KINGSLEY Cooper hardly knew the weight of his words when he said this, days before the Gordon House bombshell last Tuesday: “We will heal Jamaica when, as a people, we simply start doing the right thing. That must be our mantra: all of us, collectively and individually.”

“We should pray for our leadership at all levels for a Damascus intervention,” Kingsley continued. “We need it. Only then can we motivate Jamaicans from all walks of life to recognise that Jamaica is ours and that we are Jamaica. Running to New York is not an option. We are all responsible for the welfare of this country. It is not a mandate we can avoid.”

I had read about Kingsley Cooper’s Irie Jam Media Legend Award, presented last month in Manhattan, and sought out this innovative Jamaican, who opened the glamorous and lucrative world of fashion to ordinary Jamaicans 31 years ago.

As the noise grew out of Prime Minister Golding’s admission that “as JLP leader”, he had sanctioned the hiring of the US law firm Manatt, Phelps and Phillips in the extradition issue, I wondered if I should postpone this piece on Cooper in favour of the current buzz. But then, I thought, let us put the negative news in its place by celebrating those who prove that “by the sweat of one’s brow” is the only legal way “to eat bread”.

A graduate of the Norman Manley Law School and the recipient of the Order of Distinction, Commander Class, for his work in “pioneering, defining and developing the modelling industry locally, regionally and internationally”, Cooper could have quietly stayed in private practice. Instead, he heeded the call of an enterprise that had always fascinated him.

“I probably spent more time publishing magazines as director of Guild Press, promoting parties as campus DJ, acting, writing, graphic designing and God knows what else, than I did studying law at university and law school,” admits Cooper. “It therefore was a natural step for me to start Pulse in 1980, which I did with my long-time friend Hilary Phillips, herself a lawyer and now Justice of the Court of Appeal.”

It has not been easy, but the savvy entrepreneur made Pulse one of the first small companies to list on the Jamaica Stock Exchange. He is concerned about the extreme challenges that our entrepreneurs have to face in Jamaica: “There is a general lack of institutional support, insufficient service provision, a lack of appreciation as to what actually pertains and a general absence of an environment that will enable winners,” he observes.

“Many prevail,” he says, “but there could be more meaningful, game-changing success.

The current state of affairs is, of course, most unfortunate, especially when it is considered that the talent and creativity of our people will probably be Jamaica’s ultimate salvation.”

He points out that creative business is in the top five of all industries, in almost every developed country, “and, if anything, Jamaica is more blessed with talent than most.” He wants us to do “a lot more nurturing and enabling”.

As he recounts the dramatic story of Nadine Willis, we ask ourselves what would have become of this fashion icon, if a Kingsley Cooper had not encouraged her and had not made those strategic alliances with the moguls of the fashion world, bringing her to international attention.

“Nadine Willis is proof that anything is possible, especially in our business,” avers Kingsley. “She got an opportunity through Pulse and modelling to change her life, and although ultimately she had and continues to have challenges that are a result of the extremely harsh circumstances of her early life, she is still today, one of the greatest successes ever recorded in the history of modelling.”

The compassionate entrepreneur gave us a glimpse of these challenges: “She overcame the difficulties of a parentless childhood, extreme poverty, very limited education, inner-city life, and a full-fledged career as a strip dancer under the most outrageous of conditions, to become a celebrated success. Nadine was featured, not just with pictures and campaigns for the world’s great brands, in almost every worthwhile fashion magazine published across the globe, but with major stories on her in such magazines as French Vogue and British Glamour, as well as features on Fashion Television, and the New York Post.”

Cooper wants greater government support for entertainment and for the promotion of our rich talent. “Although not a Pulse product, I want to mention Usain Bolt, a success entirely based on talent and the small group of believers who guided and nurtured him,” says Cooper. “I don’t think that anyone would deny that Bolt has had the greatest positive impact (and potentially the greatest financial return) for Jamaica across the globe, for at least the last decade.”

“Before him,” observes Cooper, “there was Bob Marley. How much was invested in Bolt or Marley by Jamaican officialdom? The answer is very, very little. It is clear that with a national shift of priorities, our creative talent can change Jamaica.”

Are we so busy nurturing the serfdom of our garrisons, so busy ensuring that we keep our subjects needy and greedy, that our successive governments are left with no energy to serve the very people they promise success? During the previous administration, a US-based Jamaican coach tried to see the then Minister of Sports to offer full scholarships for Jamaican children but could not get an appointment. In frustration, he contacted me through the email he saw in this column and I linked him with the generous Carole Orane who led him to no less than 12 deserving young Jamaicans!

Cooper does not want aspiring entrepreneurs to lose hope. “Every day that you rise, work hard at your dream. Find solutions for problems, work things out step by step,” urges the Ideator (as his sister Prof Carolyn would dub him). “Don’t allow injustice, prejudice or bias, which is always there, to deter you. Try to be at peace and in harmony with the one universal God. Find your personal zone and never stop until you realise your dream. Intimidation is not an issue.” Amen!

lowriechin@aim.com

www.lowrie-chin.blogspot.com