Rasbert Turner, Gleaner Writer
SPANISH TOWN, St. Catherine:
STUDENTS AND staff at the Spanish Town High School, who have been exposed to acts of violence in recent times, were given a spiritual awakening on Friday.
They received counselling and prayers from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Culture in collaboration with several churches from in and around the Old Capital.
When The Gleaner visited the school, thousands of students were see waiting to take up spiritual lessons.
Speaker for the occasion was Stephen Golding, chairman of the Board of Trustee, New York Division for the United Negro Improvement Agency (UNIA).
INSPIRATIONAL SPEECH
Mr. Golding, son of Opposition Leader Bruce Golding, gave an inspirational speech. He told the gathering that, though Jamaica has moved away from slavery, recent acts of continuous violence make one wonder if the nation was more united in slavery as what is occurring is blacks killing blacks.
He implored the students to be upright and think beyond their nose, and to be proud of their race.
Mr. Golding noted several works of Marcus Garvey, Booker T. Washington and other black persons who made the lives of black people more tolerable today. He said the time has come to acknowledge what Black History Month celebrations are all about and that it needs to be taught in school.
WELL RECEIVED
Mr. Golding was well received and, to this end, he told the students and teachers that six schools have been privy to the teachings of Marcus Garvey and that there is current dialogue on whether to have all schools, including Spanish Town High School, come on board.
Mr. Golding was presented with a plaque by the Black History Foundation of the school.
He told The Gleaner that he would continue the work of making people aware of whence they came.
"We realise that the time has come for us to go to the younger generation, and I think the schools are the right foundation in which to start," he said. "And as such it was a privilege to be here in Spanish Town today, and I hope the students received all that I had to say."
He said older persons seemed to not care about the social decadence that is taking place in the society today.
The consensus of several students was that the day's activities were welcomed and they hoped they would continue.
