Office of BGLTQ Student Life hosts panel, film on queer life in Caribbean

Ahead of National Coming Out Day, the Office of BGLTQ Student Life is hosting a panel discussion and film screening on queer life and the ongoing fight for LGBTQ rights in the Caribbean. The event is the brainchild of Jama Willis ’25, a Jamaican American student who is dedicating his senior thesis on decriminalizing homosexuality in post-colonial Anglophone Caribbean.

“Beyond Homophobia – The Counter Narrative of the Queer Caribbean” will include a panel discussion with Jason Jones, a Trinidadian LGBTQ+ rights activist who successfully challenged Trinidad and Tobago’s colonial-era anti-gay laws, and Lady Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, a U.K. lesbian activist and co-founder of U.K. Black Pride. Willis and Jamaican Ghanaian student Niara Botchwey ’25 will moderate the panel.  

Willis said he first came up with the idea of creating the event while studying international law and colonial history at Oxford. There, he learned that many Caribbean countries that were once part of the British Empire find it difficult to repeal buggery laws, which criminalize same-sex sexual activity. These countries are often held back by so-called saving clauses, which allow laws put in place during colonization to remain in effect after independence.

“While there are a lot of cases where decriminalization efforts have been struggling, one example being Jamaica, there are a lot of success that have come out. Belize was the first country that struck down their colonial era laws,” the 21-year-old senior, who is concentrating in government and African and African American Studies, explained. Lawyers and activists are typically forced to amend or repeal the saving clauses before being able to repeal the buggery laws.

The two-person panel will delve into the current situation for LGBTQ+ people in the Caribbean, Willis shared. A double feature screening of “Judgement: The People vs Jones” and “Dalton’s Dream” will follow the panel. The first film follows Jones’ legal battle against his country’s homophobic laws, while “Dalton’s Dream” explores the life of Jamaican musician and X Factory U.K. winner Dalton Harris.

“Many times, when you hear about the Caribbean, you think about tropical vacations and beach lifestyle, but there are local realities for people who are living there that we need to know about,” Willis said. “My goal in doing this is not to agitate feathers or cause a stir, it’s simply to educate people on what’s happening and shine a light on the efforts that activists are putting in.”

“Beyond Homophobia — The Counter Narrative of the Queer Caribbean” panel and film screening will be held at the TSAI Auditorium (CGIS South) on October 10 at 7:30 pm. The event, a collaboration with the Harvard Caribbean Club, the Dominican Students Association, and the Office of the Arts, is open to the public.