Brooklyn print edition (PDF) - Caribbean Life

Aug. 3–9, 2012 • Caribbean Life • Brooklyn/Staten Island • Page 8Rex: Jamaica’s royal intellectual choreographerBy Vinette K. Pryce“The heights by greatmen reached and kept werenot attained by suddenflight, but they, while theircompanions slept, were toilingupward in the night.”—Henry WadsworthLongfellowOne month after theisland declared independencefrom Britain, Rex Nettlefordlaunched a national, performing,arts group he named TheNational Dance Theater Companyof Jamaica.It was no accident thatthe same year Jamaica freeditself from colonial bondagenationals also danced to anew rhythm.Perhaps driven by a desireto exercise creative freedom,Nettleford and his colleagueEddy Thomas birthed theentity that some might considera manifestation declaring“out with the queen, inwith the king.”Dubbed “King of Kumina”Nettleford was nicknamedRex longer thanmany can recall.Dance enthusiasts reveredhim for glorifying “Kuminaand Pocomania,” – revivalistreligious ritual whichbeckons African ancestralspirits using drums duringtraditional ceremonies.While Quadrille exaltedEuropeans in dance, Kuminailluminated the Africantradition.Born in rural Jamaica, onFeb. 3, 1933, Ralston MiltonNettleford spent his earlyyears in Bunkers Hill, Trelawnyin the parish of Falmouth.The boy nicknamed theLatin word for king showedearly signs of genius andperhaps an ambition akinto royalty.The teenaged youth studiedat Cornwall College thenfurthered his education atKingston’s University Collegeof the West Indiesfocusing on history. Afterattaining a bachelor’s degreethere, in 1957, he earned aRhodes scholarship to studypolitical science at OxfordUniversity.After graduation, hereturned home and seizedRex Nettlefordevery opportunity to aid inthe growth of his country.“The power to create andinnovate remains the greatestguarantee of respect andrecognition,” Nettlefordsaid.“The jailers and the jailedare after all both in jail.”His voice emerged one tolisten and learn from.Photo credit University of the West IndiesThe entire Caribbean listenedwhen he verbalizedhis hope for the region.His dream was for developmentof a “sense of selfworth, that self esteemwhich bolsters confidencein self to further forge inthe crucible of a heritage aviable plural society wherepeople live not just side byside, but together.”In his first book, hefocused on self esteem andidentity.“One unifying force inthe Caribbean heritage isundoubtedly the AfricanPresence. We may as welladmit to ourselves the greatmoral strength that wouldaccrue to Caribbean civilizationwere we to eschew onceand for all the lingering plantationand colonial assumptionsabout the natural inferiorityof those of its inhabitantswho carry the ‘stain’ ofAfrica in their blood.”Published, 1970, “Mirror,Mirror – Identity, Race& Protest in Jamaica,” heexamined racial and socialissues in Jamaica.His essays on “The RastafariMovement in Kingston,”and “Manley & The NewJamaica” distinguished animportant intellectual contributor.Nettleford wrote and editedspeeches for foundingfather and Premier NormanWashington Manley.In an effort to narrowthe divide he identifiedbetween Jamaicans of Africandescent and others hesaid:“The hidden history ofJamaica is here seen as thehistory of the struggle ofthe African component toemerge from the subterraneancaverns into which ithas been forced.”He was named vice chancellorof the University ofthe West Indies and in 1975the nation honored himwith the Order of Merit, thethird highest distinguishedaward.In 2008, Nettleford wasawarded the Caribbeanregion’s highest honor, theOrder of the CaribbeanCommunity (OCC) for hisyears of dedicated service asa regional ambassador. Thisaward cemented Nettlefordas the quintessential Caribbeancitizen and internationalcultural icon.The intellectual was afrequent visitor to Harlem’sSchomburg Center for Culturefor Research in BlackCulture.VISIT OUR STATE-OF-THE-ART FACILITYHEALTHQUEST stands at the forefront in providingquality healthcare services tailor-made for patientsto restore and maintain their health, performanceskills, and levels of function.TREATMENTS OFFERED: 718.769.2521www.HQBK.com“When Life Really Matters”3500 Nostrand Ave.(between Ave. U & Ave. V)