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“Race and class are inextricably connected. ” ( Curry, pers. comm. ) In some instances your race can change you class. Nowhere is this more evident than in the western hemisphere during the days of emancipation. Due to this fact one can see where it becomes very important to be absolutely sure of your race. The reality of life is that no one wants to be in a “lower class” so knowing where you fit, and knowing how to move up if your place is undesirable, is essential to perceived success.
In The Bahamas the dominant upper class are mostly white Bahamians (though some would quickly deny it for political gain).
The “oppressed” lower class is mostly black Bahamians (once again which will be quickly denied by some for political gain). Universally, since time immemorial, it is very easy to identify a black Bahamian. Simply look at the color of their skin, the texture of the hair, the shape of their nose. Persons with black skin were considered black and therefore more often than not fell among the lower class.
Conversely it is not so easy to identify a white Bahamian.
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Sure you could say look at the color of the skin, the texture of the hair, the shape of their nose, this would tell you right away that this person is a white Bahamian who belongs to the upper class. Were this true things would be immensely different. Trying to identify a true white Bahamian is a most daunting task. And what about the non-white, non- black, third race that exists in The Bahamas? What class are they? Where do they fit in the scheme of things?
This is the gray area of race and class distinction for any system.
And it is this particular group of people that lend to the confusion or misinterpretation of what is a white Bahamian. The skin color, eye color and hair texture of these people can simultaneously resemble black and white Bahamians. So how do we differentiate? The definition of a white Bahamian is as diverse as the chain of islands of the Bahamas. The definition changes based on the person you are discussing it with at the time. The description changes based on the island you are on at the time.
At some points the definition or description even changes based on your political persuasion, financial status and level of education. “It is possible, therefore, for the same person to be considered “black” in Freeport, “brown” in Eleuthera or Long Island and “white” in Cat Island – and indeed, for him to identify himself as such in each of the different places. In her essay entitled National Identity and The Archipelago, Bethel notes that one can never be sure that each term is always used consistently throughout the country to mean the same thing.” ( ) (footnote 2 here Nicolette bethel’s “navigations: national identity and the archipelago”). In her Blog, please don’t call me white Bethel, discusses an Act that was passed in 1756 which states only those persons who were “above Three Degrees removed in a lineal descent from the Negro Ancestor” could be called white.
In the same piece she went on to explain “In other words, everyone who had a single parent, grandparent or great-grandparent of African descent was classified as not white, no matter what they looked like or how much money or education they might have”.(footnote 3 here Nicolette bethel’s “please don’t call me white”). According to this Act, who would be considered a white Bahamian? Would it be the Bethels or Sands who were direct descendants of The Eleutheran Adventurers? Could they trace their family tree and find no instance of a black interaction above three degrees. During the 1640’s quite possibly they could. But would it be so easy in 2013. A Bahamian tracing their family tree in the present might have so many mixtures of races, cultures and nationalities that their family tree might resemble a United Nations convention.
Further, this Act was obviously a tool of segregation, so how do we know that some people did not change, or delete their true lineage in order to assimilate into the upper class that had a predominantly white race. According to Bethel, “What it meant was that if you wanted to get ahead, your best bet was finding a way to make your children lighter than you, so maybe one day, their children or grandchildren could be fair enough to matter.
If that meant trying to seduce white men to sleep with you so you could have their children, or if it meant cutting yourself off from your black(er) family, then that was what you had to do. ” (Bethel, A Bahamian Story “why race matters to me”). So if the members of the non-white, non-black class were “passing”, how do we truly know if a person’s lineage was above three degrees? Documents have been known to be altered. Another school of thought in identifying a white Bahamian is tracing you family’s lineage back to the Loyalist colonies of the 1780s.
But even the Loyalist were confused as to a true white Bahamian. When the Loyalist arrived in the Bahamas they met hardworking, white people engaged in maritime living. These people were the descendants of The Eleutheran Adventurers. The Loyalist viewed The Eleutheran Adventurers as sub-par, and called them conchs (what has evolved into ‘conchy joe’). ( Curry, pers. comm. )”). Coming from a plantation mentality, it is safe to assume that the Loyalist did not consider the “conchy joes eligible to have a place in the upper class of white dominance.
But what would they do, kick them out of the race? Loyalist families include Pritchards, Lowes, Thompsons and Johnsons. In 2013 many Bahamians would hear the name Lowe or Pritchard and be awe struck if a person of black skin color presented themselves. Lowes, whether three degrees above or not, are in The Bahamian psyche as ‘white’ Bahamians. Another group of people that can be considered true white Bahamians would be the descendants of what this author would call the “London elite”.
These were the British royal soldiers, and members of the judiciary board that were sent to The Bahamas to govern the islands. These people would have brought their families with them. These families would have grown and expanded, as is the general order of things. Some historians noted that since the 1670s and the time of King Charles II many British people sent to The Bahamas (except maybe Woodes Rodgers) took very little interest in the country. So it can be imagined that the London elite did not engage in much racial intermingling.
In 1956 another group of people emerged as a result of migration after emancipation. Enter the “mercantile elite”. These people monopolized trade industry and garnered much political influence. Lebanese (Amourys, Bakers, Moses), Jews (Garfunkel, Rassin, Myers), and Greeks who would be considered non-white because of their skin color and other attributes in their home countries were assimilated into the white minority race in The Bahamas. Notably the Chinese (Chea and Wong) migrated to the Bahamas around this time but were not assimilated into the white minority.
According to Nicolette Bethel Chinese were strong armed and bullied by the Conchy Joes and told to refuse to serve black people or be put out of business. No one does this to their own. The mercantile elite gave birth to the Bay Street Boys. The Bay Street Boys in any Bahamian vernacular are white Bahamians. The three degree Act does not apply to them. Having Eleutheran Adventurer, Loyalist or London elite blood lines does not apply to them. This group, through money, influence and monopolies created their own definition of white Bahamian.
A great example of this is evident in the Symonette family. Roland Symonette was undoubtedly of the non-white, non-black, third race according to the Act of 1756 but through money, education and influence, his descendants (Brent Symonette) proudly boast that they are white Bahamians of a French heritage. The Bay Street Boys’ definition or description of a white Bahamian is the definition that is widely accepted by most Bahamians to this day. As noted by Christopher Curry, there were certain characteristics that made one a Bay Street Boy. The first was the fact that Bay Street Boys owned multiple properties.
Because of this they could vote multiple times. This was a way of controlling the judiciary and governmental aspect of the country. Another characteristic included owning multiple businesses. This was definitely the key to controlling the financial direction of the country. Bay Street Boys would also attended specific churches. The Anglicans attended Christ Church Cathedral and the Methodist attended Ebenezer. And finally Bay Street Boys lived on the coastlines and ridges of New Providence. Maybe so they could daily survey all they control.
And finally a discussion on Bahamian race, however not class, and what a true white Bahamian is could not be complete without discussing the “citizens of the country” of Abaco and the Spanish Wells inhabitants. Anyone who was born and raised in Spanish Wells, with light hair, eyes and skin and more than likely carrying the name Pinder is a white Bahamian. Similarly anyone born and raised in Abaco with light hair, eyes and skin and more than likely carrying the name Albury is a white Bahamian. The Act of 1756 does not apply in these places, as many of the laws are unwritten, unspoken but clearly understood laws.
Suprisingly, segration is still very prevalent in these places. Although many would quickly say oh no that’s not the case. But if you ask any Bahamian (off the record), they would say with conviction, “oh no you can’t stay in Spanish Wells overnight if you’re black”. My non-white, non- black third race sister visited Spanish Wells with her very white, Scottish, ginger-haired husband and she spoke of receiving raised- eyebrow looks and having to stand outside a store to wait for her husband to be served because the atmosphere in the store was most uncomfortable.
This author agrees with Christopher Curry when he said “there is no archetypical white Bahamian”. ( Curry, pers. comm. ) The author has two children one is black Bahamian undoubtedly and the other depending on the environment she is in on any given day is considered white Bahamian. Some have even called her white girl. Some days she is a “mangra’ skinned, some days she is a “red gal”. Who can be sure at all.
Who Are White Bahamians?. (2017, Feb 02). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/who-are-white-bahamians-essay
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