What is in ‘a slave master’s name’?

Dr Moriba Atiba Baker
Dr Moriba Atiba Baker

DR MORIBA ATIBA BAKER

KAMLA SUSHEILA Persad-Bissessar, you need to learn, apologise and resign. As a black Trinidadian-Tobagonian I am truly offended that you felt that you should have gone to such a base degree through invoking the horrors of slavery in defence of your name. The UNC and Trinidad and Tobago deserve much better.

My name is Moriba Atiba Baker. My name was given to me by my parents who were proud to call me Moriba (knowledgeable/curious) Atiba (man of understanding). Despite being told my name was strange, funny and different and although my name was often mispronounced it never diminished what it meant and the story it told. I always share with joy the history, the future and meaning of my name, knowing who I am.

Historically, you too were very proud of your given name. In fact, in the 2015 and 2020 election campaigns you and your team placed your given name on the ballot. The name “KAMLA” was emboldened on every campaign advertisement, slogan and logo. It was then your badge of honour which you wanted the country to call you. It was impossible to go anywhere without seeing your name and your wave on billboards and on marketing materials, from copybooks to teacups. Your name was your hope of victory – “a new day.” Now, why is there a problem to hear your own name in the mouths of others?

Conversely, my surname – Baker – represents another part of history, a history which you claim to know quite well and felt obliged to bring to the national attention. However, you forgot to mention that it was not just a “slave master’s name” but a name with a history tied to the transatlantic slave trade and slavery. Both were declared by the United Nations as some of the most egregious acts of human rights abuses, forced labour, rape, genocide, kidnapping and murder. It lasted for almost 400 years, causing multigenerational trauma together with continued oppression and absence of opportunity to access the benefits available in the society.

You forgot to mention that the “slave master’s name” is a name tied to the stress of contemporary racial prejudice and internalised racist beliefs. You forgot to mention that when you invoke the notion of another carrying a “slave master’s name” you are establishing your privilege over another. You forgot to mention the bias. Or did you?

I hold no personal brief for Camille Robinson-Regis. I have never met the woman. But your statements towards her and by extension people who hold “slave master’s names” highlight in my mind a hatred towards a people which can cause you to miss love for country. Has your desire for power and misplaced politics replaced serving the people? As a knowledgeable man of understanding, I suggest that you reflect on the motives behind your statements and make amends.

During your term as prime minister the United Nations declared October 18 as Anti-Slavery Day. An opportunity to raise awareness of human trafficking and modern slavery, and encourage governments, local authorities, companies, charities and individuals to do what they can to address the problem. Your statements did just the opposite. Your statements were fodder for clickbaits, labelling and division.

Around the world and within the Caribbean there is a move to address the impacts of slavery and the legacies of the “slave master’s name”. In recent visits to the Caribbean by Prince Charles and Prince William, they both apologised for the role of the UK in slavery. Charles’s speech during Barbados’s Republic celebrations identified slavery as one of the darkest days of the past and noted it as an appalling atrocity which forever stains our history. For his part, William in Jamaica claimed he felt profound sorrow for the appalling atrocity of slavery, that slavery was abhorrent and it never should have happened.

For this reason, countries around the world are calling for reparations for the atrocities of the past. Within the Caribbean, at the Caricom level, there is the National Commission on Reparations for Slavery. In the US and at the UN, the 1619 project has highlighted that slave trade reparations are essential. California recently took a major step in setting the stage for an official government apology and a case for financial restitution. In Holland, the city of Utrecht is removing any bureaucracy and paying all costs to assist people who want to shake off the “slave master’s name”.

Meanwhile in sunny TT, the leader of the opposition party is invoking the “slave master’s name” as a defence against someone who merely said her given name out loud. You ent see that is troubling?

Those of you who felt offended by the term “Calcutta ship” and nothing over the “slave master’s name” should do some introspection. Is it that one history of oppression and dark difficult days is better than another? Is one ship better than the other? Or are both symbolic of hurt which should be corrected and not used as an area to elevate one over another. The arrival of any ship is not to be used in that regard.

Mrs Persad-Bissessar, you should know better. Nevertheless, nothing can be done to change the history. But what we can do is acknowledge what happened and then try to build relationships together. So, today, I use the name Baker as a hope to reunite with other family members who I would only be able to identify by the familiar marker – Baker. If I see a Baker doing well in the news and the papers, I feel proud. That is my family even through the unfortunate bonds of history. We Bakers represent a new opportunity to stand on the shoulders of history and redirect it.

Mrs Persad-Bissessar, it is now your turn. History is not about the past. It’s about the present! Therefore, I suggest you utilise your vantage point as a former prime minister and the leader of a major political party to survey a new horizon in the present. Don’t quibble and use the “slave master’s name” as a form of mudslinging in the present. It is wrong, offensive and should not be condoned.

Learn about historical trauma and its negative associations. Spend some time understanding the meanings of micro-aggressions and their impact. Spend some time learning about the post-traumatic slave disorder as suggested by Dr Joy DeGruy Leary. Join the fight of many around the world, including within the Caribbean, for reparations for slavery. Remove the associations of privilege and internalised racial bias that you have created, promoted and endorsed through your statements. Serve the people one more time by learning, apologising and leaving. Take it from a knowledgeable man, a man of understanding.

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"What is in ‘a slave master’s name’?"

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