Island Two

My first experience with local interest in Barack Obama was when I saw a good-sized photo of the man posted on the wall of the local library in September. In fact, there were two photos - one on each side of the room. Alongside the photo of the Senator from Illinois was a one page bio. It might be important to note that there was no photos, nor any bios of the Senator from Arizona.

As the day of the election drew near, it became clear that Obamamania hadn't just hit the local librarian; a lot of Guadeloupeens were highly interested in Obama. The city of Lamentin (near Pointe-à-Pitre) organized un nuit blanche pour un président noir (literally, a white night for a black president. Nuit blanche means an all-nighter). Basse-Terre, the capital of Guadeloupe, assembled some giant screens to project election night coverage in the main square in front of city hall.

Like most newspapers around the world, Obama made the front page of the local newspaper, France Antilles, the morning after. Interest has not waned, as articles featuring the President-elect have appeared daily since.

Guadeloupeens, of course, aren't alone in their interest. The world watched the American elections with baited breath, and celebrated his victory. That a black man could be elected leader of the most powerful nation in the world, and by a white majority, is of particular interest to countries with large minority populations. France spent the days following the elections discussing, theorizing, contemplating whether or not something similar could happen in their country right now. The universal answer is no. The NYTimes published a piece about this, and described how minorities felt about Obama's victory.

The situation in Guadeloupe is somewhat different than in France métropole. Here, 90% of the population is black (1). What does that mean? That means that, unlike in metropolitan France, the grand majority of the upper class, the professional class are black. The intelligentisa and the educated class are black. Politicians and administration - at every level - are black. Why does that matter? It matters because power rests in the hands of blacks, and the idea of a black person in a leadership position is not so alien. It matters because financial, educational, political mobility exist here. Does the particular situation in Guadeloupe change the odds of a minority becoming President of France. No, of course not. But it does mean that perceptions of Guadeloupeens are different from those of minorities in France métropole.



(1) Population and Demographics of Guadeloupe