WE’VE COME to this 48th anniversary of Independence and the 189th of Emancipation with some mixed emotions. The weight of the present is threatening to crush the joys of past achievement. The question is asked, why should we celebrate these anniversaries? There are those among us who have become so disillusioned, so disheartened by the turn of national events that they are prepared to proclaim “a pox on all your houses”.

It was the noted comedian “Blacka” Ellis, who coined the word “Emancipendence”, combining the two events into one, in that uniquely Jamaican way, which has us creating a new word every day. No wonder the language purists are confused. (Look out for the linguistic findings.) Blacka, being the cool person that he is, has not gone to battle over “creatorship” of the word although ownership is being ascribed all over the place. He just seems happy that there is something which has gained acceptance.

It was just about 13 years ago, in the time of the past administration that Emancipation Day was returned to the calendar of national events. “Fus’ a Augus” (aka the first of August) is widely held to be the day when the chains began to be struck from the limbs of our enslaved ancestors, releasing them from bondage. Despite its importance, the day of remembrance went into oblivion for a while until we came to our senses and returned it to the place of honour where it belonged.

The debate about to celebrate or not to celebrate comes with the cynicism brought on by events of recent times which have sapped us of our once proud spirit. Despite some incredible achievements for a small nation, we’re often bogged down by the worthless stuff, which leads to loss of confidence. Yet, thankfully, there are those who refuse to buy into the despair and negativity. For me, the defining boundary is whether I would rather have lived in the days when I would have been someone’s possession, permitted no thought or action of my own, or today, when bad as it may be sometimes, “Nobody nuh own mi. Mi belong to mi owna self” (words from the play Augus Mawnin).

From the first year that the first of August was “resurrected”, members of the Little Theatre Movement (LTM) Pantomime Company with which I am associated, presented what was to become the first in a series of theatrical productions built around that last lap of the journey to freedom. We titled it Augus Mawnin.

We staged it year after year, at home and abroad, as a ritual salute to freedom. After its 10th anniversary, we put it aside to begin a new series of productions to continue celebrating the years after Full Free was granted (1838). This year the Company opted for highlighting the six men and one woman who are our National Heroes and we did so under the title, Letters for Emancipendence.

IT IS NOT OFTEN that we pause to trace the powerful message in the progression of events from where we started yesterday to where we are today. The experience of the years has been a teaching lesson for the ensemble involved in the productions and for members of the audience, especially those who have made it an annual ritual. Among them are young persons who boast that they grew up with Augus Mawnin. The historical research, which provided the basis for the first work and the subsequent sequences, has opened the eyes of the performance team to the insanity of slavery, the impertinence of any human being daring to claim the life and soul of another for economic gain.

You can hear the glib comment sometimes that slavery has not ended, that we are not free today, so what is there to celebrate? The question defies logic. We’ve never been fully acquainted with our nation’s history, despite the fact that we possess a remarkable storehouse of historical data in the National Archives at Spanish Town, the National Library at East Street in Kingston and our parish libraries. There is no end to the theses produced by scholars from other countries who have come here to harvest from the treasure trove of information on our road to Emancipation. While others benefit, we treat our own history like “ah nuh nutten”.

I’m never quite sure how to respond to persons who insist that we should “forget this whole business of slavery”. King Rex (Nettleford) has left us to contemplate the value of our rear-view mirror even when going forward. It seems, however, that some people would rather drive blind than put the journey in perspective.

RELUCTANCE TO TEACH the history of our people seems to be grounded in some primordial fear that if you enlighten young black children about how their ancestors suffered at the hands of white plantation owners who bought and sold them like cattle, you will open up the floodgates to racial hatred. Well…Tom fool, but Tom nuh fool-fool. We know that we can’t resurrect the slave master or the slave at this point on our journey, but we can still learn from our collective history, if only to ensure that it will not happen again. Right now, it is not the past we have to fear, but the shark-filled waters of the present.

We are left to wonder why the Philosophy & Opinions of Marcus Garvey has not found a proper place in our schools’ curricula. There has been no end of chat and empty promises over the years on this matter, but our youth remain better informed about entertainers of questionable character than this man who reached into the conscience, not only of our nation, but of many others in the world. How long before we accept that it is time we looked into ourselves and emancipated not just the body but the mind and spirit, as Mr Garvey called us to do, long before Bob made it into a song, appropriated by the wide world?

So, last week’s focus on Emancipation (mainly in merry-making), has given way to Independence. What have we learnt? There is still the regrettable conviction held by some that we’ve achieved nothing worthwhile. As we blame others for our deficiencies, dare we face the truth? In the words of someone far wiser than me: “Very often a change of self is needed more than a change of scene.” HAVE A WISDOM-FILLED INDEPENDENCE ANNIVERSARY.

gloudonb@yahoo.com