Janel Martinez is a Black Garifuna writer living in the diaspora. Her personal essay “Abuela’s Greatest Gift” thinks of her matrilineal lineage and examines how she connects with her Garifunidad. She underscores the “gifts” she has inherited: ancestral memory (historical/ spiritual connections to the homeland and its people); truthful storytelling; historical awareness and visions for the future; survival; individual and collective self-love and oral traditions.
Class presentation (s):
Group Work
Pick ONE of the Garifuna traditions underscored by Martinez and describe how they impacted her as a diasporic woman.
.funeral rites (p. 215-216)
.punta dance (p. 216)
.food (p. 218-219)
.language (p. 219-220)
Discussion Question
What are Janel Martinez’s reflections on the identity terms available to her and why she decided to emphasize her Black identity first? (p. 226-229)
0:55-11:50