“I Will Be There” – The Jackson 5
This song takes me back to my formative years in Trinidad. Although it came out in 1970, I grew up singing it throughout my childhood.
Trinidad, a British Commonwealth country, followed a school system where elementary students had to pass an exam around age eleven to determine which secondary school they could attend. The year leading up to it meant extra lessons after school –a pressure I carried quietly.
Life outside school was not always easy. In the neighborhood where I lived, there were no other Asians and I was frequently taunted by other kids on the street. Racial slurs were common. One of my lesson teachers called me “Jap”, and I didn’t understand at the time that it was meant as an insult. It took many years to recognize the weight of that moment.
Being a minority in a Caribbean country showed me early on that racism exists everywhere, even in a small, seemingly idyllic place. Through it all, I Will Be There was a song of comfort, a reminder of loyalty, care, and resilience in a world that often felt unwelcoming.