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Cultural icon and reggae superstar, Bob Marley.Amina Blackwood Meeks, Contributor
THE DIVISION of Culture in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Culture runs a programme called 'Cultural Agents in Schools'. It is a straightforward programme with straightforward objectives.
On one level, the division is working to convince more schools and more teachers to employ the culture of Jamaica as the context within which the curriculum is delivered. Within that framework an integrated approach, which utilises the performing arts as content as well as methodology, is both encouraged and supported.
Overall, the programme is driven by a concern about what kind of human being is considered an "educated" human being. How does such a person understand self as self, and self in relation to community, nation, the world?
How is this understanding anchored in and practically reflected in pride in identity, concern for the environment, peace, spirituality, in short in the values of sustainability?
At another level and critical to the success of the programme, the division has invited Jamaican artistes in music, film, theatre, dance, photography to be active participants. They have been conducting workshops at the regional and national levels with the more than 600 teachers and principals in the programme. Individual schools call upon these national culture agents to interact with their students in concerts, as visitors, on special occasions and the like.
In addition, the division organises special theme days such as the 'Jamaica Day Series', each day highlighting a different aspect of the culture and/or a different need of the society. These days witness the national artistes in performance and seminar discussions around designated topics with the students and the teachers who function as culture agents in the schools. In addition, the division has regular review encounters with the artistes which facilitate their input in the design of the programme.
Any artiste finding resonance with the division's objectives is invited to become involved. Furthermore, any artiste having an initiative, independent of, but complementary to, that of the division can be facilitated to implement such a programme in schools.
I have received tremendous assistance in establishing storytelling clubs in schools. Yasus Afari has also received assistance in a series of concerts he spearheaded and hosted last year featuring Blacka, Muta, Cherry Natural among others taking the important concepts of respect and peace to our young people. Yenkegele has worked like a Trojan to set up African Heritage Clubs and recently the Independent Jamaica Council for Human Rights launched an education programme for schools with the combined objectives of teaching rights and responsibilities.
Add the work of PALS and Addiction Alert and this would not exhaust the list of initiatives that share the common concern of building and promoting, community, respect for life and love in Jamaica.
So pardon me, if I am not exactly enthusiastic about one Mr. Robert Roskind and the series of 'One Love' concerts he hosted in schools and colleges across Jamaica during the week designated Bob Marley Week. And which, by the way, he has promoted in every forum to which he has access as his Eureka! formula for Jamaica. I will share some of his e-mails another time. Pardon me if every time I hear him speak, I am reminded of my mother's oft-repeated 'momily' "De devil quote scripture fe suit himself".
COLUMBUS REINCARNATED
Here's one reason I am unimpressed. If you read Mr. Ras Kind's books - he is very elated that the Rasta he has met call him Ras Kind (and you should read the books, two in as many years, loaded with the inaccuracies bred by the superficial, and one to come) you will see Mr. Roskind travelling through Jamaica like a kind of Ras on his first trip two-and-a-half years ago. You will see his family breaking down in tears over the love and community they experienced and were embraced by in Jamaica. You will see the lamentations about how in spite of their wealth (some of which they used to take some Rases out of the country-bush and dine them at Jamaica's finest hotels), they were never able to get beyond the cold, uncaring way of life bred in cities of concrete and stone.
But here they are, having found paradise in Jamaica chastising us for not living the dream and vision of Bob Marley and showing us how it can be done - a press conference here, a free concert there and putting a cap on a school bully, identifying him as the bully and making the new cap - a dunce cap of some sort - a symbol of his commitment to change. Oh, for the simple life! The whole thing reminded me of Columbus and made me want to revisit again Professor Hillary Beckles thoughts on the mission of Columbus and how it hovers in the 21st century.
Syd Bartley, director of culture, Sonita Abrahams, Jan Abrikian, Yasus, Yenkegle, everybody, take note: forget all that hard work you are doing and buy some caps, get a few outside broadcasts, (if the most popular shows on radio find your locally-bred, long-standing ideas attractive enough to market), ask someone to forgive someone else and walk away and come back on Bob Marley's 60th and enjoy jow de dough rise and fill every oven.
Second reason this Ras kind did not impress me is his contracting of all of Bob's philosophy and ideals, like so many are wont to do, into this unconditional find-someone-to-forgive-and-change-the-world-one-love ideal. Where would that leave us in relation to Her Majesty's recent response to issues of reparation, Colin Powell's "We will not shrink from war" speech to the United Nations or the globalisation of bullyism and poverty, for example? Should we, like Bob Marley, "feel like bombing a church" or wail like Peter Tosh "everyone is crying out for peace, none is crying out for justice"?
The third reason now is really about all of us and the need to emancipate ourselves from the habit, the psychology of so joyously receiving from others that which is really ours, from having excavators dig up the treasures on which we sit and parcel it up for us and then publish books and distribute for the world to see how we have been sitting here waiting for another Moses, who spied from afar the burning Bush and stepped into the breach.
Mr. Roskind has carefully reconnoitred the scene and surrounded himself with the kinds of people who would serve to give him visibility and bring respectable support to his initiative. I questioned one of them about the 'Culture Agents in Schools'. He had not heard about it. More. He had not thought that he could approach a school or the Culture Division with an offer to share his vision through his musical ministry.
There is no doubt about our resources and our capacity for accomplishing greatness and influencing the world. There is no shortage of examples of how we have done that. There is no shortage either of examples of the self-doubt and misinformation which keep us wedded to things foreign and breed a belief that we should be invested in other people's agenda, like this war against Iraq, let's say.
And that is why Mr. Roskind's personal journey to salvation, to mental and spiritual liberation, as buoyant as he is at this rebirth, should not be promoted or accepted as the way forward for whatever ails us. I can hear Bob and Marcus Garvey now, "None but ourselves ..." Or do we take the names of our staunchest fighters for true justice and liberation in vain?
