Racial inequality in the Anglophone Caribbean: comparing the cases of Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago

Abstract

ABSTRACT Research on racial inequality is expansive, with a growing body of work highlighting the nuances of racial inequality using a multidimensional approach. Much of this research has been conducted in Latin America and the United Stated; however, very little is known about how the Anglophone Caribbean fits into this discourse despite the many similarities it shares with these other regions of the Americas. To address this lacuna in the literature and add theoretical insights into the contextuality of race, I focus on the cases of Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. These countries were selected as they represent the ends of the spectrum of ethno-racial diversity and race relations in the Anglophone Caribbean. Using a multidimensional approach to the measure of race, I examine outcomes of socioeconomic well-being utilising the AmericasBarometer social surveys as well as census data. The results reveal that, as with elsewhere in the Americas, a salient racial hierarchy and pigmentocracy exist in both countries and structure outcomes of education, per capita household income, and household amenities. However, while black disadvantage may have been expected in both countries, Trinidad and Tobago proves an exception. Implications of these findings are further discussed.