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EDITORIAL: Professor Chevannes - A Lifetime Of Service
Published: Sunday | November 7, 20100 Comments and 0 Reactions
Once again, the intellectual community of Jamaica and the wider Caribbean has lost one of its leaders. The death on Friday of Professor Emeritus Alston Barrington Chevannes, coming after the passing in February of Professor Rex Nettleford, is a double loss for the region. Prof Chevannes, more popularly known as 'Barry', was only recently bestowed with The Gleaner Lifetime Award.
This was given in recognition of his multifaceted contribution to academia through his capacity for research into issues of social concern, his willingness to give public service, his creative spirit as a writer and performer of conscious lyrics, and his overall vision for what Jamaica could be if the lessons of the arts, with its multiple disciplines, were woven into the fabric of community and national life.
Not to "gild the anthurium", as his friend and mentor Prof Nettleford would have said, Barry Chevannes added his own lustre to campaigns for the upliftment of Jamaican men in the role of fathers, generally judged by the stereotype of fecklessness and careless relations with their children and partners. He insisted on separating the good from the bad and lifted them up through the organisation which he helped to found and name Fathers Inc.
His studies and publications on the Rastafari movement earned him the respect of the group often treated as outcasts. He was a primary participant in getting the University of the West Indies (UWI) to accept on the campus the Rastafari Conference, which brought together academics to give serious thought and attention to its unique expressions of the African and Jamaican pilgrimage.
Remove barriers
He was a pivotal influence in the UWI's Township programme, which included the thrust to remove barriers between the Mona campus and the community of adjacent August Town, declaring the latter the "UWI's seventh hall of residence", and proclaiming "there should be no barrier between a world of knowledge and a world of people hungry for knowledge".
It is this sensitivity, an implicit belief that much of what ails Jamaica can be healed by understanding of and respect among the multiple strands of a society, which made his an important voice of reason. He was willing also to mediate in the sometimes acrimonious, often demanding but never unimportant challenge of helping to build a society grounded on faith in its people. In this regard, he served successive governments in undertaking studies and research into issues such as violence and its consequences, and the perennial debate about ganja and its effects on the Jamaican psyche.
A quote from The Gleaner Honour Award citation encapsulates the measure of this man who could as easily sing a song of a Baby Jesus born in a tenement yard, or with equal facility, challenge academics to deeper thought. The words were his own:
"The way of life of the arts is diametrically opposed to the way of life of the gun. We need to turn to the arts more than ever these days for a softening among our people, for God knows, we need more softness of hands and hearts."
Prof Barry Chevannes — farewell beautiful spirit
Sunday, November 07, 2010
IN the week that we mourn the passing of culinary great Ms Norma Shirley, we have also been hit by the death of another outstanding Jamaican, Professor Barry Chevannes.
Mr Chevannes, who was professor of Social Anthropology, former head of the Department of Sociology, Social Work & Psychology and former Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, was a scholar whose perceptive research and enquiring intellect produced many definitive analyses and documentation of Jamaican life.
His writing ranged over the social sciences, but he was best known for his authoritative ‘Rastafari: Roots and Ideology’ (1994) and ‘Rastafari and other African-Caribbean Worldviews’ (1995).
Prof Chevannes taught at the UWI from the late 1970s where he was an exemplary, patient and nurturing pedagogue, imparting knowledge and appreciating that everyone has something of value to offer. His conduct was premised on the view that the university was not just a place but constituted wherever people gather for “reasoning”.
He was an activist because he knew that the purpose of scholarship was not to understand the world but to change it. He contributed to various fora of “progressive” social outreach but never lost the impartially of genuine scholarship.
Prof Chevannes’ mission as a change agent benefited from his unfailing equanimity, non-judgmental disposition and respect for the humanity of all which he exuded at all times. He was one of those all too rare individuals who moved with ease and engaging warmth, fearlessly engaging in some of the most depressed communities.
He understood that artistic expression was an important avenue of social voice and a medium for sharing messages of hope and solidarity. Emblematic of art in service to social development, he was an inspirational songwriter, singer and guitarist. Fortunately, some of his music is available on CD. In furtherance of cultural development and the preservation of heritage he chaired the Council of the Institute of Jamaica.
Prof Chevannes was particularly concerned about those trapped in “ghetto life”, particularly the disadvantaged youth. He understood that the absence of the role model and love of a father contributed to their dysfunctionality and hence he was a founding member of Fathers Incorporated, which emerged from a 1991 workshop he chaired.
He was a peacemaker because he understood that where there is no peace, then there cannot be what Walter Rodney called “groundings”. With this in mind, he played an instrumental role in the Peace Management Initiative and headed the Violence Prevention Alliance which launched a safe community campaign in 2006.
Given his deep understanding of Jamaican society, he was an ideal choice to chair the National Commission on Ganja, which advocated decriminalisation of ganja for personal use.
John Nash, Nobel Prize winning mathematical savant, was described by his biographer as a “beautiful mind”. The late Professor Emeritus Alston Barrington Chevannes was more than a beautiful mind, he was a beautiful spirit.
A deeply spiritual man who studied for the priesthood, he knew that those dedicated to social transformation are motivated by the love of mankind.
His was a life of service to the enlightenment and upliftment of mankind, in particular, people of African descent. He made Jamaica and the world a better place for all of us by the person he was and how he lived.
Published: Sunday | November 7, 20100 Comments and 0 Reactions
Once again, the intellectual community of Jamaica and the wider Caribbean has lost one of its leaders. The death on Friday of Professor Emeritus Alston Barrington Chevannes, coming after the passing in February of Professor Rex Nettleford, is a double loss for the region. Prof Chevannes, more popularly known as 'Barry', was only recently bestowed with The Gleaner Lifetime Award.
This was given in recognition of his multifaceted contribution to academia through his capacity for research into issues of social concern, his willingness to give public service, his creative spirit as a writer and performer of conscious lyrics, and his overall vision for what Jamaica could be if the lessons of the arts, with its multiple disciplines, were woven into the fabric of community and national life.
Not to "gild the anthurium", as his friend and mentor Prof Nettleford would have said, Barry Chevannes added his own lustre to campaigns for the upliftment of Jamaican men in the role of fathers, generally judged by the stereotype of fecklessness and careless relations with their children and partners. He insisted on separating the good from the bad and lifted them up through the organisation which he helped to found and name Fathers Inc.
His studies and publications on the Rastafari movement earned him the respect of the group often treated as outcasts. He was a primary participant in getting the University of the West Indies (UWI) to accept on the campus the Rastafari Conference, which brought together academics to give serious thought and attention to its unique expressions of the African and Jamaican pilgrimage.
Remove barriers
He was a pivotal influence in the UWI's Township programme, which included the thrust to remove barriers between the Mona campus and the community of adjacent August Town, declaring the latter the "UWI's seventh hall of residence", and proclaiming "there should be no barrier between a world of knowledge and a world of people hungry for knowledge".
It is this sensitivity, an implicit belief that much of what ails Jamaica can be healed by understanding of and respect among the multiple strands of a society, which made his an important voice of reason. He was willing also to mediate in the sometimes acrimonious, often demanding but never unimportant challenge of helping to build a society grounded on faith in its people. In this regard, he served successive governments in undertaking studies and research into issues such as violence and its consequences, and the perennial debate about ganja and its effects on the Jamaican psyche.
A quote from The Gleaner Honour Award citation encapsulates the measure of this man who could as easily sing a song of a Baby Jesus born in a tenement yard, or with equal facility, challenge academics to deeper thought. The words were his own:
"The way of life of the arts is diametrically opposed to the way of life of the gun. We need to turn to the arts more than ever these days for a softening among our people, for God knows, we need more softness of hands and hearts."
Prof Barry Chevannes — farewell beautiful spirit
Sunday, November 07, 2010
IN the week that we mourn the passing of culinary great Ms Norma Shirley, we have also been hit by the death of another outstanding Jamaican, Professor Barry Chevannes.
Mr Chevannes, who was professor of Social Anthropology, former head of the Department of Sociology, Social Work & Psychology and former Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, was a scholar whose perceptive research and enquiring intellect produced many definitive analyses and documentation of Jamaican life.
His writing ranged over the social sciences, but he was best known for his authoritative ‘Rastafari: Roots and Ideology’ (1994) and ‘Rastafari and other African-Caribbean Worldviews’ (1995).
Prof Chevannes taught at the UWI from the late 1970s where he was an exemplary, patient and nurturing pedagogue, imparting knowledge and appreciating that everyone has something of value to offer. His conduct was premised on the view that the university was not just a place but constituted wherever people gather for “reasoning”.
He was an activist because he knew that the purpose of scholarship was not to understand the world but to change it. He contributed to various fora of “progressive” social outreach but never lost the impartially of genuine scholarship.
Prof Chevannes’ mission as a change agent benefited from his unfailing equanimity, non-judgmental disposition and respect for the humanity of all which he exuded at all times. He was one of those all too rare individuals who moved with ease and engaging warmth, fearlessly engaging in some of the most depressed communities.
He understood that artistic expression was an important avenue of social voice and a medium for sharing messages of hope and solidarity. Emblematic of art in service to social development, he was an inspirational songwriter, singer and guitarist. Fortunately, some of his music is available on CD. In furtherance of cultural development and the preservation of heritage he chaired the Council of the Institute of Jamaica.
Prof Chevannes was particularly concerned about those trapped in “ghetto life”, particularly the disadvantaged youth. He understood that the absence of the role model and love of a father contributed to their dysfunctionality and hence he was a founding member of Fathers Incorporated, which emerged from a 1991 workshop he chaired.
He was a peacemaker because he understood that where there is no peace, then there cannot be what Walter Rodney called “groundings”. With this in mind, he played an instrumental role in the Peace Management Initiative and headed the Violence Prevention Alliance which launched a safe community campaign in 2006.
Given his deep understanding of Jamaican society, he was an ideal choice to chair the National Commission on Ganja, which advocated decriminalisation of ganja for personal use.
John Nash, Nobel Prize winning mathematical savant, was described by his biographer as a “beautiful mind”. The late Professor Emeritus Alston Barrington Chevannes was more than a beautiful mind, he was a beautiful spirit.
A deeply spiritual man who studied for the priesthood, he knew that those dedicated to social transformation are motivated by the love of mankind.
His was a life of service to the enlightenment and upliftment of mankind, in particular, people of African descent. He made Jamaica and the world a better place for all of us by the person he was and how he lived.
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