Dr. Watson's faux pas
- Collection:
- Black Caribbean Literature (BCL)
- Format:
- Newspaper Article
- Publication Date:
- Oct 24-Oct 31, 2007
- Published:
- Brooklyn, NY
- ISBN:
- 1043-3783
- Location:
- African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Subject Term:
- Caribbean area, Blacks, Race relations, Haiti, Social conditions, Scientists, Perceptions, Watson, James D., 1928-
- Notes:
- It goes something like this: A Dr. James D. Watson made a statement in an interview with the Times of London, which was interpreted to mean that blacks are dumber than whites (those are my words). Here's what he actually said: "...there are many people of color who are very talented," ...he is "inherently gloomy about the prospect of Àfrica. ' "All our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours - whereas all the testing says not really," the Times quoted him as saying. As a child growing up in Haiti, I often heard my peers making comments that would reflect views similar to that allegedly expressed by Dr. Watson. There's no truth to the belief that Haitians are inferior to citizens of other nations, but sadly, many Haitians believe that. Unfortunately, many non-Haitians believe that about Haitians as well. For as long as I can remember, there s been a cancer spread throughout that says that we as a people aren't capable of rising above our circumstances and becoming who we were created to be. It's time for all of us to recognize that all people are created in the image of God. One race or people group isn't created "better than another. We are all created equal and we are all loved equally by a Heavenly Father who desires the best for His creatures.
