Letter of the Day | Jamaica cannot sing its way to power

THE EDITOR, Madam:

As Jamaica observes Black History Month and Reggae Month, we rightly celebrate a legacy of resistance, creativity, and cultural achievement that has amplified the nation’s global presence. Reggae taught the world how to speak truth to power, and Black history highlights survival as an act of defiance. Yet celebration alone is not strategy, and cultural accomplishment cannot substitute for the structural forms of power required in today’s world.

Jamaica, like much of the Caribbean, is being nudged into choosing sides within a polarized global landscape. These choices – framed as partnerships or development opportunities – mask a familiar outcome: dependence. Without strengthening scientific and technological capacity, Jamaica’s ability to protect its interests will remain limited regardless of geopolitical alignments.

Modern power rests not primarily on ideology or military force but on technology, data, energy systems, and production. Countries lacking indigenous STEM capacity do not remain neutral; they become dependent, with policies and economies shaped by imported technologies and outsourced expertise. Jamaica’s pride in its cultural influence is justified, but our national narrative rarely elevates engineers, scientists, or inventors with the same enthusiasm as artists and athletes. This imbalance leaves us vulnerable.

The tension between culture and STEM is a false one. Reggae itself grew out of technological innovation – sound engineering, experimentation, and adaptation. The creativity that fuels Jamaican culture can also drive scientific and technical success, but only if the country deliberately nurtures it. Though Jamaican innovators have contributed to agriculture, medicine, and engineering, their stories remain peripheral, and the education system continues training young people primarily as consumers rather than creators of technology.

Global challenges – including climate change, supply chain fragility, digital surveillance, and energy insecurity – will intensify in coming decades. Small states without technical competence will be forced to react rather than lead, and sovereignty risks becoming ceremonial. Black History Month reminds us that freedom without power is fragile; Reggae Month reminds us that resistance must evolve. Today, resistance includes scientific literacy, technical confidence, and economic self reliance. It demands laboratories as much as lyrics, workshops as much as world stages.

If Jamaica is to avoid recurring cycles of dependency, we must expand our understanding of nation-building. Cultural pride must be matched with technical ambition, and symbolic sovereignty reinforced with real capability. Culture has given Jamaica its voice; science and technology will determine whether that voice carries weight in a rapidly reorganizing world.

O. Dave Allen

Community development

consultant/ former ILO

Local Economic Development

Coordinator