to people of Caribbean ethnicity within the UK context : seeing ( watch and learn ); listening ( who can ’ t hear will feel ); doing ( make haste ); being ( manners , respect , fix up look sharp ); surviving ( hand to mouth living ); becoming ( you must have ambition ); thriving ( doing well ); reflecting ; and transitioning .
Black M et al ( 2019 ) Understanding the meaning and use of occupational engagement : findings from a scoping review . British Journal of Occupational Therapy ( 82 ) 5 : 272-287 .
Buckingham M ( 2020 ) What makes us resilient ? Harvard Business Review .
SACMHA ( 2021 ) A review of home care : the African Caribbean Perspective . Sheffield . Sheffield Healthwatch .
Wilcock AA ( 1998 ). Reflections on doing , being and becoming . Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy , 65 , 248-256 .
Hot spot
Jamaica , the largest island of British West Indies , gained political independence from Great Britain in 1962 . It is not a republic , as King Charles III is the head of state . At the time of independence , 67 % of Jamaicans could not read or write . This level of occupational deprivation , no doubt a legacy of the transatlantic slave trade , set the scene for a country needing to survive and thrive economically on the world stage .
Jamaicans tend to have a sunny outlook and have adopted the catch phrase ‘ No problem mon ’. To mark the dawn of independence , Jamaica adopted a new motto , ‘ Out of many , one people ’. This was signed by the then Premier Sir Norman Manley and the cabinet leader of the opposition Sir Alexander Bustamante and is now enshrined on our coat of arms .
Jamaicans have contributed much on the world stage . They have excelled in the fields of music , sports , food , tourism and bauxite and aluminium mining .
Words ODETH RICHARDSON , Head Occupational Therapist , Level 2 Rehabilitation , Freeman Hospital , Cultural Ambassador NUTH , Race Equalities Network Chair NUTH and Chair of Council RCOT / BAOT chair @ rcot . co . uk
How reading Black literature can be a means of connecting with Black identity , history and consciousness
There are many challenges faced by those of us racialised as black in society , some of which concern black identity ; how we might explore , uncover and engage with our respective identities and histories , the latter remaining largely untaught in our schools .
Further to this lies the question of how we might also connect with the common experiences of other people racialised as Black , and in so doing find community , solidarity and / or catharsis . Eden Samuels-Coke
Personally speaking , among the possible answers lies one that ought to be mentioned during this Black History Month – reading Black literature .
Reading such material offers us a means of doing these things through creating a path of connection to the thoughts , worldviews , identities , experiences and insights of people who also navigated this world while being racialised as Black .
In doing so , it offers us the opportunity to reflect on who we are , to explore rich and varied histories and perspectives , and to offer us a means of contextualising our own experiences .
I remember Malcolm X teaching me how to avoid internalising the meagre expectations society has of young black men , demonstrating with pride and fire how these lowly expectations can be defied .
I remember James Baldwin sharing with me warning words and sharp insights into what it means to be racialised as Black and how there is not just one way to be Black . I remember Walter Rodney rebuking the dominant narrative of pre-colonial Africa having no history , introducing the diverse histories of some of the continent ’ s many peoples and the impacts of colonisation .
I remember the lyrical words of Maya Angelou , reminding me that in times of hardship , yet still we rise .
The offerings of black literature as a means of connecting with Black identity , history and consciousness by no means ended with these historic greats . It was Reni-Eddo Lodge that not so long ago had me nodding , enthralled as she described and analysed antiblack racism in the UK .
It was Afua Hirsch that recently described to me so many experiences of being of mixed heritage that I had never previously consciously identified nor found words for .
Reading for these purposes does not also need to be restricted to non-fiction ; it was Yaa Gyasi in novel form that persuaded me to reflect on the intergenerational racial traumas that often weave through families brutalised by white supremacy .
There is not one universal idea of what blackness is or should mean to each of us . It is not a monolith ; and there are a multitude of ways to connect with Black identity , history and consciousness .
There are innumerable occupations that could be used to connect with these things if we so choose to . Reading black literature is just one , though a powerful one , nonetheless . For Eden ’ s recommended reading list visit rcot . co . uk / bhm-2023 .
Words EDEN SAMUELS-COKE
16 OTnews October 2023