Lascelve Graham | Majoring in the minors: staying focused on the goal

I HAVE the greatest respect and admiration for my Rastafarian brethren. When I was growing up and the social construct was to more openly denigrate and belittle dark skin characteristics like hair (bad as opposed to good hair), lips (thick versus thin ones of light skin people), nose (broad versus straight European type), Rastas flaunted and were proud of these things, developing dreadlocks and a certain way of speaking in defiance of the norm. They fuelled the black is beautiful notion and every nigger is a star concept. They were treated harshly by the powers that be and jeered, despised, looked down upon and shunned by their own dark skin people, whom they were trying to empower. They had the will and the courage to persevere and now Rasta is in fashion, in vogue not only in Jamaica, but all over the world!

THE IDEA OF RACE IS A LIE

The scientific method can be and has been applied to the idea of race as propounded by white supremacists. It is not supported by scientific fact. As looked at and tested by the scientific method, the idea of race is a lie! The premise on which race is based is false, as shown by the natural sciences. The idea of a hierarchy of races, where one is superior to another, has no foundation in science. History is replete with examples which support the science.

All social constructs are not necessarily false. However, the race construct can be proven or disproved by science, and it has been disproved. On the other hand, ‘livity’, the Rastafari concept of righteous living, has its essence in the realisation that an energy or life force conferred by Jah (God) exists within, and flows through, all people and all living things. It is grounded in the supernatural (spiritual), which is outside the realm of the natural sciences. We know very little if anything about that world. That is why there is such a proliferation, a plethora of religions. Therefore, science cannot pronounce on whether ‘livity’ is real or a lie. It is what Rasta says it is for those who believe.

That brings me to another point which dark skin people must be aware of and seriously consider, if meaningful progress is to be made, in a reasonable time, in the struggle to get the knees of light skin persons off the neck of Africa, Africans and the diaspora.

This has to do with the divide and rule principle which the Europeans and their allies have mastered and which we must not continue to play into or fall for. A reader agreed almost completely with my previous article, he stressed that, but still had to express a disagreement, which is quite trite, esoteric and could derail, distract, lead off track others who may be less astute than him. Such actions serve, unwittingly perhaps, as red herrings, and can result in unnecessary infighting, which is detrimental to the cause. It is necessary at times to rein in our ego in the cause of a greater good. We must be careful to keep our eyes on the ball, and not get caught in the thick of thin things, which serve the enemy’s purpose. We don’t want to be dead right! We must practise to strategically leave things alone, as in cricket. We must learn to compromise and understand that everything does not have to go exactly the way we would desire for there to be progress. That is teamwork. This is critical in developing a sense of community, which is so important if we are to go forward as a people. Dark skin people must resist the urge to cry down, belittle, criticise their brothers and sisters frivolously. Don’t jump to tear down your own battlements. Allow the enemy to fight his own battles! We are much too ready to label each other as “hediat”.

A UNIFYING FORCE

Dark skin people need something to coalesce around. Something to bring us together, a unifying force. I think that force has to be the realisation that we are a powerful people, no less than any other peoples. Anything which contributes to this consciousness must be encouraged, supported, nurtured. This is pivotal in our development of self-love, self-belief, self-confidence from which everything else flows. It is critical to understand the above in this battle for the mind, which the fight is all about. This core strength we must pursue relentlessly, steadfastly, unswervingly, although there may be things with which we don’t fully agree. There may be frayed edges, but these can be dealt with after we have got the knee off our neck, which must be the top priority. A sense of community, of compromise will help us greatly in achieving our goal. We don’t need perfection, but we must stand for something. That something should be equality of opportunity for the masses of the people. In our pursuit of this goal, it is not worth sacrificing unity so that we can be right in some fringe area. Jamaica has the potential, the wherewithal to lead the world in bringing about the upliftment of dark skin peoples. The conditions that exist here are conducive to that. We just need proper leadership! Leadership with the intellect, vision, revolutionary mindset, integrity and courage to devise and implement the strategies and actions needed. Singapore got their leader. Where is ours?

Sports is a microcosm of life. Jamaicans excel at track and field, an individual sport. We haven’t done as well at team sports, although we have tremendous individual talent. Team sports involve more than individualism. It involves leadership, cohesion, working together, compromise, empathy, a sense of community because here, unity is strength. The star still has a critical role to play, but must constrain, subjugate his/her ego and skill to the needs of the team, which is his/her foundation. He/she must inspire the team, generate self-belief and keep team members focused on the task ahead. These are some of the requirements of the leadership in Jamaica. Investing meaningfully in the delivery of quality education from basic school up, housing and significant land reform for the masses of the people, would go a far way towards empowering, unleashing the creativity and full potential of dark skin people, the majority of whom suffer greatly in Jamaica.

Dr Lascelve ‘Muggy’ Graham former captain senior Jamaica national football team. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.