Episode Details

In this captivating episode of Dis a Fi Mi History Podcast, host Wendy Aris delves into the complex history of slave marriage and resistance in the British West Indies with Professor Cecilia A. Green. They explore how colonialism and legal frameworks in the Caribbean profoundly shaped intimate family life under slavery. 

Professor Green unpacks the legal contradictions and fears colonial powers held regarding slave unions, and the critical role missionaries played in this context. The discussion reveals how enslaved people resiliently created and maintained family and kinship ties despite systemic denial of their rights. These efforts not only challenged planter authority but also laid foundational aspects of Caribbean family genealogy and heritage.

Listeners will gain deep insights into the intersections of colonial law, family history, and resistance, learning how these histories continue to influence Caribbean identity and cultural memory. This episode is essential for anyone interested in colonialism, Caribbean history, and the enduring legacies of family resilience and heritage in the region.

BIO:

Professor Cecilia A. Green is a distinguished sociologist and comparative-historical scholar whose work spans race, class, gender, and sexuality in the English-speaking Caribbean. Her research examines how colonialism, labor systems, and global political economies shape Caribbean societies past and present. She brings a nuanced interdisciplinary approach that bridges history, sociology, and postcolonial studies.

Professor Green’s scholarship also extends into the political economy of globalization, where she analyzes contemporary transformations and their impact on Caribbean social structures. Since 2012, she has been engaged in a major research initiative on the “new Chinese presence in the Eastern Caribbean,” a collaborative project with her doctoral student Yan Liu, who is completing a dissertation under her supervision.

Her ongoing historical sociological work investigates the racial, class, and gender dynamics of the penal system in Barbados between 1875 and 1930, with particular emphasis on the experiences of working-class women and boys. Across her body of work, Professor Green uncovers how systems of power, coercion, and resistance shape Caribbean lives, identities, and futures.

Links:

https://survivingstorms.com/team-members/cecilia-a-green/ 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/cecilia-green-16781b66/ 

https://www.jstor.org/stable/i27641426 

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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/berkshirehalleppingpress/ 

Morning Journal Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CXMTL3NV 

Genealogy Workbook: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09NRHG3M3 

Prayer Journal: https://a.co/d/bfSdIl0 

Devotional Journal: https://a.co/d/8K3C8Hk 

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