National Affairs: Long-haired Freaky Kids and Hope Road

Its 1976.

A generation ago.

He was a youngster, not as young as Zavier's three years mind you, but still very much a minor..

His parents, devout Ratafarians, has no doubt faced their own levels of persecution, this being 1976. Despite the meteoric rise of the "Gong" Bob Malrey and the increasing adulation abroad, Rastas  at home were still the collective public enemy - facing intermittent harassment from Police and unmitigated contempt from the "better" classes, whose own ranks were being thinned out by the deepening Socialist experiment, and the rampant violence.

Still, the parent of Jahboukie Myton(thanks Fragano Ledgister, from Facebook, for supplying the name and year), had high hopes and aspirations for their boy, that even within the entrenched divisions of this society, that he might find a place in a "good school" and thus get the critical leg-up needed to progress beyond their clearly humble station.

I don't at this moment know or recall the name of the school involved, but young Jahboukie was denied access solely on the grounds that, like his parents (and probably several others in his community), HE WORE DREADLOCKS. The parents took their protest to the media, and very soon, it was enough of an imbroglio to demand the attention of the then Prime Minister's wife, Beverly Manley who, along with her husband, had been robustly pressing to end the kinds of social injustice typified in the Myton case, and no less so here.

With Mrs Manley's help, Jahboukie was ultimately enrolled at the Jamaica House basic School (on the grounds of what was intended to serve as the official residence of the Prime Minister, and located - you guessed it! - on Hope Road, a hefty stone's throw southward from the Marley residence

Now, to the present, where even colleagues of mine, individuals more than old enough to have witnessed the struggle of "long-haired, freaky people" are siding with the administration of Hopefield Prep School, a school whose location a hefty stone's throw from Bob Marley's former digs on Hope Road offers a remarkable irony.

The school, as reported in the Jamaica observer (good work, Kimberly Brown) had the temerity to not only deny the child enrolment, but, to reply to the mother's protestations with insidious comments about "head lice" (over and above being untidy and dirty) .

Needless to say, when pressed by the journalist, the school reverted to the old standby: "No comment [at this time]". But to go from "head lice" to "no comment" is like trying to bring  vehicle from 100mph to zero within 20 feet, with a brick wall at the other end. Imagewise, things go splat!

So now the administration is clearly circling the wagons in the hope that this storm, like so many before it, will prove momentary and blow over without too much being extracted from the school, like say, an apology or worse, damages from a lawsuit.
word is, also that they have refunded the unquestionably hefty enrolment fee to the mother and have said that now - having been publicly exposed in their discriminatory practice - they will NOT  be accepting the child under any circumstances, even if the mother does relent and cut the child's hair.

Now, fence-sitters, anxious to avoid conflict, will say, there's no big deal; if that's the school rule, you simply find somewhere else.

Defenders of the school are saying rules are vital to preserve order, and that the school's policy was communicated to the mother beforehand (one wonders whether their acute sensitivity to head lice was similarly communicated to her).

On reading this missive, those same defenders will argue that Zavier is not a Rasta child and therefore is not being discriminated against, that as a boy, he must look the way the other boys do at the school.

Such arguments reaffirm the sad truth that we have not moved very far over the course of a generation. That it is still PERMISSIBLE  and DEFENSIBLE for a school in Jamaica, under the oversight of the Ministry of Education (as I believe all schools are now said to be, whether "private" or not) is inexcusable. With one nasty comment, and one dismissive wave of the hand, we are transported right back to 1976.

let's clear. Rules have purpose and  are vital to nay organization. Bu those which do not serve the primary purpose MUST be challenged


I have no idea where Jahboukie Myton might be right now, 40 years down the line from his defining moment. But I strongly suspect that a wry smile (and maybe a sigh of resignation) may be on his lips.

What will the next generation yield, if we fail to stand with this mother now?

Culture: The IOJ, Where Jamaican Culture Lives

As the cultural repository for Jamaica, the IOJ encourages Literature Science and Art through our many themed exhibitions with the aid of our friendly and knowledgeable tour guides. 

Currently the Institute of Jamaica h five (5) major exhibitions: 

• Historical Exhibition: Come see the archaeological evidence and portrayal of the lives of the Taino people (once referred to as the Arawaks), whom Christopher Columbus first encountered in Jamaica in 1494. The “Taino Exhibition” is a must see!

•  Cultural Exhibition: In the “Rastafari Exhibition”, explore how a faith emerged in Jamaica as a liberation movement that has become a worldwide phenomenon, often associated with the likes of Bob Marley in the international community. Using historic objects, images, installations and interviews “Rastafari” brings to life the story, of a unique cultural group, its beliefs and practices.

• Historical Exhibition:  Take a step back in time to the “Uprising: Morant Bay 1865” which explores the post emancipation rebellion, led by Jamaica’s national heroes, Paul Bogle and George William Gordon.  The exhibition explores what led to the tragic events of October 1865, using remarkable images, original artifacts, social media, newspapers and multimedia presentations to tell its story.   

• Art Exhibition:  The “National Exhibition for Art & Craft in Schools”, showcases the artistic talents of Jamaican high school in categories such as painting, leather craft ,  fabric work, sculpture, jewellery-making, and drawing. An inspiring presentation that displays the skill of our nation’s students!

• Music Exhibition:  This exhibition themed “Curating Music: Building a National Collection”showcases musical artifacts and instruments that were donated by musical greats such as Ernie Smith, and the Jolly Boys, the Skatalites, Sly and Robbie.  This exhibition is perfect for lovers of music and culture!

Book your tour today, by contacting Georgette Francis, Programmes Manager, Programmes Coordination Division at 922 – 0620, exts: 284 / 350, #312-9486 or emailgfrancis@juniorcentre-ioj.org.jm.

Arts: NG presents "Explorations" this Sunday

The National Gallery of Jamaica is pleased to present its new exhibition, Explorations 3: Seven Women Artists, which opens to the public on Sunday, May 31, 2015, as part of the Last Sundays programme for that day. The guest speaker will be Taynia Shirley and there will be a musical performance by Kelissa.

Explorations 3: Seven Women Artists, the third edition of a series of exhibitions that explore the big themes and issues in Jamaican art, asks the question whether any concept of women’s art is relevant in Jamaica today. This exhibition, which was curated by National Gallery Senior Curator O’Neil Lawrence, features the work of seven mid-career female artists who are based in Jamaica or of Jamaican origin and work in a variety of media: Jasmine Thomas-Girvan, Judith Salmon, Miriam Hinds-Smith, Prudence Lovell, Kereina Chang Fatt, Berette Macaulay and Amy Laskin. Viewers are invited to explore whether there are any commonalities that set these artists’ works and careers apart from those of their male counterparts and whether there is any justification to label them as “women artists.” Each of the featured artists has produced a statement on the subject that will be reproduced in the catalogue and the exhibition text panels. More information on this exhibition can be found on the National Gallery blog.

The poet-scholar Tanya Shirley has been described as “a startlingly bold writer with a particular gift for highlighting the telling detail in her vivid and arresting poems, which variously contain portraits of lovers, colourful eccentrics and family snapshots that capture the elusive magic of childhood memories, and reveal those paradoxical truths which all families strive to conceal.” She was educated at the University of the West Indies, Mona, where she now teaches between time spent elsewhere in the Caribbean and the United States, and she obtained an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Maryland. She has published her poetry in journals such as Small Axe and The Caribbean Writer, and in New Caribbean Poetry: An Anthology, which was edited by Kei Miller, and So Much Things to Say: 100 Calabash Poets. Her debut collection, She Who Sleeps With Bones, was published in 2009 and she recently launched her second poetry collection, The Merchant of Feathers.

Kelissa McDonald was born and raised in the hills of St Andrew, Jamaica and was inspired from early on by reggae and Rastafari. With her parents as the lead vocalists in the reggae band Chakula, there was constantly music pulsating from her home. Her music has evolved into an expression of her background as well her stimulating living experiences in Tanzania, Ethiopia and Ghana. At the moment, Kelissa resides in Jamaica where she continues to make positive and conscious music as an avenue to express her diverse experiences and to inspire and uplift others.

Admission on Sunday, May 31, 2015 is free but donations are gratefully accepted. The doors will be open from 11 am to 4 pm but the opening speech and musical performance will start at 1:30 pm. The National Gallery gift and coffee shop will be open. Explorations 3: Seven Women Artists will be on view at the National Gallery until August 8, 2015.

localjoe.myorganogold.com

Culture: Small Axe vs big Empire, a look at reggae's role in deconstructing colonialism

 

Prof Bill Schwarz

The last time this writer heard Bob Marley described as the "saviour of a generation" it was from an Anglo-Jamaican who had grown up in Brixton and who actually placed the Gong just behind "Crown Prince" Dennis Brown in that regard.

So it was especially poignant to hear, on Thursday evening last, a similar description, coming from a white British academic. Prof. Bill Scwarz, who studied English and History at York University, before going on to the Centre for Contemporary Studies at Birmingham. 

Speaking at a Lecture organized by the Institute of Caribbean Studies at the UWI Mona, Schwarz was even more pointed, stating that Marley had "saved a generation of Black Britons from suicide" owing to pressures heaped upon them by the white racist power structure in the two-decade aftermath (up to Marley's time) of the mass migrations of the 1950s and early 60s.

Schwarz eloquently added that in reggae and Rastafari, the black community found a "new mode of memory" one that was indeed critical given the given the trend towards a massive "forced forgetting" imposed by the demands of a then fading imperialism.
He cautioend however, in the ensuing question and answer session, that the memory and the nostalgia toward empire had hardly faded in Britain and that old modes of thought still resonated, even among the youth. 

As a corollary, he urged the audience not to construe multiculturalism - a social phenomenon first advanced and argued for by the late Jamaican academic, Stuart Hall - to mean racial or cultural harmony or some kind of "Obama post-racial" kind of society in Britain. He pointed out that violence against Black youth remained at alarmingly high levels, and - in answering another question - posited the view that in the post-Marley msuical era, there did not seem to be another obvious saviour (nor the obvious desire for one) emerging.   

His expansive discourse also touched on the role of religion and various belief systems in the Deconstruction of Colonialism ( or in the preservation of it, depending on one's view)

Prof. Schwarz has also taught Sociology and Politics at Warwick, Cultural Studies at the University of East London, and Media and Communications at Goldsmiths, and arrived at Queen Mary in 2004. I am an editor of History Workshop Journal.

Poetry: THE ONE AND ONLY DON COSMIC

Mind blowin'
Man in the street bringing
a new sound
moving sweaty bodies in the
City heat
even at midnight there's still no
Goodbyes
Rastafari dipping in the
Glass Bucket
Bad-luckied
born under a
Bad sign
never duck it just
roll chance like a
spliff and tuck it
behind your
Ear
under your hat
Tilted back casual but never
slack
Dirt n your
cup
blowin' and stirrin' it
Up
in Standard Time
Make you cry
Make you
fly
with wings of a dove
The rest of them playin' hard but
you
cruisin' above
in your own stratosphere
Just you and the
Sound
horn licks bright enough to light up
the Kingston sky
and last for
Years
Half century on it's still
dancing in our ears
droppin' legs
A real island shuffle
melody muted but never
Muffled
Rythm so
demanding the dancer had to
die
They try
to say you were mad but
we know how they lie
They said it of
Bedward and Bogle and
even Garvey too
so what else were they
going to do to
You
but punch a one-way ticket to
Bellevue
But what use is a
straight-jacket
against  a flaming heart and a
beautiful mind
Nevermore
shall we see your kind
Modern-day living got so many in a
bind
We've forgotten
that staying loose is a
virtue
instead no one trust no one cause
Everyone
will hurt you
Yet the music that they
refuse
it is the healer
Rockfort blues
Kingston rock
From the hills of
Wareika to
the downtown dock
where silent cannons echo
Guns of Navarone
let it be
known
the spirit
has flown
guard the throne
of the once and forever
king of the trombone
The one and only
Don Cosmic

Film: Mafundikwa "funds Memory"

Jamaican filmmaker Karen Mafundikwa (who till recently doubled as Senior Consulting Officer, Film at Jmaaica Promotions -JAMPRO) presents her documentary, "The Price of Memory: Queen Elizabeth II, Rastafari and Reparations. the enduring legacy of slavery in Jamaica". the film will be screened at a special presentation of David Morrison's long-running film nights (normally weekends) tonight starting at 7:30. The director will host a Q & A after the screening.

In the film, British monarch Queen Elizabeth II is petitioned by a small group of Rastafari for slavery reparations, while visiting Jamaica for her Golden Jubilee Celebrations. We follow the petition and a reparations lawsuit, while exploring the enduring legacies of slavery in Jamaica. The Price of Memory traces the movement for slavery reparations in Jamaica and the Rastafarian quest to return to Africa.