Meaning
A white person — historically the white master or plantation-owning class of the slavery era. The word, of West African origin, carries the whole weight of that history of bondage and racial power, and though it can be used plainly for a white person, it can still be spoken pointedly to mark privilege, dominance, and the old order of master and slave. It survives as a reminder of the plantation past, and 'backra massa' names the white master, the figure of authority and oppression in the memory of slavery.
Examples
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Inna slavery days, di backra rule everyting.
In slavery days, the white masters ruled everything.
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Di backra-massa live inna di great house.
The white master lived in the great house.
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Dem still a work fi backra.
They're still working for the white man.
Origin
From the Efik/Ibibio word 'mbakara', meaning 'he who governs' or 'one who surrounds/masters', brought from West Africa and applied to the white slaveholders.
How it’s used
Historically and politically loaded. 'Backra-massa' names the master specifically. Shared with other Caribbean and African-American speech (as 'buckra').