Second generation, second culture
Alonzo Bartley is one of many who struggle with culture identity and acceptance as a second generation Canadian.
According to the National Household Survey, a second generation individual is someone born in Canada to immigrant parents.
Bartley is a candidate in the 2014 municipal elections to become a councillor for the Scarborough-Guildwood area. He has been living in Ward 43 for over 40 years, but growing up as a second generation Canadian did not make his experience a perfect one.
“Scarborough was largely a Caucasian population when I was a kid, so I got made fun of a lot because of the colour of my skin,” he said.
Bartley is son to Ralph and Gloria Bartley, who moved to Canada in the 1950s from Trinidad.
But with the move to Canada along came their culture, food, and practices.
Bartley found that the expectation his parents had, put a lot of pressure on him while trying to find a career path.
“I know immigrant parents want to see their kids succeed beyond what they’ve achieved and unfortunately, that sometimes clashes with what is best for their kids.”
Not only was it difficult for Bartley to get his parents to accept or comprehend his ways but, other people didn’t understand him either.
“In Canada, people often assume that I’m an immigrant from Jamaica. My parents are from Trinidad and the culture of that island is very different from Jamaica. When in Trinidad, I have a very different accent, which sticks out like a sore thumb. Although Canada and Trinidad are both English-speaking nations they both have distinctly different accents. That on its own separates me from the crowd.”
Bartley felt lost as to which culture he belonged to, since neither of the cultures he experienced seemed to accept him.
“Much like the play “Fronteras Americanas” by Guillermo Verdecchia, I felt caught between two worlds. Neither world I belonged to,” he said.
The 2011 NHS has said that almost a quarter of Ontario’s population is second generation and still growing. Likewise almost a quarter of Canada’s population is first generation.
The NHS defines first generation as people who were born outside of Canada that are, or have been, Canadian immigrants.
First generation Ralph Bartley has lived in Canada for half of his life and has raised his son here, but he still feels connected to his own culture.
“I feel like a Trinidadian-Canadian. I grew up as a Trinidadian, of course but I’ve spent half my life in Canada. I’ve learned and experienced a lot here,” said Ralph Bartley.
While Ralph Bartley feels connected to both cultures, Alonzo Bartley defined himself as Canadian.
“I was born here. I grew up here. I understand the history and politics of this country.”
