Words and Interview-Art Jefferson
Photo-Jose J. Martinez
There is a new awareness regarding the cultural richness and legacy of African descendants throughout the Caribbean sparked by a local Brooklyn company called Burden Clothing. Honoring the great contributions of Afro-Caribbean peoples alike, Burden t-shirts contains various prints ranging from popular Haitian cuisines to Trinidadian legend Might Sparrow.
AJ-What motivated you to start Burden Clothing and what’s the mission of the company?
Omar-The motivation was our lives really. Both Dom and I had grown up in Caribbean households and were very aware of the culture and were very proud of that as well. Growing up in NYC, which is full of Caribbean-Americans, from every island, fostered that love as well. We started the brand as a way to give others an idea of Caribbean culture was all about, outside of what was readily available at the time. That said, our mission is to spread the culture and to also further it through fashion. We’ve started off making tees but we plan to expand into cut and sew and accessories in the future.
AJ-One thing that you have managed to do is bring awareness to more than one island in the West Indies. How important is raising that level of awareness?
Dom-Shedding awareness on all of the West Indies is one of the concepts central to Burden. It would be an unfair if we just focused on a few islands, it wouldn’t show the full spectrum of Caribbean culture and that’s what we are trying to do.
Omar-That was definitely something that we were aware of. Growing up in NYC and being Caribbean, there’s always been a sense of togetherness despite the differences in origin. For example, the biggest event involving the Caribbean community annually is the Labor Day Parade on Eastern Parkway, which involves everyone from every country. So when Dom and I decided to create our brand, we weren’t just trying to rep for Jamaicans or Guyanese or Haitians, we wanted to rep for everyone, as well as we could. We’ll continue to try to do so as long as we’re around.
AJ-You have some of the most interesting graphic designs for your t-shirts. Who are the artists that contributes to the design aspect of the tees?
Omar-Most of the designs are put together by Dom or Myself. The only exception really is our Basquiat tee, which was a collaboration with Jason McKoy of ShadowPlastic
Dom-Most of the artwork comes from myself and Omar. We brainstorm, throw ideas together and then produce what we come up with.
AJ-Do you think there is a deliberate attempt to keep many of the achievements of Afro-Caribbean people hidden away from the masses and if so, why?
Dom-No, I just think it’s easier to focus on what’s going on at home than abroad. I don’t expect kids growing up in the US to learn about the history of the Caribbean as much as I would expect them to learn about the history of Afghanistan, it’s up to us to take interest in our own heritage and backgrounds and learn about them. Burden Clothing is just another medium for that.
Omar-I don’t think it’s deliberate, no. I think it’s natural. We live in America, so most of what you’re allowed to take in is American. If you moved to the islands, you’d definitely see more acknowledgment, but even then there’s usually a colonial system in play that can filter information that’s spread to the masses, despite the fact that most nations have been ‘free’ for years. That said, I do think that if something is worth noting, it should be.
AJ-One of the interesting pieces you have is the “Be Independent” hoodies. Explain the dates of independence on it.
Dom-I think Omar can handle that one…
Omar: That piece is pretty straightforward. The dates listed coincide with the various dates of independence of Caribbean nations. We wanted to create something with a universal message that would resonate with anyone, yet was still very much about Caribbean culture, at the heart, hence the “Be Independent” statement.
AJ-What are some of the ways in which African people throughout the Diaspora can build bridges amongst each other from the Americas, the West Indies to the continent of Africa?
Dom-The links are there through culture music, tradition and culture along with a common heritage. We just need to stop focusing on what makes us different and embrace the common roots, learn about the history of the Americas, West Indies and Africa – that will only help to highlight a rich shared history of black people.
Omar-I think the most important way to build those brides is through education. In particular, I mean to educate yourself on your origin, outside of what is taught is schools. I was fortunate enough to grow up in a household where my father was very vocal about our African origins and the customs that come from it, so I might have been exposed to more than the average person might be. Even so, I feel like the more you learn the easier it is to make the connection to the continent.
AJ-You also donated clothing to some friends who toured Africa. Talk about that particular mission.
Dom-It was just our way to give back to those less fortunate. A friend of Burden came to us with the mission, told us that it would be a group of people going to Nigeria, traveling the country and giving back to the small communities there. One of the people in the group was a Photographer and he was able to document the trip through pics. We have a gallery of pics from the trip up on the site.
Omar: I wish I could say I made the trip out to Nigeria myself, but we made our donation through a friend of the company who does a yearly humanitarian mission there. We donated our product and she took photographs with some of the people that they went to.
AJ-The situation of Haiti due to the recent earthquake was a devastating one. What is your take on the response of aid to Haiti, as well as the past involvements of some of the bigger nations with Haiti?
Dom-Aid response was tremendous. It was the right thing for the world to do. It was the natural human response. I don’t think you could ask for more. When I comes down to getting that aid out and the organization involved there was a lot room for improvement.
Foreign involvement has been a major problem for Haiti. France, the US and the World Bank bare the brunt of the blame for the problems of poverty. France, for its embargoes and forced debt on Haiti. The US for its support of bad regimes and over subsidized, cheaply produced food that led to a collapse of Haitian food production. Then you have the World Bank that acted like a visa on crack, they gave out loans and asked for them to be paid back at high interest rates. This is just a synopsis of some of the things that have happened over the course of many years so it’s no surprise that the same cast is out to help fix things now.
Omar-I feel that, overall, the outpouring of aid to Haiti has been positive and has been genuine. I have been disturbed by some of the behavior of the US, which seems to have occupied the airport and the city, however. My hope is that the future won’t be a repeat of the past, where the overwhelmingly negative presence of the US, France and other nations ravaged Haiti, but only time will tell.
AJ-What is your take on the Barack Obama phenomenon? Also with the high expectations that has been put on him, do you feel he’s moving in the right directions towards meeting those expectancies or are those expectations even too unrealistic to be met in such a short amount of time?
Dom-He’s an ambitious man and you have to respect that. We are only about a year into his presidency so we still have to wait and see what is going to happen. However, it is worth saying that the Republican party are on an active mission to disrupt his plans – its sad that they can’t put politics aside and do what’s best for the country. I think health care is so important and getting some sort of general plan to cover all Americans is needed.
Omar-I think Barack Obama is an amazing force and is probably one of the most capable presidents who have been in office in some time. I feel that his intentions are good and that he wants to have a positive effect on the world at large. With that said, I do recognize that he can only do so much and that, in a lot of ways, he’s only a spokesman for those behind the scenes. So yes, I do believe some of the expectations are unrealistic and that all of his goals won’t be met during his time in office, but he’s a definite step in the right direction.
AJ-What will be some of the upcoming plans in 2010 for the Burden Clothing Company?
Omar-We want to continue to grow. We want to produce more diversity in our product line and spread our reach past where we already have. We want to get better at what we do.
Dom-To continue our mission, make good clothes and spread the message out to the world.
AJ-Finally, what would be a couple of great resources to check out if people wanted to become a little more familiar with the legacy of African-Caribbean people?
Dom-First and foremost our blog of course, we try to round up historical info, current news and entertainment past, present whatever. After that there are online news papers from the Caribbean which are great sources for that information. And of course there is always Google which can lead you anywhere.
Omar-Wow…I feel bad that I’m having a hard time answering this question. I guess that is because there aren’t really a lot of resources online. I would start by stocking up on the works of authors like Ivan Van Sertima, Walter Rodney, Aimé Césaire, Marcus Garvey Frantz Fanon and the like. I’d like to think our blog is good resource as well, as we do try to keep it diverse with items from the past and present.