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...About Michael, John and preserving legacy
CLAUDE ROBINSON
...About Michael, John and preserving legacy
CLAUDE ROBINSON
Sunday, December 26, 2010
MAXWELL was a fearless defender of the truth and the rights of ordinary Jamaicans
MAXWELL… was a fearless defender of the truth and the rights of ordinary Jamaicans
MAXWELL… was a fearless defender of the truth and the rights of ordinary Jamaicans
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FRIDAY, December 10, 2010 was the 86th anniversary of the birth of the late Michael Manley. It was the day John Maxwell died; and it was the global observance of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The first marker was observed with the ninth annual Michael Manley Memorial Lecture delivered by former Cabinet Secretary Dr Carlton Davis, who made a compelling case that Manley's vision of a Jamaican society restructured on a foundation of social justice and his plea for a new global economic order remain as relevant today as when they were articulated by the former prime minister in the 1970s.
The second marker -- the passing of, arguably, the most influential Jamaican journalist of the past half-a-century -- is still being shaped; but the depth and spread of tributes from the media, environmental, human rights and development communities as well as the national political leadership have affirmed John's place in our history.
As we reflect on the lives of these two outstanding Jamaicans we need to explore the more fundamental question: Why do societies and peoples all over the world pay tribute to those they consider great? What lessons should we learn from Maxwell and Manley?
Part of the answer must be that we see the best of ourselves in them and their achievements. We take pride in the moral courage of Marcus Garvey or the extraordinary talents of Usain Bolt. They help shape our identity and definition of self.
In his lecture, Dr Davis quoted CLR James, one of the Caribbean's most important scholar-activists, to illustrate the point:
"Great men [and women] make history, but only such history as it is possible for them to make. Their freedom of achievement is limited by the necessities of their environment. To portray the limits of these necessities and the realisation, complete or partial of all possibilities, that is the true business of the historian." Hence any discussion of the achievements of historical figures should be in the context of 'the necessities of their environment'.
"Great men [and women] make history, but only such history as it is possible for them to make. Their freedom of achievement is limited by the necessities of their environment. To portray the limits of these necessities and the realisation, complete or partial of all possibilities, that is the true business of the historian." Hence any discussion of the achievements of historical figures should be in the context of 'the necessities of their environment'.
John Maxwell began his long career at The Gleaner in 1952 when Jamaica was a British colony, with a social structure stratified on the basis of race and class fashioned over 300 years of colonial rule and enslavement of black people brought forcibly from Africa. Wealth was tightly held in a few hands, white and near-white.
Media was very different from the competitive, multi-channel universe we take for granted today; The Gleaner was a near monopoly (despite the rise and fall of many would-be competitors) and Radio Jamaica (then owned by a British multi-national firm) was an actual monopoly.
It was not an environment in which journalists could freely speak truth to power; rather, power sought to be the sole determinant of truth.
This is not to say journalism never challenged the status quo; far from it. The case of Roger Mais illustrates the point.
This is not to say journalism never challenged the status quo; far from it. The case of Roger Mais illustrates the point.
Mais, the novelist, journalist, political activist and painter and a leading voice in the anti-colonial struggles in the first half of the 20th century, was a writer/editor with Public Opinion, the newspaper created by OT Fairclough in the late 1930s as an organ of the nationalist movement, later spearheaded by Norman Manley and the People's National Party.
The paper was decidedly anti-colonial, and Mais's editorials, in particular one entitled, 'Now we know', became the rallying cry for nationalists at the time who pointed to the absurdity of colonials fighting for freedom abroad while being ruled by foreigners at home. However, the British saw it as antithetical to the war effort in the 1940s and incarcerated Mais for sedition.
Hector Bernard's tutelage
Not much had changed by the time Maxwell went to The Gleaner, where -- in his words -- he came under "the tutelage" of Hector Bernard, a senior editor at the time and later the first director of news and current affairs at the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation (JBC) when it was established in 1959.
Not much had changed by the time Maxwell went to The Gleaner, where -- in his words -- he came under "the tutelage" of Hector Bernard, a senior editor at the time and later the first director of news and current affairs at the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation (JBC) when it was established in 1959.
John, in a 2003 tribute to Bernard, quotes his mentor late in life reflecting on the early days of Jamaican journalism as follows: "In the old days, people would call up a reporter and they would dictate something to the reporter and they expected you to go back and write it exactly as they had dictated. They complained about me to The Gleaner that they had given me something to write and I had written something quite different."
Even more than his mentor, Maxwell was never a stenographer for the powerful. From his early days as an 18-year-old shipping reporter at The Gleaner, to his path-breaking work as host of JBC's Public Eye talk show, his fiery editorials at Public Opinion and his combative commentaries on radio and television, he was a fearless defender of the truth and the rights of ordinary Jamaicans.
"In our cosmology, honour flowed not from England, but from the cane-cutters and domestic helpers, from the small farmers and the higglers, from the Rastas and all the people who constitute Jamaica, as we know it", he wrote in a Sunday Observer column in June 2009.
Manley's vision of society
Manley was also a product of his environment, enmeshed in inequality and economic under-development. Beginning with "a vision of society in terms of a philosophy grounded in the twin concepts of democracy and social justice", Manley set about fundamental change in Jamaica 10 years after Independence.
Manley was also a product of his environment, enmeshed in inequality and economic under-development. Beginning with "a vision of society in terms of a philosophy grounded in the twin concepts of democracy and social justice", Manley set about fundamental change in Jamaica 10 years after Independence.
As Dr Davis reminded us, the vision was based on the principle that "any political system which claims a moral purpose must be concerned with social justice".
This was not only a philosophical principle. Indeed, the 'just society' must have a material base and the political system must provide the means to achieve the desired outcomes. The material base included the right of everyone to an opportunity to work and provide for one's family.
Manley acknowledged the difficulty of providing this fundamental social justice measure but insisted that we cannot give up in trying.
Manley acknowledged the difficulty of providing this fundamental social justice measure but insisted that we cannot give up in trying.
He wrote: "In view of the vast complexity of individual human aptitude as against the needs of society, the organisation of economic opportunity for everyone is, and will continue to be, the most challenging technical problem facing modern man. But success in this field must always stand at the centre of political and social concern."
By the end of Manley's second term in office there was significant social transformation, but the economy, for a variety of reasons, did not grow.
The essential legacy of Michael and John is that they refused to be impotent in the face of the huge problems threatening the society. So while we remember them in tribute and foundations that bear their names, we also need to understand that the struggles they waged are not over.
The essential legacy of Michael and John is that they refused to be impotent in the face of the huge problems threatening the society. So while we remember them in tribute and foundations that bear their names, we also need to understand that the struggles they waged are not over.
The economy is still underperforming, and too many people remain marginalised; global capitalism is in crisis; the Haitian people continue to be punished for daring to win their freedom; many journalists and media are still too timid to speak truth to power; teachers and schools are failing our children; an egalitarian society in terms of access to opportunity and respect for each person's essential humanity remains elusive. There is urgent work to do.
MAXWELL... was a fearless defender of the truth and the rights of ordinary Jamaicans
MANLEY... had a vision of society in terms of a philosophy grounded in the twin concepts of democracy and social justice
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