Juan Francisco Manzano: A Marginal Leader

Behind a marginalized group that is finally able to speak up for themselves lies a motivational leader that gives them the opportunity to have a voice. Without a leader, it is difficult for a group to function. As a result, these leaders hold a lot of power with the words they say because they become influential to the group they are giving a voice to. Many leaders do so in their own way, whether it is through art, music, activism, or even literature. This is a consistent pattern seen in history, especially in the Caribbean. While focusing on some of the leaders in the Caribbean, one can see many similarities within them individually. Much of the time, this is due to determinism, liminality, growth, and eventually what they do with such strong
Furthermore, Manzano even taught himself to read and write, in which he took this opportunity to express himself and became a poet. Eventually, Manzano even wrote an autobiography. This determinism to thrive through education in order to speak up for himself, and all other slaves shows how he is able to take something he cares for and make it into something he can use to bring in a sense of belonging. Instead of taking this privilege to succeed on his own, he uses this for the good of others who were treated in such inhumane ways. Jamaica Kincaid, a novelist from the island of Antigua, on the other hand, uses her knowledge in a similar way after leaving her island for many years and gaining experience as a writer in the east coast of the United states in the 1970s. However, she decides not to keep her success for her own good, and instead uses her passion for writing to give a voice to her people of Antigua and those who can relate
Liminality is the feeling of being in between identities due to the intersectionality an individual might poses due to experiences. Although many individuals can have liminal lives, what makes these leaders in the Caribbean stand out is the fact that many gain this liminality due to experience outside of where they come from. For instance, Manzano experiences this liminality and sense of in between because he is a house slave who is not completely accepted by the white people, but also not accepted by the slaves who were in the fields. As a result, this sense of not belonging marginalized him, which provoked his experience of finding himself through educating himself and eventually taking that into something bigger. Although this liminality put him in a rough mental state, he is still able to find a way to blur the lines of separation by bringing both sides of his identity together in order to empower himself and his community. Kincaid does something similar due to her experience away from Antigua and her feeling of being both and insider and an outsider when going back to her island. She takes her perspective of growing up and Antigua and her perspective as a successful middle-class American to discuss the tourism and its harm to the people to Antigua, as seen in her book, “A