Episode 6: Migration and Belonging with Tivia Collins

·1 hr 14 min·5 clips

Why is the Caribbean considered ground zero for the violent forging of modernity?

The episode opens by positioning the Caribbean as the crucible of modernity, plagued by colonial legacies. Host Dr. Chantelle Jessica Lewis introduces guest Tivia Collins, whose research focuses on Black Transnational and Diasporic Feminisms and migrant women's experiences. Collins defines modernity as 'increase,' detailing its dual impacts on migration, especially for women moving independently for education and work. She identifies socio-economic challenges, political instability, environmental disasters, and educational access as key drivers of migration in the region. Collins explains her PhD study of 65 Guyanese migrant women in Trinidad, emphasizing how they intentionally carve out spaces to belong and create home through community, food, and memory. The discussion critiques CARICOM's formal migration system, which excludes skilled workers without degrees, increasing vulnerabilities for domestic workers and others. Collins highlights xenophobia in the Caribbean, debunking the 'one love' myth by examining intersections of race, class, and nationality, with stereotypes targeting Guyanese, Haitian, and Venezuelan migrants. She shares stories of migrant women's agency, such as feigning desperation to navigate police interactions, and their joys in building intentional communities through cookouts and Wi-Fi connections. The host and guest explore reimagining policies, with Collins calling for restructuring migration requirements to be more inclusive and centering Indigenous practices. Collins argues for the importance of Caribbean feminist scholarship in understanding global migration, citing scholars like Alyssa Trotz and Andaiye. The episode concludes with a 'radical knowledge' segment where Collins recommends quotes from Audre Lorde and Staceyann Chin, feminist organizations like Feminite and Tamake, books by Andaiye and bell hooks, and the film 'Beasts of the Southern Wild.'

As heard by us

Tivia Collins connects Caribbean migration, resource extraction, and the unsettled question of who gets to belong.

The episode sets migration and belonging inside the Caribbean's longer history of colonial power, then brings that history close through Tivia Collins, an assistant professor in the Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department at Wake Forest University.

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Why you'd press play

Want a careful conversation about Caribbean migration, borders, and who gets to share when natural resources start to look like a boom?

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