Rachael Minott, Horniman’s Curator of Anthropology (Social Practice), with the help of Shasti Lowton, created a series of events where multiple generations of Caribbeans could gather and share food, stories and advice.
Here, the group discussed what they wish they could teach the generations.
Vanes Creavalle
I think maybe the power of accepting change.
Because it’s really hard to accept change, especially when you’ve seen a lot and experienced a lot of things, and I feel like you need to be more accepting of change in that there are different people.
We have a really multicultural society but we seem very sheltered and isolated within our communities, which in some cases is good cos its nice we can develop our cultures and traditions, but in other senses, it’s limiting what we can do.
Like saying, because I’m Caribbean I’m only going to have with Caribbean people, it stops us from making a much greater impact.
I think to have the diversity in that, telling your story to Caribbean people, but telling your story to others is important because there can be a mutual understanding. And I feel like until we have that understanding we are not really going to go anywhere.
Because you can always say, ‘this is my story, this is my story’. And you can tell your family that story, but apart from that, where is your story going?
I don’t think there is any further conversation.
So I think there needs to be more acceptance of change, as well as more conversations with not just your family, or the people in your race, or people you talk to normally – but more open conversation with everybody so we can come together and share what we have.
And then when we share we can create something much better in the future.
Catherine Ross
My granddaughter is eight going on eighty – she knows everything.
She’ll come up to me and say – cause she thinks I know nothing, I’m only her Grandma – she’ll say, ‘I bet you don’t know’ or ‘Did you know?’ And I’m like, I’ve been here sixty-odd years, I think I will know a few things!
But you have to put on these things and be like, ‘Really? And what happens next…’ cause I’m pushing her with follow questions to see how much she does know, so then I can give my input.
She always feels like she has to teach me when I come visit, something she feels I won’t know. And I feel like that is really, really good.
But there are things that she does know that I’m sure I didn’t know until I was fifteen! You know what I mean, so I think the younger generation know a lot more than we ever did, and I certainly knew more than my dad.
But only because they came from the Caribbean to here, and you know I grew up here, so I felt I knew everything and now my granddaughter is doing it to me, she knows more than I do.
I think it’s nice each generation can help the next.
Howard Richards
That’s the goal though, you raise a child, the child learns you, then they go out and learn the world – and then they come back and teach you. Simple.
So the child becomes stronger.