant study of the Fergusons , basing its insights on original episode scripts, interviews and recently discovered archival audio recordings. It situates the show within the historical and cultural context of the ongoing Bahamian tourism courtesy campaigns to better understand how it transcended the limitations of its pedagogical role into the realm of abiding popular culture.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
228 p, Contents: The role of the coloured middle class in Nassau, 1890-1942 -- Women in the Bahamian society in the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth Centuries -- A historical sketch of family life in the Bahamas -- Isolation within an isolated archipelago : the out island communities in the Bahamas during the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth Century -- Emancipation and 'over-the-hill' -- Aspects of traditional African-Bahamian culture in the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth Century -- The blockade running era in the Bahamas : blessing or curse? -- Prohibition : a mixed blessing for the Bahamas -- The changing face of Nassau : the impact of tourism on Bahamian society in the 1920s and 1930s -- The 1937 riot in Inagua -- The 1942 riot in Nassau : a demand for change? -- The 1956 resolution : breaking down the barriers of racial discrimination in the Bahamas -- The 1958 general strike in Nassau : a landmark in Bahamian society -- Race relations and national identity in the formation of the Bahamian society: a historical perspective.
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.
