For the last 52 years Jamaica has marked the month of October by the observance of National Heroes’ Day and Heritage Week. Yet, within at least the last two decades, there are indications are that the significance of National Heroes’ Day, in particular, is increasingly lost on the general population.

The concept of national hero became relevant as the need arose for the Jamaican society to redefine itself after 1962. Prior to this the six great Jamaicans — Bishop Enos Nuttall, George William Gordon, Robert Love, Thomas Henry MacDermot, Edward Jordon, and Herbert George de Lisser — all of whom lived in colonial Jamaica, had been held up as symbols of what was good and valuable to Jamaican society.

However, post-independence Jamaica demanded representation that mirrored the image of the wider society. In as much as they demanded political representation for the people and by the people, they also demanded images that reflected a predominantly African society on its way to nationhood. Hence, there emerged a need for another set of ‘great Jamaicans’ who looked like the people and represented the cost of freedom thus far.

As Professor Howard Johnson noted in his 2003 Elsa Goviea Memorial Lecture at The University of the West Indies, Mona campus, national heroes were intended as symbols of anti-colonial struggle. It was only fitting then that when the first set of Jamaican heroes were being selected they would represent the movement towards freedom.

In 1969 Marcus Garvey was selected as the first national hero. Paul Bogle and George William Gordon, Norman Manley, and Alexander Bustamante were also selected in that same year. Interestingly, among the concerns that persist, even in contemporary society, are whether Manley and Bustamante were suitable choices for national hero and what they actually represent for the many Jamaicans who are descended from enslaved Africans.

Given the Coral Gardens incident of 1963, the case of Bustamante seems to stand out even more. However, this view downplays his role in the 1938 labour movement in Jamaica.

At the same time, it is interesting to note that other national heroes have been conferred with the honour while having criminal records to their names. Garvey and Bogle are two such heroes. But the context within which these men are viewed as criminals or enemies of the people is dependent on the dominant world view of the society at the time and the perspective from which their stories are being highlighted.

For those like Bogle, Garvey, and Sharpe — who were all deemed criminals at the time — there have been calls for their records to be expunged instead of pardons being granted. So, has this affected how we see, teach about, speak of, or write about our national heroes? Has this skewed our sense of national identity? Is this, then, why there is an evident declining interest in celebrating National Heroes’ Day and National Heritage Week, especially among the younger generations? Is National Heroes’ Day becoming increasingly irrelevant as Jamaican society evolves?

For the most part, Heritage Week is observed by those within schools or public sector organisations. As for National Heroes’ Day, the focus seems to have become more about a day of rest or a weekend of parties. Many young people have stated clearly that they do not understand the point of celebrating national heroes and that they fail to see the point of heritage week beyond dressing in Jamaican colours or costumes.

The suggestion was made by my colleague, Dr Karl Watts, that there might be need for a new generation of national heroes that this society can relate to. After all, in a post-Emancipation society, but more so in a post-1962 Jamaica, the 1930s great Jamaicans had started to lose relevance. It is for that reason that a new crop of national heroes was key to defining the Jamaican national identity, especially for the majority of the population who desired to see images of their own likeness being honoured and respected. Is it possible that we are approaching another juncture at which new and relatable selections are necessary?

While this might be the case, we still have to consider the current criteria for the naming of national heroes. Perhaps it might even be necessary to reconsider how heroes are named with the context of the times. The National Honours and Awards Act of 1969 is available on the Ministry of Justice’s website and notes that the governor general may confer the Order of National Hero “upon any person who was born in Jamaica or is, or at the time of his death was, a citizen of Jamaica and rendered to Jamaica service of the most distinguished nature”. It does not outline any specifics as to how “service of the most distinguished nature” would be determined and, while demanding a superlative, leaves room for subjectivity.

There have been calls for Bob Marley and Miss Lou to be made national heroes but so far the discussion remains just that. Pan-African attorney-at-law Bert Samuels has suggested that a referendum might be one way to go in order to give the people a say in who next will be named national hero. He notes that it would free the candidate from political smear. The way I see it, this will allow for representation by the people. However, if this is done, perhaps it might question the relevance of the advisory committee in the selection process.

Given the latest pronouncements that Jamaica will be moving toward Republican status in short order, though, now might be as good a time as any to start making some changes to the overall process of issuing national honours and awards.

So, has the significance of Heritage Week and National Heroes’ Day been lost on today’s society? The concepts, as they are, remain relevant. The matter of discussions, teaching and representation is perhaps what needs adjustment. Within any society, the need exists for representatives of that society who serve to inspire positive growth and development. However, as societies evolve, so too will the icons and heroes; so too will their causes.

Perhaps it is time to reintroduce our national heroes to this generation while giving consideration to the possibility of new ones to whom the people of Jamaica can relate also selected based on their contributions to nation-building.

It may also be time to consider that as our society evolves, celebrations will evolve and traditional festivals will make way for different kinds of parties. Therefore, it is not always the case that the young have forgotten the sacrifices of the ancestor, but rather that they choose to celebrate in different ways. How we incorporate the new with the old will be determined by how the generational gap is bridged between experience and youthful exuberance.

New approaches to cultural expression complement pedagogy and epistemology. So is National Heroes’ Day still relevant? Yes, it is!

Saundrie Shaw is an assistant lecturer in the Department of History and Archaeology at The University of the West Indies, Mona. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or sshaw311@live.com.