Bridging the Gap through Music

Part A

Dear colleagues,

This is my contribution to the SHINE Quest of an experience that resulted in a positive outcome in a diversity-related event/incident

I was born on the twin-island of Antigua and Barbuda in a small country village where the population is mainly close family members and relatives. I immigrated to the United States as a teenager and eventually settled in New York. I moved to a predominantly Latin American and African American neighborhood in Brooklyn, versus settling into the expected “Antiguan” area in the Bronx. During this time coming from such a small island, it was hard to meet people, or when I did meet people they had no idea where Antigua was or it was the assumption that I was Jamaican or African. In many instances, I would open a map and attempt to show those who are interested in knowing where I was from. For the most part, that just led to additional questions since my home was barely the size of a period punctuation on most maps.

As I ventured to a high school in the far reaches of Coney Island Brooklyn, I started to meet other people from various islands in the Caribbean, including Jamaica, St. Vincent, St. Kitts, and the U.S Virgin Islands. I had a few African American friends and several friends from places like Russia and Ukraine. I would meet with my “island” friends and the one thing that brought us together more than anything else was our love for Soca music. Considered the soul of calypso, soca was a blend of African, Indian, and other cultural music out the Caribbean that was blended together to create a new form.

As our love for Soca grew, we started to meet regularly and my Russian and African American friends felt out of the loop and did not understand our obsession with the music and what it entails. I wanted to invite them to our events but was faced with resistance by members of the group about “letting them in”. Reasons included fear of ridicule, that they would not “understand”, they will not like it, and that they would think that we were vulgar and assume that we are raunchy and they would just assume that soca is just another “oversexualized” version of dancehall reggae. I understood the hesitancy but wanted to share this part of my culture with friends that had no idea what it was about. They continued to be intrigued and my island friends continued to be resistant immersing them in the soca experience.

Eventually, a soca event presented itself during a weekend that I was hanging out with my African American and Russian friend. Not wanting to miss the event, I asked them if they are truly ready to experience a soca party. For some reason, I felt the need to explain and overemphasize what they should expect. We made it to the event, and as we entered all heads turned seeing my two friends with me. We made our way to the rest of the group, at the front of the stage. I can tell they were a bit overwhelmed and so did my island friends. Although they were initially reluctant, members of the group started talking to them about the music, the band, and the performers. It became a teaching opportunity for my island friends, who at this point, felt the power in teaching about the culture through music. As we paired off with friends and the main show started, found my Russian friend Lydia completely immersed in the music and comradery that always seems to come with soca music, speaking to a stranger about which island he originated from and the soca artists and music. My friend Kevin, was on the dance floor captivated by the sounds of the drums and “riddim section” repeating how intoxicating the music feels. We all came together that night, enjoying the music and the good vibes, followed by the island tradition of finding a bread shop or local vendor making corn soup, fishcakes, and bread, doubles, or some other island street food before heading home.

After this one experience, Kevin and Lydia were hooked to the soca scene and wanted to learn as much as possible about the islands, the music, and the food. They became completely immersed in the culture, attending other parties, attending carnivals, and listening to mostly soca and soca music for years to come. This experience gave them insight into a completely different culture, through music. It gave my island friends the freedom to feel open about teaching someone about their island, their food, and the music. It lifted the need for them to feel like they had to explain who they are and what they love about the music. Soca music brought a group of diverse friends together using drums, horns, riddims, and great vibes.

Please see the link to my video: https://www.canva.com/design/DAEtF1ZgtrQ/RENJa0Mrz4fCOGT-FBJG0w/watch?utm_content=DAEtF1ZgtrQ&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=publishsharelink

Here is the link to the video at the bottom of my infographic ( if it does not play): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBsnC-8HkxA

References:

DJ Private Ryan x Freetown Collective - Feel The Love “2020 Soca” | SGMM. (2019, December 21). [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBsnC-8HkxA

Tonge, C. V. (2021, October 17). Soca Music Bridging the Gap. Retrieved October 17, 2021, from https://www.canva.com/design/DAEtF1ZgtrQ/RENJa0Mrz4fCOGT-FBJG0w/watch?utm_content=DAEtF1ZgtrQ&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=publishsharelink. For educational purposes only