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Kenneth ClarkKenneth Clark
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Session:         Page of 763

Clark:

-- whom I know very well, by the way --

Q:

-- to various leaders, I became aware of this cleavage.

Clark:

Well, in the twenties, and I presume the thirties, this was clearly an important problem, factor.

Now, you asked me about my mother, on this. Another indication of the unusual nature of this woman is that she did not take the position that one would expect -- you know, namely that West Indian blacks uber alles are, without question --

The more recent fights I've had with my mother ‘-- “fights” in quotes -- have been in my trying to get her to....

Side 3

Clark:

One would expect that my mother would be an uncritically loyal West Indian and Jamaican. Certainly she was born in Jamaica. Her family were all Jamaicans. But she's not. She is very very harsh on Jamaicans. She feels that -- by the way, it's her one area of strong stereotypes, I think. She thinks that Jamaicans are hostile and competitive and pushy, etc., and particularly Jamaican males. She thinks that they are really superficially arrogant and domineering without substance, etc.

Well, my sister, much less than I, tried to talk to her about it -- you know, that you just can't generalize in stereotypes.

She said, “Well, you people just don't know.”

Now, her generally negative feeling towards Jamaicans extends a little to the other West Indian islands, but by no means as vehement. She will admit that maybe the Barbadans or others are softer people than the Jamaicans.

But the thing that is also interesting to me -- it does not





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