STEREOTYPE FOUR: discrimination and racism

The vast majority of Barbados' inhabitants are descendants of African slaves. When the British empire occupied the island by 1627, Barbados was full of slaves dedicated to working hard on the plantations of cotton, tobacco, or sugar cane. According to Express.co.uk, "Barbados received 600,000 enslaved Africans between 1627 and 1833, who were put to work in the sugar plantations, earning fortunes for the English owners".

Source: https://www.express.co.uk/news

In the same way, as in other English-speaking countries (i.e., South Africa or South of the USA), where black people were slaves in the past, we have the strong sentiment that in Barbados, we can find a situation of discrimination and racism against black people. 

This stereotype is derived from examples we have seen around the world. Caribbean countries like Haiti or Belice have had a long history about racism. 

Deconstruction of this stereotype

But in Barabados, we have a different situation. The slavery was abolished in 1898, and the country is now considered a real "melting pot" where racist practices and ideologies are not recognized. There are a majority of black population in the island, but white, chinese and indians descendants and immigrants live together witrh peace and harmony. And we can find the siger Rihanna as the main black figure from Barbados, but also we can find famous white people born in this small island. For example, Zane Maloney, a Barbadian racing driver,  is currently competing in the 2023 FIA Formula 2 Championship for Carlin team.

Comparison with Colombia

In Colombia we can find racism in some regions of the country (as in the department of Chocó or in some zones in the department of Bolívar), where the black population is a majority. But, as in Barbados, all the type of people in our country has learned to live together, trying to make of Colombia, a best place to live.