NOTES ON ‘PROJECT INDEPENDENCE’: WE ‘YOUNG AND MOVING ON’!– BDN INTRODUCTION

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September 3, 2022

As an aspirational vision for the future, few anthems lay down the pathway to progress as these words from Trinidad and Tobago’s National Anthem, “Where every creed and race find an equal place.” Yet, after sixty years, the debate continues whether or not we’ve made significant strides towards actualizing this lofty ideal. While people’s movements aren’t the primary concern here, this sense informs the contributions to our August Issue.

Indeed, August may be the most significant month in Caribbean History, beginning with Emancipation Day on August 1 and demands for Reparations that arose almost from the onset of enslavement. Emancipation Day flows into August 6, Jamaica’s Independence, and August 23, The International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade. Finally, August ends with Trinbago’s Independence Day. Thus we see Caribbean Independence as an ongoing project.

As we reflect deeply on the meaning of Independence and celebrate the 60th Anniversary of Trinidad and Tobago’s Independence from Britain, we pause to reflect not only on the road traveled since Independence but on the factors which paved the way to August 31, 1962. This is at the crux of Clyde Weatherhead’s “Celebrating Independence,” a survey of a people’s journey, which plumbs the historic registers while providing a practical starting point to examine the road we’ve traveled effectively and what portends for the future, especially “the possibility of forging the national personality.”

In welcoming our Independence by crafting a portrait of T&T, the evergreen and Mighty Sniper sang, “…Our policy stands for racial equality…We cater for one and all/In this lovely land of my birth/Small but overwhelming in worth.” Words that challenge us to be mindful not only of government policies but also provide a vision for our creative artists. The issue of who we are and how best to capture the national essence has always been of concern. This quandary finds no better expression than in David Rudder’s “The Ganges and the Nile.”

Ulric Donawa’s “Reflections On Our Cultural Independence” wonders if the binary presentation of ethnic elements in our “lovely land” of various musical idioms truly reflects our multicultural essence. Or if our dominant cultural expressions are a mere pretense of a ‘rainbow’ or ‘multicultural’ society.

In “Independence Notes: Beyond A Cultural Renaissance,” Kim Johnson suggests that TrinBago has fared well and credits the dynamics from the 1970s for grounding and (re)fashioning the national narrative in the quest for True Independence. He presents different facets of the nation’s essence that lead to continuous elevation, primarily through artistic re-presentation.

The three takes remind of VS Naipaul, even if telling ‘Partial Truths,’ comment on India: “I think that it would be wrong to ask whether 50 years of India’s Independence are an achievement or a failure. It would be better to see things as evolving. It’s not an either-or question.” The Great Storyteller reflects our framework: “NOTES ON ‘PROJECT INDEPENDENCE’: WE ‘YOUNG AND MOVING ON’!

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For DBN Editors…

1 thought on “NOTES ON ‘PROJECT INDEPENDENCE’: WE ‘YOUNG AND MOVING ON’!– BDN INTRODUCTION”

Kim Johnson September 9, 2022 at 12:12 pm

That is a point of profound importance because it raises the question: What is education for? To make obedient citizens? To contribute to building the economy and society? For self-fulfilment of the educated? To develop the critical thinking of citizens? The grammar school academic education was created in a colonial context which needed a handful of white collar workers, even fewer qualified professionals, and many manual labourers, even many unemployeds. Now what does the society need? Before you attempt to answer that question, factor into the account the climate change that raises the issues of species extinction, the ending of fossil fuels, the replacement of most decision making by artificial intelligence and other twenty-first century challenges. A short response to your question would suggest that the arts and trades begin to roll back the greed and industrial destructiveness we have unleashed on the earth.

NOTES ON ‘PROJECT INDEPENDENCE’: WE ‘YOUNG AND MOVING ON’!– BDN INTRODUCTION

1 thought on “NOTES ON ‘PROJECT INDEPENDENCE’: WE ‘YOUNG AND MOVING ON’!– BDN INTRODUCTION”

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