Dear Editor,

I had the privilege of serving on the UWI Guild of Undergraduates as treasurer (1994-95) and president (1995-96). Both positions allowed for interaction with Professor Rex Nettleford on a number of boards at the highest corporate levels of the university. It was here that I first saw his indomitable sense of fairness, and numerous displays of his legendary eloquence, wit and sharpness of mind. One could not help but get the distinct impression that he viewed the bureaucratic machinations of the institution with detached, wry amusement. This observation left us as student leaders quite happy – we who were eternally at odds with the administration. We knew with utmost confidence that Professor Nettleford was always in our corner.

On my election as guild president in 1995, among my first appointments was to see Professor Nettleford. He dismissed my disclosure that I was an economics major with the observation, “Our economists have failed us”. It was a signal statement from one who had witnessed the economic aspirations and struggles of his country.

Professor Nettleford sent my pet project of designing and implementing a bus system for students into a spin by asking, “What will the students do on campus with the extra time they will have?” His searching question was a revelation of his far-reaching mode of thinking and his conviction that student life must be culturally enriched through extra-curricular activities. My lack of an answer did not deter him from being a great proponent of this and other projects that had to be approved by the “higher-ups” of the campus.

Professor Netttleford was committed to the broadest access to education. He advocated for and spearheaded the distance education component of UWI. His instrumentality made a university education possible for a large number of teachers, bank employees and others who utilised the UWIDEC programme.

Later, on the recommendation of Professor Nettleford, I was selected to represent tertiary students on the committee set up by Prime Minister Patterson to review national awards and symbols. Here again his erudition, wisdom, corporate skills and knowledge of “Jamaicanness” were on display at every meeting of the committee. His guidance and management of the process allowed for the widest level of participation by members of the Jamaican society. There was a glimmer of triumph in his eyes when committee members unanimously reported from their various stakeholder meetings that the Jamaican people wanted the meaning of black in the flag to change. No more must blackness be seen in the negative sense of hardship, but rather the victorious undeniable pride, resilience and strength that Rex Nettleford epitomised.

We did not fully appreciate the value of having, arguably, the Father of Cultural Studies imparting to us the importance of culture, even in a world shrinking under the effects of globalisation. Within a decade we would see that culture remains a decisive factor in global affairs.

Several years ago, we met again as he lectured at The Drum in Birmingham, UK. His call for the recognition of the commonalities and the burden of history shared by Britain’s non-white ethnic minorities was contested by a few listeners.

In the reception that followed, a young man of Asian descent heaped accolades on the professor. He did the unthinkable by suggesting that Professor Rex Nettleford ought to write a book! We were livid, hoping that he would stop. He proceeded to ask directly, “Have you ever thought of writing a book?” Displaying the classic cultivation and humility which many have come to know, he answered, “I might have written a few.”

Surely, the professor ought to have been more dismissive of that person. But no, his answer encapsulated his approach to life – a path of patiently helping others to see the light of civility and human advancement. He condescended, but never to put down. He lifted us all. Even here, he was the quintessential teacher – imparting knowledge but always leaving room for discovery.

Gregory John Roberts

College of Law and Humanities

University of Birmingham

UK