Some thoughts of teacher Nettleford

BY RICKEY SINGH

Sunday, February 07, 2010

AS the expected outpouring of tributes praising the enormous contributions of that brilliant exponent of our West Indian civilisation, Rex Nettleford, continues, I have opted to share with readers, for now, just a few snippets of the inspiring thoughts of the iconic Caribbean man himself.

It was in my capacity as a journalist that I had the privilege of frequent discussions on West Indian history and culture with that most eloquent of Caribbean scholars, whose departure from us occurred in a Washington hospital on Tuesday night after a massive heart attack. He was 76.

The Press Association of Jamaica (PAJ) may well have spoken for the region’s journalism profession as a whole when it hailed Professor Nettleford as “a mentor to journalists”.

All those in the region’s media who had the pleasure of knowing him in his many roles as educator, cultural exponent, writer, dancer and public lecturer, would cherish the time spent in his company, at times in animated discussions on the region’s cultural norms; party politics and governance, as well as the role of the media in nation building and forging of a Caribbean identify and regional unity.

The Media: In Speaking Freely, a very informative report of the Media Laws Project of the Commonwealth Association for Education in Journalism and Communication, Nettleford had observed in his essay on Freedom of Expression and the Caribbean Media, that:

“The Commonwealth Caribbean remains the living laboratory of processes of social transformation and nation building in the Americas… Central to this process has been the issue of freedom of expression.

“The importance of freedom of expression to the Commonwealth Caribbean’s view of itself as a society committed to democratic governance and its civil society is rooted in a long history of conscious resistance to institutional and psychological marginalisation of its people.” (1999).

In his Dance Jamaica (Cultural Definition and Artistic Discovery), he had noted, in writing on the dynamics of “cultural resistance” in Caribbean society, that:

“It is in the nature of the times that millions of people who have formally been ‘set free’ from the shackles of colonialism should now lay claim to a definitive civilisation. They do so on the basis of either ancestral pedigree — as Africans or Indians perceive it — or of imminent realisation as the anglophone Caribbean populations, all creatures of colonialisation, would have it.” (1985).

Six years earlier (1979), in his definitive Caribbean Cultural Identity (The Case of Jamaica), the inspiring orator and philosopher, whose humility was as pronounced as his awesome intellect, made this very telling observation:

“If the people of the Caribbean own nothing else, they certainly can own their creative imagination which, viewed in a particular way, is a powerful means of production for much that brings meaning and purpose to human life.

“And it is the wide variety of products emanating from the free and ample exercise of this creative imagination which signifies to man his unique gift of culture...”

Thanks for the education, teacher Rex. And as I was closing my random reflections, the Caricom Secreta riat in hailing Nettleford as a “veritable Caribbean icon” said in a press statement:

“A truly quintessential Caribbean Man, Nettleford exuded intellectual and artistic genius as a professor, choreographer, dancer, an orator, mentor, critic and a household name across the region… He was the recipient of 14 honorary degrees from various universities, and provided leadership in numerous regional and international bodies, including the West Indian Commission; UNESCO, International Labour Organisation and the Organisation of American States...”

As Jamaica’s long-serving prime minister and elder statesman of Caricom, PJ Patterson was to note in a statement on the passing of this Caribbean Man who had so enriched the understanding of so many of us on what it means to be a Caribbean citizen:

“Few who have had the opportunity to interact with him on a personal level will never forget his sincerity; his kindness; his humility; his genuine desire to make a contribution. No task was ever too simple, no challenge too great. A true visionary and humanist, his place in Jamaica’s history is assured.”

Let me humbly add that this would also be true of Rex Nettleford’s “place” in the history of our Caribbean Community.

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Some thoughts of teacher Nettleford