Apart from the fact that racial classification is not on the scientific agenda, due to both its obsolescence and anachronism, this topic has not been removed from the Caribbean social environment, where it manifests itself repeatedly in some way or the other, not in the same way as the segregation imposed by the colonisers, but as the practice of differentiation among us ourselves, among us Caribbean people.

This is evident in the difficulties and conflicts that arise among different ethnic groups inserted into the most diverse spaces of Caribbeanness, whether in ethnically different countries (including Trinidad and Tobago; Guyana and others) or in those where this type of differentiation has been less relevant, since native ethnic differentiation fails to persist (like the Dominican Republic, Haiti and others). However, regardless of the type of country involved, it is worrying that not only are prejudices maintained, but also the use of language that assigns conditions of inferiority upon specific groups of individuals of a certain skin colour. There are also cases of segregation where access to certain positions is made difficult for some people.

Although these practices do not imitate the mechanisms of racial segregation that were predominant at the close of the seventies, they are still widespread, where many people tend to band together among themselves, taking into consideration the skin colour or ethnic origin of their friends. This is more frequently observed and is more apparent among student or neighbour groups.

Such a negative practice is not something that should be used as a state political resource in any Greater Caribbean country, nevertheless, even if no one re-establishes such a practice as something proper, reference to the issue of race is recurring in all countries, in addition to the practice of being classified based on the colour of one’s skin.

In other words, even though racism is not State policy, that does not prevent public policy from being implemented to help surpass these consequences of colonialism.

If Caribbean States do not put their heads together to implement a clear policy to overcome the racist qualities that still endure in our cultures, it will be extremely difficult to eliminate these ideas that we maintain “skin deep” and which cause so much damage in the everyday life of our peoples.

Although it can be said that our peoples live in the midst of diversity, it is also possible to say that said condition is sometimes absent when recognising the ethnic valuations of compatriots who are different in themselves. Up to now, everything considers the need to be different and to be categorised, which results in a practice of exclusion, since we place those who are different into a category below that which is appropriate.

It is not enough for us Caribbean people to say that we are not racist, it is necessary to take a stance regarding such a practice, as we cannot leave its defeat to the spontaneity of our societies.

This calls for a strategy that would work on the consciousness of individuals from the early years of childhood, which would place a high value on ethnic diversity and cultural plurality, the only way for national sentiment to be perceived in the same terms by all nationals of a country, regardless of the ethnic origin of their ancestors and the colour of their skin.