41 years after Norman Manley

By Michael Burke

Thursday, September 02, 2010

Today is the 41st anniversary of the death of National Hero Norman Washington Manley. Many words have been spoken about his integrity and the fact that he went into public life and became a poorer man. Despite the bad name that politics has worldwide, Norman Manley turned the tables on the clergy, especially of the Protestant, Fundamentalist and Evangelical varieties who have become rich out of religion. Norman Manley became poor because of politics.

Norman Manley did not "suffer fools gladly". He was seen to be aloof although his pronouncements and his actions showed that he was genuinely for the people. He had been accused of being against Marcus Garvey when he really was not. The elder Manley was the lawyer for the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation when Garvey lost his seat on the council due to absence longer than the time required to be so without an excuse.

Garvey had actually been absent because he had served a prison sentence. In giving a legal opinion, Norman Manley argued that Garvey's seat was indeed vacant. In the subsequent by-election Garvey ran again and won. But Norman Manley also appeared against some of the members of the People's National Party that he co-founded. There was a Dr Valentine who was a PNP member whom the elder Manley appeared against in court.

For that reason Dr Valentine left the PNP and joined the Jamaica Labour Party. Valentine ran for the JLP in 1944 and lost to Florizel Glasspole. All of this goes to show that Norman Manley was a professional who could differentiate between his work as a lawyer and his views otherwise.

Alexander Bustamante was viewed as the man of the people. As he had founded the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union, the masses of the people were around Bustamante. When Bustamante left the PNP and formed the JLP, he took with him the mass of supporters, which caused the JLP to win a landslide victory in 1944 in which not even Norman Manley won a seat.

The PNP won power in 1955. In 1959 a Canadian named Goldenberg, appointed by Norman Manley while premier of Jamaica, did an inquiry into the conditions of sugar workers. The findings were that the sugar workers' needed improved housing conditions and that the workers' wages should be set at a higher figure.

We will follow Bustamante till we die, the people sang. But did he do more for the poor than Norman Manley? Analysing the Goldenburg report in A Voice at the Workplace in 1975, Michael Manley - the son of Norman Manley - would write that in the 20 years before that, all that had been done for sugar workers by Bustamante's efforts were that the sugar workers could "buy an extra pack of cigarettes each week".

What Norman Manley did for all Jamaicans was far more than being able to "buy an extra pack of cigarettes each week". The real improvements in the sugar industry took place after the Goldenberg commission of 1959 set up by Norman Manley. Prior to his entry into politics Norman Manley established Jamaica Welfare in 1937. With his later political involvement Norman Manley started many empowerment programmes, including free education.

Yet it was Norman Manley who was pilloried as being aloof and being against Marcus Garvey. But Norman Manley was very much in favour of Garvey and of black beauty. The elder Manley's writings in favour of black beauty are included in the late Rex Nettleford's Manley and the New Jamaica, published in 1973. And Norman Manley supported his wife who was a sculptor of black people.

While more has been written on members of the Manley family than any other Jamaican family, not enough has been written about Norman Manley the social worker. The earlier policies of the PNP reflected the Norman Manley vision as set out in Jamaica Welfare, which would eventually evolve into the Social Development Commission.

The problem today is that the PNP has moved too far away from the Norman Manley vision. For example, some statements against free education made by PNP parliamentarians must have Norman Manley "turning in his grave". Norman Manley's PNP should never criticise the concept of free education. Instead, the PNP should use the JLP's transformation from a preference to saltfish in Bustamante's time to that of education in more recent times as an effective campaign strategy.

I know the practical problems of free education and it has to be rationalised. One main problem with it is that when education is free, schools have to rely totally on government grants which are not always forthcoming. But education should not be free without some form of compulsory national service by the students.

Another area of concern is the Beach Control Authority. Our best beaches, which were accessible to the public since 1955, have undergone some retrogression since the 1990s. The current PNP needs to look at its policies and compare them to what Norman Manley would have done.

ekrubm765@yahoo.com

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COMMENTS (15)

Fitz. Anderson
9/6/2010

It is amazing that this Davidson gentleman has been given his allotted comment space and then a super extended response-column to bash our revered National Hero while I try to condense my comments without success. The donkey is correct about the playing field not level. Drivel in its most disrespectful form should not be allowed to upstage objectivity.

Beresford Davidson
9/4/2010

Mr. Jock Enders 'me done know seh N. Manley a cousin to Busta." I met both men as a youngster and I studied both men at Trench Town Comprehensive High School and at the UWI Extramural Department when it was first opened thoroughly in Civics, law and commercial economics studies back in the mid to late 60s and even today in Edward Seaga's "My Life And Leadership." You and Michael Burke are not saying anything new that I already knew about. I give credit to Busta and Garvey over N. Manley because they are original Jamaicans who defined our existence much more thoroughly and honestly in action as well as elocution. They did not need an Oxford Rhodes’ Scholarship to work with us rough neck Jamaicans who suffer no fools. Our eyes are wide open and need no approval or accreditations from no received educational institutions around the world. We are standing up on our own two feet that God gave us. We need no entitlements because of skin colour, because we already know that we have no control over how we appeared in this world. We are able and willing to work and live with all wherever and whenever in this world. We do not need the folly of war and guns to define our highest standards of victory, Norman, Busta and Marcus have already done their work for us to learn from not to mention Eddie Seaga’s well-written account of our history since 1930-190. We have no axe to grind with other peoples of the world. We are Jamaicans proud of whom we are and whom we defined ourselves to be eternally.

Jock Enders
9/4/2010

Beresford , actually no, Bustamante is Norman Manley's cousin.
Zara Thrustra, Actually no , its not PNP pseudo history" as you lightly put it, its Jamaican History. Norman Manley did live and he did play a role in the development of Jamaican Political history. As Marcus Garvey once wrote "a people without knowledge of it's history and culture is like a tree without roots"
Jamaican history might be nothing to you but its everything to us..

Jock Enders
9/4/2010

Well written article sir and well researched.
I concur that the PNP of today is almost unrecognizable of what it used to be and what it can become.
I fully agree , Norman Manley like the Son Michael Manley is very much misunderstood and were men way before their time that possessed a magnificent spirit and self confidence. If you were ever physically in the presence of Michael Manley you know what i mean.
Much has yet to be written about the Manleys, there is so much to them.

Jeanette Calder
9/4/2010

Rest in Peace Norman and thank you. It looks that way but it was not in vain and we shall overcome.

Hugo Hutchinson
9/3/2010

The past has eluded many of us, and many refuse to learn from the past. Regardless of your support to Manley, Bustamante or Garvey, these men started out with a vision for a newly independent Jamaica that has been swept under the rugs. History is the greatest teacher and the best tool when devising a plan for the fututre. If you think Portia or Bruce is the answer, I pity you. The lack deductive reasoning has also eluded many.

Jacqueline Samms
9/3/2010

In those days party defended their actions,they spoke to the public, the problem was that the poor and uneducated could not understand Manley because did not condescend.However, those politicians didn't need criminals to help them get elected.

Paul Patel
9/2/2010

Good stuff!

Ulem Scott
9/2/2010

Great reflection on our glorious past leaders, just a pity people like Duncan, Kweli and Beresford can only identify words but haven't a clue otherwise

zara thustra
9/2/2010

More PNP pseudo history. You are hopeless Burke.

Jason Whitcher
9/2/2010

@Duncan Bertram If Portia is the future of Jamaica then God help us all.

Lolita Scott
9/2/2010

Norman Manley and Alexander Bustamante were men of integrity, not like the riff raff we have in government now. What we have now is "Liar, Liar pants on fire".

Duncan Bertram
9/2/2010

Portia Simpson Miller is more Garvey and Manley, than Garvey and Manley. Portia is Portia and she represents the cause for which Garvey and Manley stood for. She is from the people, by the people and for the people. Jamaica's most suitable leader currently is Portia and no amount of educated fools can stop her. Portia is for the future of Jamaica.

Kweli Simba
9/2/2010

The times have changed and so have the political parties. Having nostalgia for the past will not move us further down the road to success. In addition, you were unable to be objective in your piece. You had to bash Marcus, Busta and the JLP in order to big up Manley of the past. Norman Manley did not "suffer fools gladly". In your usage of this idiom, who are you refering to?? His brand statemanship of course is not around anymore, but he was a coniving politician as any we have today.

Beresford Davidson
9/2/2010

Michael Burke, drink Norman Manley, Eat Norman Manley, sleep Norman Manley, boobo Norman Manley and even talk Norman Manley. He forgets that there can be no Norman Manley without Sir Alexander Bustamante and that you can have one Bustamante always without a Norman Manley. Bustamante is Norman Manley's Alpha to Omega.

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41 years after Norman Manley