Hey ya’ll, my name is Tony Cox @tonycox.jr and I’m one of the founders of Kala Pani Archives alongside Jessica Lochan-Jenkinson @yourmumjess.
I was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia.
To tell you the truth I don’t know where to begin. My mom was born in the late 60s in Trinidad. I always knew we were Trinidadian. But it was not until 2020 that I found out that I was mixed with Indian. It all came about when I decided to take an ancestry test for fun. When the results came in I was confused when it showed 22% South Indian. I knew Trinidad had a big Indian population so I asked my mom if she would take the test as well and she did. Her results said she was 41% Indian. So pretty much half Indian. In this moment my Indo-Caribbeaness began. At 26 my identity changed and I was left with questions.
With no one to talk to about this to, I had to Google and watch YouTube videos to learn about Indians in Trinidad.
Somewhere along the way I found out about Indian indentured labourers. I also found out about the book Coolie Woman. Slowly I was learning about my ancestors.
Their struggles. Their resilience. Even though this was very new to me it felt personal and I felt a connection to them.
In 2021 | learned about postcards that depicted moments of Indian indenturedship. Since I had nothing to show from any of my ancestors I wanted to purchase one to have something - and one has since turned into almost 50 postcards.
The reason why I’ve collected so many postcards is because I knew this was bigger than me and someday the images on these postcards would be used in some way. I wanted to share these powerful images. I had no idea it would turn into Kala Pani Archives. Thank you guys for following and I look forward to what’s next.
It feels nice to feel like I’m a part of the Indo-Caribbean
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Have a story about #Windrush, or Indo × Afro #Caribbean identity you’d like to share? DM us or 📧
Catch us @theafricacentre, July 6, 2024. We’ve partnered with Kromanti Rum (@kromanti_rum) for an afternoon of learning, rum, dancing, and dominoes. The Rum Shop Talks #1