The Caribbean Reading Challenge: Building Nations, One Book At A Time

“A people without the knowledge of their past history is like a tree without roots." Marcus Garvey.

The Caribbean is at a crossroads. Since Independence we have had some modest developmental success. The Caribbean is a relatively peaceful region with friendly people and an educational infrastructure that has produced intellectual luminaries like Kamau Brathwaite, Derek Walcott, George Lamming, Rex Nettleford, Jamaica Kincaid, C.L.R. James, Walter Rodney, Eric Williams, Amy Jacque Garvey, and Arthur Lewis. The Caribbean is also blessed with a number of cultural and sporting icons including Marcus Garvey, Bob Marley, Rihanna, Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce. We have some of the best beaches in the world, a strong work ethic, and a reputation for excellence. But if we want to move from "good" to "great" as a region, we have to ask ourselves one question: “What are we feeding our into minds?”

The answer to national development isn’t just to be found in political policy. The answer can also be found in the total number of pages read by the population. A reading nation is a nation on an upward developmental trajectory. Reading is beneficial at both the personal and the national level. Readers develop the ability to think critically, solve problems, communicate, and comprehend. This in turn produces a workforce that can innovate, adapt, and compete globally. Singapore is a prime example of this. Singapore’s first national project after independence was a mass literacy program. Today, Singapore is ranked thirteenth by the United Nations Development Program. Singapore also can boast of having one of the highest Gross Domestic Products (GDP) globally.

That’s why Afro-Caribbean Spiritual Teaching Center is launching the *CARIBBEAN READING CHALLENGE. The Caribbean Reading Challenge is a very simple concept. I am throwing out the challenge to Caribbean nationals to read at least one book a month for the next twelve months. The goal is to make the Caribbean the most well-read area in our hemisphere. When individuals grow, families grow. When families grow, communities grow. And when communities grow, nations develop.

In addition to reading novels, the Caribbean Reading Challenges encourages the reading of books that build minds, money, and mission. Read for sixty minutes a day. The sixty minutes can be divided into two or three segments. Discuss what you read with your friends, family coworkers, and church members. Gift a book instead of just cash or the usual items we give on special occasions. Talk about books the way we talk about sex, carnival, cricket, and Crop Over. If 100,000 Caribbean citizens commit to this, imagine the new businesses, the new ideas, and the new solutions we would have for tourism, agriculture, technology, and leadership.

Our great visionary Marcus Garvey reminded us that a people without a knowledge of their past history is like a tree without roots. To help Caribbean people win individually and collectively, Afro-Caribbean Spiritual Teaching Center has introduced a new series of book entitled “Secrets Your Church and School Won’t Teach You.” This series attempts to supplement the stellar work being done by Caribbean churches and schools. Schools in the Caribbean teach the basics but share very little information about Black empowerment. Churches regrettably seem ill-equipped to prepare Caribbean people for many of the challenges facing our societies today.

Titles in the Series include The Rebirth of Black Civilization: Making Africa and the Caribbean Great Again, Oreos Coconuts and Negropeans: Rediscovering Our African Identity, The Future of Africa and the Caribbean: Challenges and Possibilities, Echoes of the Ancestors: Black Spirituality in the Information Age, The Black Paradigm: New Thinking for a New Age, Leadership in the Shadows: The Quest for Vision in the Black World, At Hells Gate: The Catholic and Evangelical Takeover of America, and Embrace the Power: Walk Like a God. All books are available as hard copies or as e-books from Amazon.

Each book was written from a Caribbean perspective and outlines some of the challenges being confronted by Caribbean, African, and people of the Black Diaspora. The series argues that hard, intelligent choices need to be made by people of African ancestry. Gone are the days when these hard choices could be left totally in the hands of the political class. As the Bretton Woods world order unravels, African and Caribbean nations find themselves precariously perched on a precipice overlooking oblivion. People of African ancestry are therefore encouraged to discover ways to cooperate and swim together in a turbulent ocean of political insanity.

You can become a part of the Caribbean Reading Challenge by turning off all your screens daily for at least an hour, and picking up a book that will enhance your own personal development, help you think critically, and help you gain better insights into the history, spiritual traditions, culture, and folklore of Africa, the Caribbean and the wider world. Take notes as you read and discus new ideas with friends and family. You may even want to start a book club at your church, workplace, or in your community to discuss some of the ideas found in the books you are reading.

A reading nation is a developing nation. African and Caribbean nations have the capacity to emulate Singapore, Taiwan, and many of the other successful nations around the globe. Juan Enriquez writing in his insightful book “As the Future Catches You,” reminds us that nations which are most successful at producing new knowledge are the nations that are also generating the most wealth. Mining human potential will always trump mining raw materials. Reading continues to be one of the best avenues opened to those in pursuit of excellence and personal development. National development is the natural corollary of personal development. Another Black civilization is at the cusp of its existence. This reality will however only materialize when people of African ancestry once again become the masters of knowledge and people of the books.

Lenrod Nzulu Baraka is the founder of Afro-Caribbean Spiritual Teaching Center.