Bahamian National heroes

National heroes
By RUPERT MISSICK JR
rmissick@tribunemedia.net
and NOELLE NICOLLS
nnicolls@tribunemedia.net
Tribune Staff Reporters:



FORMER Minister of Culture Neville Wisdom tells the story of a primary school teacher who two weeks ago did a class exercise asking students: Who do you identify as a national hero?

Of 16 students, 14 identified President Obama, one identified Dr Martin Luther King and one the late Sir Lynden Pindling.

This story highlights, if nothing else, the poor job earlier generations did in teaching Bahamian history and establishing who is and who should be called a national hero of the Bahamas.

Several years ago a Cultural Commission was appointed to establish just that.

The Commission was to also formulate programmes and strategies for the coordinated promotion, study, research, preservation and enhancement of the Bahamian cultural heritage in music drama, poetry, religious expression, creative writing and their publication, oral story telling, film making, art, sculpture, dress, cuisine, dance and Junkanoo.

They made their first report to government in September 2003.

The Commission's report stated that national heroes are “seminal contributors to the shaping of Bahamian society from slave plantation and colonial fiefdom to an independent nation and an aspiring model society, where all citizens have equal opportunity towards being constructive, creative and self directed human beings.”

A national hero was defined as a person who has gone beyond their personal and historical limitations to give the society a psychic and spiritual rebirth. National hero was distinguished from a hero.

Sacrifice:

A hero was defined as someone whose dedication, hard work and sacrifice has contributed to the society. National heroes are people who were to have accomplishments that have been acknowledged and recognised as a national inspiration by a significant portion of the national body.

Winston Saunders and Charles Carter were appointed co-chairmen of the commission but the committee basically dissolved after Mr Saunders died in November of 2006.

“We had finished most of the work. It was wide ranging and it was a tribute to Mr Saunders because he spent his whole life dedicated to cultural and artistic pursuits. I was just pleased to be a part of it. He was the driving force and unfortunately as fate would have it, when he died it died. I just hope the work hasn't died,” Mr Carter said.

When the 2007 elections took place the present government did not continue the work of the commission.

“The work we did was largely finished and submitted to government. It is probably lodged somewhere in the Ministry of Education or Culture,” Mr Carter said.

Among the recommendations of the committee were:

• A national hero and literature during the month of October;

• A public holiday celebrating national hero's day on the second Monday of October each year, replacing the Discovery Day holiday;

• A Bill for national honours to be introduced;

• Ministry of Education building to be named the Arthur Hanna Complex;

• Ministry of Health building be named after Reverend Dr H W Brown;

• Exuma Street be renamed Amos Ferguson Street;

• Third Terrace Centreville be renamed Rusty Bethel Drive;

• Nassau International Airport be renamed Sir Lynden Pindling International Airport and

• Establish national heroes parks in New Providence and family islands.

All of this seems to be the easier aspects of the commission’s work, however. After this the more problematic and subjective work of establishing who should be called a national hero should have proceeded. And while there may be many Bahamian heroes, the majority will escape the description of national hero.


Contribution:

For example, while 40 or 30 years ago one would never have doubted that Sir Sidney Poitier was a national hero, a new generation is questioning the “real contribution” Sir Sidney has made to the Bahamas.

Although born in Miami in 1927 during his Bahamian parents’ visit to Florida, Sir Sidney – the son of a poor tomato farmer – grew up in Cat Island. Sir Sidney has also served as the Bahamas’ ambassador to Japan and was made an Honorary Knight Commander in the 1970s for his contribution to the arts.

Sir Sidney was the first black actor to win an Academy Award for a lead performance (Lilies of the Field in 1963).

Many of his films tackled racial themes and have been heralded for helping to break down social barriers between whites and blacks during an era of racial segregation.

In February of this year a group of filmmakers protested the College of the Bahamas’ decision to host a conference and film festival dedicated to Sir Sidney.

The most vocal critic of the festival, filmmaker Celi Moss publicly lambasted the college for using its resources to honour the Academy Award winning actor.

“When it comes to the arts in the Bahamas he’s done nothing,” claimed Mr Moss.

Mr Moss’ assertion that the Oscar winner has done nothing for the Bahamas is hyperbolic at best and perhaps a more measured expression of Mr Moss’ opinion would have been that Sir Sidney hasn’t done enough, or rather done what Mr Moss would have seen as enough.

But Sir Sidney had been involved in philanthropic activities in the country, off and on, since he won an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Homer Smith in “Lilies of the Field.”

The first was when Sir Sidney made a personal appearance on the stage of the Shirley Street Theatre on Saturday February 29, 1964 during the Nassau premiere of the movie.

The screening was a benefit sponsored by the Ways and Means Committee of the British Legion as part of an annual drive for funds to aid needy ex-servicemen in the Bahamas.

In the 70s he kept true to his promise.

The 1974 premiere of “Uptown Saturday Night” held in Nassau was in aid of the Bahamas Association for the Mentally Retarded. The premier of “Buck and the Preacher”, Sir Sidney’s directional debut was held in Nassau to aid the construction of Jordan Prince William High School.

College Professor Dr Ian Strachan hit back at the criticism arguing that the event’s protesters are misguided by a sense of “entitlement.”

“What they are basically saying is that despite the fact that Sidney Poitier helped change the world for all black people, he is not worth honouring or studying because he didn’t do something specific for this community that they think are paramount,” Dr Strachan said.

Still to many this is not enough because “it seems he didn’t help today’s struggling Bahamian artists directly, monetarily, by ‘putting in a word’ or by showing up every summer and teaching a class in method acting,” said Dr Strachan.

There was a point where Sir Sidney felt that he was not appreciated by the Bahamian public.

“Lilies of the Field” was Sir Sidney’s 20th film and he told a crowd of more than 600 who gathered at the theatre, “I was beginning to feel that I was not loved here. I have been asked to do things in Asia and Africa and was wondering when someone was going to ask me to do something for my people here.”

He had left Nassau 21 years before with “a bundle and several dollars given to me by my father to make my mark in the world” and was more than willing to help any organization that was doing “something worthwhile for us Bahamians.”

Sir Sidney eventually made a home for himself in Winton, but left in the 70s after he said that he felt harassed by the constant visits of gawking tourists.

Before leaving he also expressed concern over the number of “corrupt” persons with whom Sir Lynden was surrounding himself, although he thought that Sir Lynden himself was an honest man.

In addition to the lament of Mr Moss, there are more who disagree as to whether or not Sir Sidney should be considered a national hero.

Father Sebastian Campbell, who is Chairman of the National Heroes Committee, and member of the National Cultural Development Commission said that Sir Sidney was simply a person who “came along at the right time and was in the right place,” but did nothing to “advance the country”.

Teacher:

“What has Poitier done to advance Era Anne Hanna who worked for 40 plus years as a teacher in Mason Bay, Acklins? She was a teacher, handy man, janitor, who had to ride horse back to the school. She was never absent for one day and taught some of the leading citizens in this country. At the end of her retirement she got no pension nor no gratuity. These are the people we need to recognize as our heroes and stop letting persons with status and fame to trump up their contributions,” he said.

However, Mr Wisdom said even though Sir Sidney left, and it was necessary for him to practise his skills in the US, he was an integral part of the “quiet revolution” of majority rule and Independence.

Father Campbell is concerned, however, that persons, who, unlike Sir Sidney, are not famous or wealthy will be lost to history and their contribution to national development also will be lost.

“The workers of the Burma Road Riot: They are our heroes. They laid the foundation for trade unionism in the Bahamas.

“These are the people we need to rescue from obscurity and write about their triumphs, tell their story. These are the leaders of trade unionism in the Bahamas and yet they are not being recognized,” he said.

Father Campbell believes that the recent Queen’s honours when Kerzner International CEO Sol Kerzner received a knighthood was an example of where wealth and status trumped what he sees as a “real contribution” to the country.

“Status and money should not be the deciding factor in who should get the highest honours in the country. It is wrong. There are many Bahamians who are way ahead of the Sol Kerzners. They didn't give money, because they didn't have it; they gave themselves,” Father Campbell said.

Another Bahamian hero who will have to be rescued from obscurity is Dr Joseph Robert Love.

Dr Love was born in Nassau, in 1839 and died in Kingston in 1914.

He was a teacher, priest, medical missionary, army doctor, journalist and newspaper editor, politician, and legislator, freemason and an advocate for black pride. He grew up in Grant’s Town, and was a member of St Agnes Anglican Church. He emigrated to the United States in the 1860s and was ordained a priest in 1877.

He was the first black medical graduate of the University of Buffalo in 1879, and went to Haiti in 1881 as a medical missionary.

While in Jamaica he was the editor of the weekly paper the Jamaica Advocate and was a big influence on Marcus Garvey.

However, Father Campbell said that Dr Love is not what he would call a national hero.

“What has he done to advance the modern day Bahamas? A part of this challenge needs to be to get Bahamians to write our stories.

“We have to be careful to say that not everyone is a hero. Just because someone did something outstanding he is a hero?

“We have examples of how to go about this from other countries: There is a lot to learn from Jamaica and Trinidad,” he said.

However, Mr Carter believes that Dr Love is one of the many unsung heroes in the Bahamas.

“He is better known in Jamaica than the Bahamas. He helped Marcus Garvey form his consciousness.

“He is one of the most brilliant Bahamians ever made, and he was a (parishioner at) St Agnes.

“That is the same place I go to church.

Message:

“The worst part about that is no one knows him; we are not taught who he was. If you were a Jamaican you would know who he is. I tell young people when they listen to Bob Marley, a Bahamian person influenced that message. But that is not supported by other things that happen in the community (by the cultural narrative). They say okay fine that is what you say, but we don't celebrate him in the country. That is the great tragedy in the Bahamas,” he said.

Mr Wisdom said that Dr Love is not a national hero simply because he does not fit in the Cultural Commission's definition.

“People who have been obscured from the national consciousness because we have done a poor job at education, may have to be classified as hero and not national hero.

“Dr Love would fall into that category,” he said.

Perhaps Sir Stafford Sands personifies this type of person.

Mr Wisdom said, however, he would oppose Sir Stafford being installed as a national hero.

“Sir Stafford represents a division from the philosophy of one Bahamas. He is perceived by most Bahamians as having been a racist. Sir Stafford went to his death bed in self imposed exile in Spain, and in my opinion the mere fact that he did not reconnect with his home denies him the opportunity. He abandoned the country and went into self imposed exile during a period of transition when the country needed all hands on board as we tried to move this new Bahamas upward, onward and forward together. In my opinion, I don't care how bad things get, as a nationalist I am going to stay here and fight. Once you abandon your country you give up the right to be defined as a national hero.

“I do not know (if he was a racist on his death bed), but I do know he did not reconnect with the country. The view that I hold and many hold is that he simply could not accept the fact that the country would be administered by black Bahamians despite the fact Sir Lynden and Sir Milo demonstrated and were consistent in a one Bahamas position.

“There was never any question raised about Sir Roland Symonette as a national hero. He was a contributor and did not abandoned this country. Founding fathers and national heroes don't give up on a country and expect in years to come to be acknowledged as a national hero,” he said.

However, the explanation of why Sir Stafford left for Europe is not so simple.

Around the 1967 election Sir Stafford was not a well man. A chain smoker, he suffered from a serious bronchial condition.

In April of that year he spent six weeks in Miami for treatment of his problem. That was three months before he announced his resignation from the House.

Up until the day of his resignation from the House, Sir Stafford, who had given up his law practice mainly for health reasons, had every intention of spending his winters in the Bahamas.

Five years after his resignation Sir Stafford died of cancer in the London Clinic in England. The National Heroes Bill and the National Honours Bill were passed by parliament, but were not brought into force. A date for implementation was never published.

What about people who are not obscure and have undeniably helped to make the modern Bahamas what it is, but simply were not liked.

Mr Carter said what disturbs him most about the modern Bahamas is the ignorance of and lack of appreciation for Bahamian culture.

“We have a very strong and viable culture that is not being protected, taught and practised. What course in Bahamian history and culture did you have? Look at our country today; look at how many kids are growing up completely devoid of any knowledge of and appreciation for the country they live in,” he said.

The former MP said that the Bahamas is in danger of losing a heritage that really stands out.

Heritage:

“ It is a beautiful heritage. We have everything to be proud of to make us truly Bahamian,” he said.

However, Mr Wisdom pointed out that all Bahamians have some foreign parentage as you go down the various generations.

“There is no such thing as true, true Bahamians.

“We all came here on ships, so being Bahamian really needs to be defined as a person who acknowledges the Bahamas as his or her home, who demonstrates an undying love for the country and who is prepared to give his or her all for the Bahamas for the entirety of their life.

“That is a real Bahamian,” he said.

July 11, 2010

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