Communication Studies Internal Assessment:

CLASSISM IN JAMAICA

Name: Lincoln Williams

Subject: Communication Studies
School: Calabar High School
Center Number:
Candidate Number:
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

CONTENT PAGE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION 2

PREFACE 3

REFLECTION: POEM 4-6

LANGUAGE ANALYSIS 7
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GENERAL INTRODUCTION

“Classism in Jamaica” is an issue that is often swept under the rug. This research
seeks to expose the classist ideologies Jamaica is built on and identify how we
became such a classist country. The theme is highlighted in the exposition which
describes different scenarios in Jamaica where classism would raise its ugly head.
Additionally, a poem entitled Are we one? Questions the notion of Jamaica's motto
“Out of many one people”. Jamaicans take pride in calling ourselves a melting pot of
different races and cultures but we fail to acknowledge the social divisions this
country is built on this poem places the spotlight on that.

This topic became of interest to the researcher while at an unnamed university

where there was an abundance of top tier high school students from across the island.
While observing the room the students from the common public high schools where
noticeably darker in complexion in comparison to the students from the top tier high
schools. The students from the common public high schools spoke mostly in creole
vernacular while the students from the top tier high schools spoke in standard English.
Above all the students who seemed to be higher up on the social ladder were given the
most attention when answering questions leading the researcher to believe that there
were some classist undertones at work.
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PREFACE

The issue of Classism not only affects people in first world countries where there is a
melting pot of races and people from different socioeconomic backgrounds but also
the Caribbean specifically Jamaica. Prejudice against people belonging to a particular
social class is deeply rooted in Jamaica’s identity. House slaves were taken better care
of and exempted from certain punishments thus came the jealousy amongst field
slaves and the arrogance and cockiness of the house slaves. The intended audience
includes people leaving tertiary education seeking to a career or those who are just
seeking to find a stable job in Jamaica. The researcher prefers this audience due to the
fact that these individuals are the ones who will most likely face some sort of
discrimination in their respective jobs or careers. This piece will be published on the
Gleaner website with links to the piece on all social media platforms such as
Facebook and Instagram. Newspapers have become obsolete with the introduction of
online articles and news reports hence more people particularly the younger
demographic will view this piece.
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REFLECTION

ARE WE ONE?

We work so hard yet we reach nowhere, Jamaica “Out of Many one people”, but are
we really one?

Are we really united for one purpose?

Are we really looking out for our fellow brothers and sisters?

Are we really just crabs in a deep dark barrel pulling down each other never being
able to reach the top?

“She talk proper eeh man”,

“Har skin light and pretty eeh man”,

“She muss bright”,

“She affi rich”,

“A muss Cherry Gardens she come from”.

The masses try to emulate the appearance,

they try to copy the Standard English only to be judged and ridiculed.

They try to apply for their jobs but they are never hired.

Jamaica let me ask you again are we really one?

The job you have, the title you hold I might never be able to get.

“Is wah a true mi black”?

“Is wah a true mi talk suh”?

“Is wah a true mi cyah manage fi afford a house uppa Havendale Crescent”?

We try our best but it is never good enough,

I am never good enough,

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You are never good enough,

We are never good enough.

Our opinions and ideas are never considered instead they are washed down the drain
of irrelevancy.

But let us not blame ourselves for the division we face today,

let us instead place the blame on our enslavers of yesterday, who split us up into
different groups and gave us different responsibilities spawning new breed of isms
Classism, Colourism, Racism. The trend of isms continues to scratch at Jamaica
already wounded society to this day.

“Out of many one people but we are still unable to get the same health care our fellow
wealthier country men get”.

“Out of many one people but we cannot hold a certain position in a job because of
where we come from”.

“Out of many one people but a child from Tivoli is labelled as incompetent and never
given the importunity to shine.

“Out of many one people but the helper’s child is just as academically qualified as the
boss’s child yet still the boss’s child has a reserved seat in that Alma mater school
while the helper’s child has to sit back and hope they get accepted.
Meritocracy has diminished currency in this country. You may have money, lots of it,
but 'a buttu in a Benz is still a buttu'.

Stand up and do something. Defend your right to be a first-class citizen in your own
country. Rich blacks and wealthy people of other races should be blamed for keeping
nepotism alive and actively trying to separate themselves from people that they do not
see as good enough.

Jamaica wake up, our society is divided, Its time for social Integration,

It’s time for us to really become united.

The flame of Jamaica’s classist society shall eventually burn out when we decide to
come together as a nation and address the classist undertones this society was built on
the smoke left behind shall remind Jamaicans of a social injustice that once was.
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Jamaica “Out of many one people”.

I ask you one last time are we really one?

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ANALYSIS

The creative piece titled “Are we one” is a first person poem that questions the
validity of Jamaica's motto “Out of many one people”. The poem highlights the issue
of classism in Jamaica and how it is swept under the rug, yet still Jamaicans continue
to take pride in our mixed cultural and ethnic heritage and exposes the hypocrisy in
the motto. The poem answers the question of how Jamaica became a classist society
with the statement “But let us not blame ourselves for the division we face today,

let us instead place the blame on our enslavers of yesterday, who split us up into
different groups and gave us different responsibilities spawning new breed of isms
Classism, Colourism, Racism”. The poem also provides evidence for classism in
Jamaica by giving us examples of classist acts for example “Out of many one people
but a child from Tivoli is labelled as incompetent and never given the importunity to
shine”. In the poem both casual and frozen registers were used. The casual register
was mostly used by the narrator speaking to the upper class Jamaicans. One example
is when the narrator asks the questions “Is wah a true mi black”? “Is wah a true mi
talk suh?” The familiarity with which the narrator speaks to Upper class Jamaicans
indicates that the narrator sees them as nothing more than fellow country-men and
indicates that he considers himself neither above or below them. The Frozen register
is used when the narrator says Jamaica's motto “Out of many one people” Jamaica’s
motto cannot be changed hence the same tone throughout the entire poem. The motto
is constantly repeated in the piece to remind Jamaicans of the hypocritical society we
live in. In conclusion the reflective piece highlights and answers the statement that
Jamaica is a classist society and how we became classist by providing example of
classist ideologies we hold and tracing Jamaica's classism as far back as the period of
slavery.