Black Friday Rodney Grounding
(Sherlina Nageer writes about the Black Friday Groundings on the anniversary of Walter Rodney's death . The event was on Friday 13 June, 2014 in Georgetown, Guyana )
Fri 13 dawn just like any odda day. Lotta rah rah in newspaper and on FB about common entrance results. Most telling thing to me though was the paucity of public school students in the top 10/20. Acknowledge the fact that such tests are crap and not a proper way to measure or predict anything about 99.9% of all children, but note that education now has a pricetag on it. Pondering also the meaning of success. Lots of chatter on FB, from people who mostly don’t live in GT but planning on returning soon soon to change things. I can’t wait for that to happen. Left the virtual world to go work in my lil town yard garden. Got some tomato, thick leaf calaloo, sweet peppers, okro, and karila coming up, and space that’s going to be filled with parsley, thick leaf thyme, and shallot next week. Something so soothing about dirt between fingers.. Saw and checked in w people- fellow partners in crime and other activities ;)- in particular Vidyaratha Kissoon who makes you feel ok about being mad when you around him, like you’re in grand company even ;)
The plan was 3pm at Stabroek Market square, in front of the police outpost. Vidya and I had scouted it out days earlier and decided it was a good spot- with lots of foot traffic, not too loud, out of the way of the speeding minibuses, yet close enough to shelter in case the rain came down etc. The only troubling thing was its proximity to the police. We decided to take the chance anyway. We were not going to use a megaphone or anything like that, so didn't need to get any 'permission'. And besides, the police needed educating as well. I was the first one there, simply because I was already in town and free of other responsibilities, save checking on plants. I got there before 3 and wandered around a bit, trying to find a music cart guy willing to play a little ten minute speech/lecture by Walter Rodney. One young one listened to me good good, then paused long and thought hard before finally telling me no. The other, an older guy and his friend whom he had been gyaffing with before I interrupted them, said they knew me from People’s Parliament days. Still, they also refused me. Nah, ah gon get victimized, you know how it does be. They gon hold me for noise nuisance and ting. They does already be harassing we. Yea true, but that still didn’t stop them guys from blasting all kinds of skunt music anyway. But a speech by Walter Rodney? Nooooo, that they weren’t willing to do. Yall aint ready, I bused dem n walked away. Shit in Guyana is fucked up. Anyway, 3 o’clock come so I go by de spot.
Vidya was on de way, stuck in rush-hour traffic. Yes, Guyana got ‘rush hour traffic’. Like I said, shit is fucked up here. Not a million people in dis big big country, but Guyana got traffic jam. Madness. I tek out a book and start read. Kofi Baadu out of Africa which I'd borrowed from the Red Thread library. It was old and falling apart like most things are wont to do with age. Vanessa had painstakenly scotch taped every page before she gave it to me; the same thing she did with Lakshmi out of India. I read silently to myself at first, then aloud, louder and louder by the minute. The part about Justice And The People: “Corruption by state officials was dealt with very harshly. Royal authority in Ashante had to be balanced by the power of the people. Ashante rulers were an elite. But the common people expected justice. There was an old Ashante saying that governing people was like holding an egg. In other words- it was a most delicate matter, and without care the whole thing would fall and smash to pieces.” I made sure I held it so the cover could be seen by the people passing by. Paused for a bit when a truckload of police stopped nearby. Side eyed them but they hadn’t come for me and rolled on by after a brief stop.
I soon got tired of reading to myself though. I started scanning the passersby and trying to engage them. A schoolgirl holding a novel in her hand came up and I hailed her brightly. Hello, good afternoon! What are you reading? She stopped and showed me. Some YA fantasy novel. I asked her where she had gotten the book and she told me her school library. She was a 1st former at Bishops. So, do you know who Walter Rodney was? She shook her head no. Seriously? You really don’t know? I was genuinely amazed. I’d always thought of Bishops as a top school. But, she was only a 1st former, so it was really her primary schooling that was lacking. Guyanese history is not taught in Guyanese schools to Guyanese schoolchildren. That’s not seen as a priority by those in power, nor most other Guyanese, tragically. More madness. As the saying goes- those who don’t know their past are doomed to repeat it, and we’re seeing that writ large here in Guyana. Over and over again, the same idiocy is happening. Anyway, deep breath later and I was showing her Kofi Baadu and Lakshmi. She looked at them eagerly and readily read me a bit more from Justice And The People. I clapped when she finished and thanked her for talking with me. One young Guyanese a little more knowledgeable; I felt glad.
Rain started drizzling then, so I headed across the street to Scratchy’s. The old man was manning the bar. I wanted a beer but because I knew Vidya was going to reach soon, I bought a Malta instead. Sat on the plank between the milk crates and sipped. The drizzle passed and Vidya arrived. We decided to go back across the street. Vidya had made and brought a FREE sign, which we set up on the ground, next to the books to give away. That immediately got people’s attention and people started giving us second glances, some stopping as well. More good vibes. Amaraydha, book club stalwart, and a lovely young man who had been a student of Vidya’s at UG joined us. I whipped out the Martin Carter and we read together; beautiful poetry. He was enthusiastic and readily joined me in trying to engage the passersby. Young and handsome tho he was, he still got half a dozen rejections before he was able to convince a schoolgirl to read a little. She was part of a large group of jovial St. John’s students that I’d managed to stop. One good thing- maybe the only good thing the Commission of Inquiry has accomplished- is that a few more people have now heard about Walter Rodney. Of course, a lot of what they’ve heard is hogwash. Anyway, spent a fair bit of time with the St. John’s crew before they left, to continue cramming for exams, they told me dolefully.
Couple more comrades arrived- Ogun, looking sterner than usual, and Charlene- who doesn’t know it but who is teaching me the supremely valuable skills of self-discipline, compassion, and meditation. Plus a couple other friends/acquaintances of Vidya. More interesting reading aloud happens, interrupted at points by cheering from the football fans in the upstairs stabroek sports bar. But I was less interested in us reading to each other and more in engaging the passersby, especially the young people. So that is mostly what I spent my time doing. A woman and primary school girl pass, look, then walk back. Little girl is quiet but has a fearless spirit. She takes the weightiest of the texts- ‘How Europe Underdeveloped Africa’- and reads flawlessly from it. I am in awe and tell her so. The woman is her grandmother and she is rightfully very proud of her granddaughter. She’s always reading, she tells me. And, “her father has a lot of books too.” Yes, parental/adult involvement is key.
Also notable are a couple of QC boys, 3rd formers. They shrug when I ask them what they know about Walter Rodney and ask me to tell them something instead. Again, I’m saddened by the state of education in Guyana. But we gyaff and they each take a Rodney book to read from. I bring them nearer to the group of adults and we ground. After all the books are gone, a student from Dolphin Secondary come by. She wants a book, she says. I explain that all the free ones are gone, but show her the Rodney ones and invite her to read a bit. She is willing and picks the one that’s in the worst condition- my 'A History of the Guyanese Working People'. It’s literally falling apart and I totally need to get a new copy. This young girl is the least capable reader of the afternoon. But she goes to the end of the paragraph, fighting even as she is with every other word. I wish we had a book to give her. She asks when we’ll be there again, if on Monday. Yes, we’ll do this again, but not this Monday. (I’m going to go back there this coming Monday tho, with a book for her. Hope she passes by.)
#goodafternooninGT #timewellspent #ReadandReasonMore #Groundings2MondayJune30thsametimenplace3-5pmStabroekMarketSquare
this is the Rodney speech btw- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4_sbAx7Ocw
Fri 13 dawn just like any odda day. Lotta rah rah in newspaper and on FB about common entrance results. Most telling thing to me though was the paucity of public school students in the top 10/20. Acknowledge the fact that such tests are crap and not a proper way to measure or predict anything about 99.9% of all children, but note that education now has a pricetag on it. Pondering also the meaning of success. Lots of chatter on FB, from people who mostly don’t live in GT but planning on returning soon soon to change things. I can’t wait for that to happen. Left the virtual world to go work in my lil town yard garden. Got some tomato, thick leaf calaloo, sweet peppers, okro, and karila coming up, and space that’s going to be filled with parsley, thick leaf thyme, and shallot next week. Something so soothing about dirt between fingers.. Saw and checked in w people- fellow partners in crime and other activities ;)- in particular Vidyaratha Kissoon who makes you feel ok about being mad when you around him, like you’re in grand company even ;)
The plan was 3pm at Stabroek Market square, in front of the police outpost. Vidya and I had scouted it out days earlier and decided it was a good spot- with lots of foot traffic, not too loud, out of the way of the speeding minibuses, yet close enough to shelter in case the rain came down etc. The only troubling thing was its proximity to the police. We decided to take the chance anyway. We were not going to use a megaphone or anything like that, so didn't need to get any 'permission'. And besides, the police needed educating as well. I was the first one there, simply because I was already in town and free of other responsibilities, save checking on plants. I got there before 3 and wandered around a bit, trying to find a music cart guy willing to play a little ten minute speech/lecture by Walter Rodney. One young one listened to me good good, then paused long and thought hard before finally telling me no. The other, an older guy and his friend whom he had been gyaffing with before I interrupted them, said they knew me from People’s Parliament days. Still, they also refused me. Nah, ah gon get victimized, you know how it does be. They gon hold me for noise nuisance and ting. They does already be harassing we. Yea true, but that still didn’t stop them guys from blasting all kinds of skunt music anyway. But a speech by Walter Rodney? Nooooo, that they weren’t willing to do. Yall aint ready, I bused dem n walked away. Shit in Guyana is fucked up. Anyway, 3 o’clock come so I go by de spot.
Vidya was on de way, stuck in rush-hour traffic. Yes, Guyana got ‘rush hour traffic’. Like I said, shit is fucked up here. Not a million people in dis big big country, but Guyana got traffic jam. Madness. I tek out a book and start read. Kofi Baadu out of Africa which I'd borrowed from the Red Thread library. It was old and falling apart like most things are wont to do with age. Vanessa had painstakenly scotch taped every page before she gave it to me; the same thing she did with Lakshmi out of India. I read silently to myself at first, then aloud, louder and louder by the minute. The part about Justice And The People: “Corruption by state officials was dealt with very harshly. Royal authority in Ashante had to be balanced by the power of the people. Ashante rulers were an elite. But the common people expected justice. There was an old Ashante saying that governing people was like holding an egg. In other words- it was a most delicate matter, and without care the whole thing would fall and smash to pieces.” I made sure I held it so the cover could be seen by the people passing by. Paused for a bit when a truckload of police stopped nearby. Side eyed them but they hadn’t come for me and rolled on by after a brief stop.
I soon got tired of reading to myself though. I started scanning the passersby and trying to engage them. A schoolgirl holding a novel in her hand came up and I hailed her brightly. Hello, good afternoon! What are you reading? She stopped and showed me. Some YA fantasy novel. I asked her where she had gotten the book and she told me her school library. She was a 1st former at Bishops. So, do you know who Walter Rodney was? She shook her head no. Seriously? You really don’t know? I was genuinely amazed. I’d always thought of Bishops as a top school. But, she was only a 1st former, so it was really her primary schooling that was lacking. Guyanese history is not taught in Guyanese schools to Guyanese schoolchildren. That’s not seen as a priority by those in power, nor most other Guyanese, tragically. More madness. As the saying goes- those who don’t know their past are doomed to repeat it, and we’re seeing that writ large here in Guyana. Over and over again, the same idiocy is happening. Anyway, deep breath later and I was showing her Kofi Baadu and Lakshmi. She looked at them eagerly and readily read me a bit more from Justice And The People. I clapped when she finished and thanked her for talking with me. One young Guyanese a little more knowledgeable; I felt glad.
Rain started drizzling then, so I headed across the street to Scratchy’s. The old man was manning the bar. I wanted a beer but because I knew Vidya was going to reach soon, I bought a Malta instead. Sat on the plank between the milk crates and sipped. The drizzle passed and Vidya arrived. We decided to go back across the street. Vidya had made and brought a FREE sign, which we set up on the ground, next to the books to give away. That immediately got people’s attention and people started giving us second glances, some stopping as well. More good vibes. Amaraydha, book club stalwart, and a lovely young man who had been a student of Vidya’s at UG joined us. I whipped out the Martin Carter and we read together; beautiful poetry. He was enthusiastic and readily joined me in trying to engage the passersby. Young and handsome tho he was, he still got half a dozen rejections before he was able to convince a schoolgirl to read a little. She was part of a large group of jovial St. John’s students that I’d managed to stop. One good thing- maybe the only good thing the Commission of Inquiry has accomplished- is that a few more people have now heard about Walter Rodney. Of course, a lot of what they’ve heard is hogwash. Anyway, spent a fair bit of time with the St. John’s crew before they left, to continue cramming for exams, they told me dolefully.
Couple more comrades arrived- Ogun, looking sterner than usual, and Charlene- who doesn’t know it but who is teaching me the supremely valuable skills of self-discipline, compassion, and meditation. Plus a couple other friends/acquaintances of Vidya. More interesting reading aloud happens, interrupted at points by cheering from the football fans in the upstairs stabroek sports bar. But I was less interested in us reading to each other and more in engaging the passersby, especially the young people. So that is mostly what I spent my time doing. A woman and primary school girl pass, look, then walk back. Little girl is quiet but has a fearless spirit. She takes the weightiest of the texts- ‘How Europe Underdeveloped Africa’- and reads flawlessly from it. I am in awe and tell her so. The woman is her grandmother and she is rightfully very proud of her granddaughter. She’s always reading, she tells me. And, “her father has a lot of books too.” Yes, parental/adult involvement is key.
Also notable are a couple of QC boys, 3rd formers. They shrug when I ask them what they know about Walter Rodney and ask me to tell them something instead. Again, I’m saddened by the state of education in Guyana. But we gyaff and they each take a Rodney book to read from. I bring them nearer to the group of adults and we ground. After all the books are gone, a student from Dolphin Secondary come by. She wants a book, she says. I explain that all the free ones are gone, but show her the Rodney ones and invite her to read a bit. She is willing and picks the one that’s in the worst condition- my 'A History of the Guyanese Working People'. It’s literally falling apart and I totally need to get a new copy. This young girl is the least capable reader of the afternoon. But she goes to the end of the paragraph, fighting even as she is with every other word. I wish we had a book to give her. She asks when we’ll be there again, if on Monday. Yes, we’ll do this again, but not this Monday. (I’m going to go back there this coming Monday tho, with a book for her. Hope she passes by.)
#goodafternooninGT #timewellspent #ReadandReasonMore #Groundings2MondayJune30thsametimenplace3-5pmStabroekMarketSquare
this is the Rodney speech btw- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4_sbAx7Ocw
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