In the finale of Lecture 6, we wrap up the reflections on Re-Imagining the Caribbean - Understanding the Caribbean – Beyond the Myths and Into the Margins:

...We pick up from Point 3

3. DIASPORAS AND DISPLACEMENT• African Diaspora: peoples of African descent living outside Africa.• Caribbean Diaspora: particularly Caribbean people of African descent scattered across the globe.•

These diasporas still carry the black position and face discrimination, suspicion, and containment.“They are aliens with sharp teeth—feared not for their failure but for their potential.”________________________________________

4. DARK GHETTOES & INTERNALIZED MALADY• Kenneth Clark’s “Dark Ghettos”:

o Exist physically and psychologically.

o Not just urban slums but socio-economic prisons.

o Seen in Philly, Kingston, Port of Spain—spaces where people are victims of fear, guilt, and greed.

o Structural conditions: overcrowding, poverty, crime.

o Psychological toll: despair, self-hate, compensatory bravado.________________________________________

5. POSTCOLONIALISM AND THE VEIL THAT LINGERS• Postcolonialism ≠ Post-colony

o It’s not the end of colonization, but the lingering effects—economic, cultural, psychological.

o Fanon: both white and Black are trapped—one in superiority, the other in inferiority.

o The need for tabula rasa—to begin anew.• Revolutions and the Paradox of Independenceo Haiti and Cuba led true revolutions—but remained outside international community comfort zones.

o Their struggle reflects the cost of radical freedom.________________________________________

6. CENTER VS. PERIPHERY – WHOSE CULTURE MATTERS?• Homi Bhabha – “Location of Culture”:

o The periphery: marginal voices, rejected traditions.

o The center: dominant culture, normalized Eurocentric standards.• Rastas, Revivalists, African spirituality = periphery.• Skin lightening, accent training, rejection of roots = symptom of internalized colonialism.________________________________________

HANDOUT: Tracing Caribbean History – Before Columbus• Challenge the narrative: Begin with victory, not defeat.• Explore:

o Ivan Van Sertima – They Came Before Columbus.

o Ancient African navigators, civilizations that predate European contact.________________________________________

DISCUSSION & MEDIA:• Video Segment: Ivan Van Sertima•

Handout Discussion: Follow timeline through slavery, indenture, resistance, revolution.

This is Episode 6 of the Caribbean Thought Lecture Series Summer 2025 on The Neoliberal Round by Renaldo McKenzie

Rev. Renaldo McKenzie is a Professor at Jamaica Theological Seminary and President of The Neoliberal Corporation.https://theneoliberal.com

Lecture 6 Part 2LECTURE OUTLINE: Reimagining the Caribbean — History, Identity & Invention1. Defining Key Terms & Unsettling MythsWhat is the Caribbean?What it is not:Not simply “a group of islands surrounded by the Caribbean Sea.”That colonial compass would erase Belize, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana.The Caribbean is not just geography — it’s history, identity, and ideology.A Construct, An Invention:Ian Meeks and Norman Girvan argue the Caribbean is an invention, molded by the European gaze since 1492.The so-called “discovery” was really colonial construction — cultural erasure dressed as exploration.The Socio-Political Caribbean:Social scientists ask: In whose interest is society designed?Whose narrative dominates?Often, the Caribbean's story has been told through the lens of its colonizers — not its people.Economic Caribbean – A Dependent Capitalist Model:According to Neoliberalism (2021) and the "Washington Consensus", Caribbean economies were shaped to serve external interests.Ramesh Ramsaran: Structural Adjustment transferred power from local to global hands — a feature of life in the Global South.These are the legacies of debt, austerity, and manufactured dependency.Global South vs Global North:New language, same old hierarchies.The “Global South” replaces “Third World” — a more palatable term, but still denotes marginalization.2. A People in Paradox: Race, Identity & AgencyThe Problem of the Caribbean is the Problem of the Black and Brown PositionWherever Black or Brown bodies are found — so too is systemic exclusion.Not due to essence, but to constructed inferiority.Colonization as Psychological Violence:Fanon: Colonization turns man against himself.Du Bois: The Black soul peers through a veil, always asking: “Am I enough?”Morrison: We are told to strive toward whiteness — only to find we can never truly arrive.Depersonalization & Loss of Agency:Colonialism stripped humanity. The enslaved weren’t just shackled in body — but in being.This leads to malady: acting against our own interests.Afrocentricity vs Eurocentricity:Afrocentricity: a way of seeing.Eurocentricity: the only way of seeing.The former offers liberation. The latter demands assimilation.Diaspora Realities:Caribbean immigrants are often seen as threats cloaked in exoticism — "two sharp teeth," as you wrote.Their potential is feared, their labor exploited.Kenneth Clark’s “Dark Ghettoes”:Ghettoes aren’t just places — they are conditions.Whether in Philly or Kingston, Harlem or Port of Spain, these spaces reflect economic colonization.Externally: Poor housing, crime, disease.Internally: Apathy, self-loathing, compensatory bravado.3. Postcolonialism – Not the End, But the EchoPostcolonial ≠ Post-ColonizationFanon in Black Skin, White Masks: Black and White locked in a tragic performance — each role scripted by Empire.In Wretched of the Earth: Freedom is radical; it requires rupture, not reform.The Paradox of Independence:Haiti and Cuba led revolutions — and were punished for their audacity.Independence does not equal inclusion.4. Center vs Periphery — Who Gets to Speak?Homi Bhabha’s Lens:The center is the mainstream — the dominant culture, the "norm."The periphery is where African spirituality, literature, and lifeways have been cast.In the Caribbean, this leads to self-scorn: bleaching skin, abandoning roots, ridiculing Revivalists or Rastafari.5. Supplementary Content for Today’s SessionReading & Discussion: CLR James – The Black JacobinsCLR James (a Trini) told the story of Haitian revolutionaries, but through a European framework.His education gave him tools, but not always the right lens.We question: Was this truly “history from below?”By Rev. Renaldo McKenzie, Professor of Caribbean Thought at Jamaica Theological Seminary, Author of NeoliberalismSubscribe https://anchor.fm/theneoliberalVisit us: https://theneoliberal.com https://renaldocmckenzie.com

What is the Caribbean?

• What it is not:
  Not simply “a group of islands surrounded by the Caribbean Sea.”
  That colonial compass would erase Belize, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana.
  The Caribbean is not just geography — it’s history, identity, and ideology.

• A Construct, An Invention:
  Ian Meeks and Norman Girvan argue the Caribbean is an invention, molded by the European gaze since 1492.
  The so-called “discovery” was really colonial construction — cultural erasure dressed as exploration.

• The Socio-Political Caribbean:
  Social scientists ask: In whose interest is society designed?
  Whose narrative dominates?
  Often, the Caribbean's story has been told through the lens of its colonizers — not its people.

• Economic Caribbean – A Dependent Capitalist Model:
  According to Neoliberalism (2021) and the "Washington Consensus", Caribbean economies were shaped to serve external interests.
  Ramesh Ramsaran: Structural Adjustment transferred power from local to global hands — a feature of life in the Global South.
  These are the legacies of debt, austerity, and manufactured dependency.

• Global South vs Global North:
  New language, same old hierarchies.
  The “Global South” replaces “Third World” — a more palatable term, but still denotes marginalization.

• The Problem of the Caribbean is the Problem of the Black and Brown Position
  Wherever Black or Brown bodies are found — so too is systemic exclusion.
  Not due to essence, but to constructed inferiority.

• Colonization as Psychological Violence:
  Fanon: Colonization turns man against himself.
  Du Bois: The Black soul peers through a veil, always asking: “Am I enough?”
  Morrison: We are told to strive toward whiteness — only to find we can never truly arrive.

• Depersonalization & Loss of Agency:
  Colonialism stripped humanity. The enslaved weren’t just shackled in body — but in being.
  This leads to malady: acting against our own interests.

• Afrocentricity vs Eurocentricity:
  Afrocentricity: a way of seeing.
  Eurocentricity: the only way of seeing.
  The former offers liberation. The latter demands assimilation.

• Diaspora Realities:
  Caribbean immigrants are often seen as threats cloaked in exoticism — "two sharp teeth," as you wrote.
  Their potential is feared, their labor exploited.

• Kenneth Clark’s “Dark Ghettoes”:
  Ghettoes aren’t just places — they are conditions.
  Whether in Philly or Kingston, Harlem or Port of Spain, these spaces reflect economic colonization.
  Externally: Poor housing, crime, disease.
  Internally: Apathy, self-loathing, compensatory bravado.

• Postcolonial ≠ Post-Colonization
  Fanon in Black Skin, White Masks: Black and White locked in a tragic performance — each role scripted by Empire.
  In Wretched of the Earth: Freedom is radical; it requires rupture, not reform.

• The Paradox of Independence:
  Haiti and Cuba led revolutions — and were punished for their audacity.
  Independence does not equal inclusion.

• Homi Bhabha’s Lens:
  The center is the mainstream — the dominant culture, the "norm."
  The periphery is where African spirituality, literature, and lifeways have been cast.
  In the Caribbean, this leads to self-scorn: bleaching skin, abandoning roots, ridiculing Revivalists or Rastafari.

• Advocating a position of pre-colonial victory and agency.

• Reframes the narrative of discovery with African presence before 1492.

• CLR James (a Trini) told the story of Haitian revolutionaries, but through a European framework.

• His education gave him tools, but not always the right lens.

• We question: Was this truly “history from below?”

We must not be content with being “included” in someone else’s story.
We must write our own — in our tongues, through our eyes, from our depths.
As Toni Morrison said: “Definitions belong to the definers, not the defined.”

Let us reclaim that power.

End or Part 1.

Rev. Renaldo McKenzie is Professor of Caribbean Thought and Author of Neoliberalism.

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Rev. Renaldo McKenzie continues with the Lectures in Caribbean Thought at The Neoliberal Corporation Philadelphia and Jamaica Theological Seminary Kingston Jamaica. Today's class is spit up in two segments. Part 1 will introduce the initial concepts of the book Neoliberalism and then provide an overview of the course this semester. Professor McKenzie discusses the symbiotic and close connections between the currents that has come to shape the Caribbean highlighting that the trajectory of Antigua is similar to that of Jamaica and other Caribbean Islands, as Stephanie Black was able to publish a film about how Jamaica was affected by globalization after independence based on the book A Small Place about Antigua by Jamaica Kincaid. The students then engaged in a discussion about the course, in relation to some new develops in Jamaica and the Caribbean. The students and professor discussed the recent announcement by the Prime Minister about the new work center in St. Thomas and the reduction in Poverty. Part 2 of the class continues right after which provides an in-depth overview of the course, the plan for the next 10 weeks, goals, concepts, objectives, outcomes and begins to explore thinkers within the Caribbean.The Course is delivered by Rev. Renaldo Mckenzie, Author of Neoliberalism, President of The Neoliberal Corporation and a Professor at Jamaica Theological Seminary. Renaldo is also at Georgetown University completing his Doctor of Liberal Studies and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Master of Philosophy and a Master of Arts. Renaldo also attended the University of West Indies and graduated from Jamaica Theological Seminary. Renaldo is Creator and Host of The Neoliberal Round PodcastSubscribe to the YouTube channel on any stream https://youtube.com/@renaldomckenzie Visit us at The Neoliberalhttps://theneoliberal.com and https://renaldocmckenzie.com Visit our store: https://store.theneoliberal.comDonate: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=USSJLFU2HRVAQCall us at 1-445-260-9198

Is cryptocurrency the future of finance—or the funeral dirge of the U.S. economy?

In this explosive episode of The Neoliberal Round, Rev. Renaldo C. McKenzie delivers a fiery indictment of the growing crypto craze and the danger it poses to America’s most powerful asset: the U.S. dollar.

From Donald Trump Jr.’s praise of crypto to the silent shift of BRIC nations away from the dollar, this episode exposes the slow unraveling of economic supremacy in the name of digital freedom.

🔍 Topics include: Why crypto is not just innovation—it’s erosion

The international role of the U.S. dollar

What BRIC nations’ economic realignment really means

How inequality will explode if crypto dethrones the dollar

If you care about America’s future—tune in now.

Because the dollar’s survival might depend on it.

https://anchor.fm/theneoliberal. Subscribe for free! on any stream.

Creator and Host: Renaldo McKenzie is Author of Neoliberalism, Globalization, Income Inequality, Poverty and Resistance.

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Question: Is it rational and sensible for the Protesters in LA to be waving foreign nations Flag while demanding immigration rights to undocumented immigrants who are advocating for freedom from surveillance from #trump #ICE agents?

On this episode of The Neoliberal Round Podcast, Renaldo McKenzie, Creator and Host and President of The Neoliberal with Donte Nelson Co-Host/Producer discuss the LA Protests. The two provided critical analysis and commentaries on the protestations in LA on immigration.

The Episode is season 11 Ep 7 of the Podcast via any audio podcast stream https://anchor.fm/theneoliberal.

The Neoliberal Round is a production of The Neoliberal Corporation https://theneoliberal.com https://renaldocmckenzie.comCall us 1-445-260-9198.

Neoliberalism is now available in Jamaica. Get your copy worldwide and access out IT, writing, and Content and Advertorial services. Visit https://store.theneoliberal.com.

Donate to us: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=USSJLFU2HRVAQEmail us: [email protected] or [email protected]

Next: We discuss Crypto

Then, Caribbean Thought Summer 2025 Lecture 5 Part 1

Is it rational and sensible for the Protesters in LA to be waving foreign nations Flag while demanding immigration rights to undocumented immigrants who are advocating for freedom from surveillance from #trump #ICE agents?On this episode of The Neoliberal Round Podcast, Renaldo McKenzie, Creator and Host and President of The Neoliberal with Donte Nelson Co-Host/Producer discuss the LA Protests. The two provided critical analysis and commentaries on the protestations in LA on immigration.

The Episode is season 11 Ep 7 of the Podcast via any audio podcast stream https://anchor.fm/theneoliberal.The Neoliberal Round is a production of The Neoliberal Corporation https://theneoliberal.com https://renaldocmckenzie.com

Call us 1-445-260-9198.

Neoliberalism is now available in Jamaica. Get your copy worldwide and access out IT, writing, and Content and Advertorial services. Visit https://store.theneoliberal.com.

Donate to us: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=USSJLFU2HRVAQ

Email us: [email protected] or [email protected]

Next: We discuss Crypto, Then, Caribbean Thought Summer 2025 Lecture 5 Part 1

Podcast Script[Renaldo – Opening] Today, we're diving into the protests happening right now in Los Angeles — protests that are raising critical questions about civil disobedience, immigration enforcement, and historical legacy. Let me ask you — are the protesters in LA standing on the right side of history? It's not a rhetorical question. It's one we need to wrestle with

[Segment 1: The Conversation Begins]Recently, I sat down with a guest — an African American American, if you will — to get his take on what’s happening in California. His first response?" Nothing." That was it. Nothing. But silence — as I've come to understand — is rarely ever just apathy. Sometimes it’s exhaustion. Sometimes it’s reflection. Sometimes it’s survival. So I asked again: “Do you think the ICE agents are terrorizing people in LA?” His response was telling. “They’re doing what they’re supposed to be doing,” he said. But when I pressed him on whether they should be doing it — whether it's moral or justified — the lines got blurrier.

[Segment 2: ICE, Trump & the Protesters]

[Segment 3: Words Matter]Let’s talk about language. Protesters say they’re being “terrorized.” Officials say it’s “law enforcement.” Who’s right?

[Segment 4: So I ask again: Will history look back on these LA protesters as troublemakers… or as truth-tellers?

[Conclusion: Right Side of History?]

[Outro

It's coming up to the best day of the year... #June14th. #Gemini. My twin and I will do Part 8 of #ThePulse on The Neoliberal Round Podcast as we celebrate out birthday next Saturday. Subscribe on any stream. I heard it's also @realDonaldTrump Birthday too on that day and we both went to @Penn ... interesting.Subscribe for free on any stream.

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Renaldo sits down with Montel to discuss a recent article he published in The Jamaica Gleaner: Poverty Statistics in Jamaica - Counting Eggs Before They Are Laid. Subscribe on any stream. Find yours here: https://anchor.fm/theneoliberal

Check out the article here: https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/letters/20250523/poverty-statistics-counting-eggs-they-are-laid at The Jamaica Gleaner, Jamaica's number 1 newspaper.

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Coming up later on The Neoliberal Round: Here is a Mash up of some latest shows and some upcoming breaking news that you can't miss on The Neoliberal Round Podcast and YouTube, and Journals and digital magazines at The Neoliberal Journals and The Neoliberal Post.#theneoliberalround 1. P. Diddy2. Ai3. Poverty Stats in Jamaica4. Cameka Ruth Taylor, Authorpreneur5. Caribbean Thought6. The investigative news team at The Neoliberal discover a local community gas station convenience store in #Philadelphia selling fake male supplements with flour and other substances inside the pill packets, unbeknown to men who use these. This and more coming up This Holiday weekend. #trailers At the end we also post a comment about a developing story we are working on in #philadelphia #fakerhino69 1. The investigative news team at The Neoliberal discover a local community gas station convenience store in #Philadelphia selling fake male supplements with flour and other substances inside the pill packets, unbeknown to men who use these.

Subscribe: https://anchor.fm/theneoliberal #renaldomckenzie #theneoliberalround #theneoliberal

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In Lecture 2, Rev. Renaldo McKenzie discusses the Approach to Caribbean Thought. It promises to be esoteric yet profoundly interesting.Subscribe https://anchor.fm/theneoliberal

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