towards 2000 – models for multi-cultural arts education || multi-cultural national policy and the...

Multi-cultural National Policy and the Remaking of CommunitiesAuthor(s): JEAN SMALLSource: Caribbean Quarterly, Vol. 45, No. 2/3, TOWARDS 2000 – MODELS FOR MULTI-CULTURAL ARTS EDUCATION (June-Sept. 1999), pp. 146-154Published by: University of the West Indies and Caribbean QuarterlyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40654091 .

Accessed: 15/06/2014 23:35

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

University of the West Indies and Caribbean Quarterly are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve andextend access to Caribbean Quarterly.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 188.72.126.109 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 23:35:29 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=uwi

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=cariquar

http://www.jstor.org/stable/40654091?origin=JSTOR-pdf

http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp


146

Multi-cultural National Policy and the Remaking of Communities

by

JEAN SMALL

Nous entendons par culture l 'ensemble des réponses qu'un groupe donne à son environne- ment, où il trouve un sens à son activité et une raison à son existence. La culture englobe les différents moyens de communication, les lan- gages, les traditions orales, les croyances, les rites, les jeuxjes coutumes.les conventions so- ciales, les modes de production et de consomma- tion ainsi que la conscience des objectifs matériels.biologiques.psychologiques et spiritu- als dignes d'être poursuivis dans la vie. Elle est donc la matrice sociale qui confère sa valeur à ['existence individuelle"Arnaldo Ventura

Introduction

This paper is the result of two ventures. One is the participation in the discussion at a national level of a Culture Policy for Jamaica and the other is an on-going project to develop people through culture.The latter was a proposal presented to the University of the West Indies for it to get involved in the practical work of education from a different perspective than the formal, academic approach in the cloistered lecture rooms at the foothills of the Blue Mountains.This necessi- tated a search for an understanding and a definition of culture as well as development. Ventura's definition goes far beyond the common definition which limits culture to dance, song.the plastic and performing arts. When he ties man directly to his environment and his historical past that is responsible for his being in that particular environment, then culture must be concerned with man's existence and pride of existence in that environment, it must include the social conventions, the belief systems, the rituals (both modern and traditional), it must take into consideration his leisure time and his capacity to earn a living, his daily frustrations of public transportation and the acquisition of material goods,, And it must specifically address the possiblity and the flexibility that will allow for creative and inventive outlets for the individual for if man is nothing else he is a thinking and creative being and one of the ways of coping with stress, with frustrations of daily life and of the



147

age , is finding new solutions to problems. This ability to adapt to change and to change so as to adapt demand a new mental mapmaking which is an important aspect of culture.

It is therefore shortsighted to speak of the contribution that culture makes to development because development is basic to culture. If an individual is unable to find ways of expressing himself fully in the vehicles of expression known to him, if he is unable to find ways of producing and consuming the goods that he needs to satisfy his quality of life, if he cannot blossom in his environment he will not have vitality and energy or even pride and confidence in his self. Dignity comes from a combination and a harmonious working together of all the factors present in that environment.

Multiculturalism

Although our historical experience has resulted in a Caribbean context that is multicultural we still are predominantly monocultural. At the University you will find that Arts students stick together and Medical students very rarely intermingle with Arts or Social Science students. Even in our private lives we tend to have cliques of friends with whom we share most of our life activities. Nor do we have to mention class groupings and shade of the skin alliances.ln London, Sydney, New York.Toronto and even Cuba children go to mixed schools but in the playgrounds they mix only with their kind. This was very evident to the writer travelling by boat from Australia to London. That was a long journey and in no time people had divided into cliques and they remained like that for the rest of the trip. Yet living, playing and intermingling with one's own is not inherently a bad thing. Perhaps it is even natural and to be encouraged particularly as in this paper we are talking about culture and one's environment. Indeed it has often been said that if black peoples stuck together and supported each other the condition of the black man would be very much improved. Group maintenance among humans as among animals is undoubtedly a natural tendency.

Even if we accept this natural tendency we often intervene to make life better. People intermarry racially sometimes with the intention of improving the skin colour of their progeny and when the lan.d or the environment is dry we irrigate the land to provide the needed water for food production and, of course, we cure natural diseases with medicine.The rapid development of technology in the twenti- eth century has made international and intercultural contact a reality which has been brought about through modernization, urbanization, internetization all of which cry out for interdependence of peoples and cultures. This homogenization created by internationalization has had the effect of forcing people to look for the specificities of their cultures for survival. Particulary the smaller fish who have to fight for survival. The result in this modern age is two major tendencies which are



148

the sources of tension and conflict.Multiculturalism has become an issue in coun- tries where immigrants have moved into North American and British centres in such large numbers that the environment has changed and governments have found that they have to make changes in the cultures of those environments to accommo- date the influx of peoples with their accompanying cultures.

In the Caribbean we are so naturally multicultural that the word was not even applied to our existence. Plural was the word that was used. In Jamaica, for example, the Indian is so acculturated that he is simply a Jamaican. In Guyana children of all races sit together in the classroom and though they may have certain cultural practices which are performed in their homes, at another level they are all Guyanese. This does not mean that the peoples of the Caribbean are familiar with each other's culture. Not only is it a lack of familiarity but also a lack of acceptance of other peoples' cultures. And I would like to say that words in our vocabulary like "ghetto people" and " inner-city people" immediately suggest that they belong to a different if not an inferior sub-culture. And there it is we have the culture divided into sub-cultures meaning of course that even in our islands there are big cultures and little cultures. So as Professor Nettleford stated at the National Cultural Policy Discussions in Jamaica, language is a very important aspect of our culture. So is religion. So is basic education.

A National Cultural Policy

The problem with Cultural Policies is that they are handed to the people as a cultural package when they already have their culture packaged. Indeed many artists get their inspiration from the cultural forms of the people which are then

stylized into a new artistic presentation. Recognition is not given to the people who are living the culture It is rather validated by an elite.A national Cultural Policy must have the sanction of the people. How does ono do this?

Who Writes the National Cultural Policy?

The policy must be discussed in workshops to formulate the broad outlines of it and then taken to the people for discussion and input. This means that it must be discussed in different sections of the country and the discussions led by the leaders of those sections of the country - whether in parishes, counties or conglom- erations of villages/communities - and not by leaders from outside of those sections. The cultural Policy must take into consideration the multi-cultural aspect of existence in the Caribbean because of the many peoples who came to this part of the world during colonial times. Generally speaking the cultures of many of the

peoples who came to the Caribbean are left out in discussion. Emphasis is placed only on the African culture and even though the African heritage represents the

largest percentage of our cultural patrimony, there are many other peoples who



149

came to the region whose cultures contributed to the overall texture of our Carib- bean lives.

Culture and Pride

If the way of life of a people is ignored it will be very difficult to expect that they would invest their creative energies in developing the country. Likewise if a people cannot improve their lives they would stagnate and become impoverished both materially and spiritually. Development, both at the individual and collective level, is an important aspect of culture. A positive image of self results from an acceptance with pride of all forms of expression : in dance, music.art, language, cuisine, sports, recreation, in religious practices, politics, family structures, values, norms and belief systems.

Culture and Education

The Education system must reflect this pride by the inclusion of our culture, our literature, our language, history and images of ourselves in the teaching materials. Teachers need to be trained to be aware of the "wholeness" of culture and to see culture as an enabling process. Apart from teachers in the formal system, educational programmes outside of the formal system within communities, through the media should be developed to establish and strengthen values and attitudes towards the self and for an improved morality respect and dignity and reduction in crime and violence. Tolerance of other people's cultural practices needs to be inculcated from a very early age. A simple policy of giving a turn to each religious group a chance to take the Religious Assembly in schools would be one way of actually putting the policy in practice.

Culture and Heritage

Buildings, heritage sites and cultural centres for community activities must be restored to become central meeting places to foster an awareness of cultural events in a manner that is sensitive to the cultural ethos. Dates of cultural events should be recognized, the creation of indigenous musical instruments encouraged and the folk songs, dances and music become part of the school curriculum. De- velop databases including material generated by communities researching their own history. People are not sufficiently aware of the significance or the history of their environment. Each community should be encouraged to research its history, dramatize it as a way of becoming familiar with it and even passing on the information to others. Include this kind of activity for the entertainment and edifica- tion of tourists at the same time earning income at the community level. In other words mechanisms should be set up ior the co!!aboration between the community, the Heritage Office and The Board of Tourism.



150

Culture and Economy

There is a general lack of appreciation of the economic value of culture in all its forms. The use of indigenous materials is not explored sufficiently in the theatre, in art and crafts. Not enough use is made of art on buildings, information of the uniqueness of our culture is not packaged in video, CD Roms, print material for the international market, folk medicine, folk games are still to be disseminated on a large scale, folk religions to be researched. Partnerships between the private sector, government, institutions are to be encouraged in making the link between the industrial policy and the cultural policy. Exploration of the world market should be conducted for unique indigenous products.

Culture and Technology

To take advantage of modern technology does not mean a denial of self or of the indigenous cultures. In fact there is such a curiosity about and a demand for information on indigenous cultures that the modern technology should be used to assist in packaging and selling the cultural information. The new technologies should not remain a tool of the rich but should be used for the good of rich and poor alike.

A MODEL FOR THE REMAKING OF A COMMUNITY - The case of

Garveymeade

The culture of the nation and the development of the nation begins with the smallest unit, the community. We need therefore to position the community as the kernel of the strenghtening of the nation with the aim of networking one community to the other in order to arrive at a cohesive national structure.

The Context of a Community

The community that was chosen was Garveymeade which is situated about ten miles outside of Kingston.lt is a housing scheme that was established in 1 976 in the Manley era as an example of a communal way of living. There are 600

housing units in the community and a population of about 3,200. Originally it was

designed to be an owner-occupier community and in those first years when only owners lived there, there was such a pride of possession that the citizens worked

together to sweep and clean the community, water the parks and lawns and

organized cultural activities on a regular basis,especially for the children as the families consisted of young people who had their first opportunity at owning a home as the price in 1976 ( $Ja. 18,000.00) was within the reach of most people. However, as the homes appreciated in value, some people sold their homes for a

price and moved out, some rented out their homes. This brought a different element into the community as tenants are not usually as loyal to a community nor



151

caring of the property. So not only the appearance of the community began to change but (the quality of life also changed unhappily for the worse.

Culture and Architectural Design

Garveymeade is designed in blocks and each block has a central court- yard which serves as car park as well as a playground for the children. It is interesting to note that since most of the people who moved into this area came from the lower middle class stratum of society and even lower than that, the design is based on that of the tenement yard, so that the physical layout of the community fits into a cultural architectural design. In the poorer sections of the city, where rooms are small and hot, people usually meet outside of their homes in the 'yard' and this design of a court yard, though it may not be used in the same way hits a familiar note to the residents. Many housing schemes are built like this and this may have something to do with the upward mobility phenomenon in the Jamaican society and indeed in the Caribbean in general.

A Sense of History

Almost every community has a name that bears some particular meaning, either it is named after some individual who had some significant attachment to that community, or because of an activity that was conducted there or because of a war that was waged there and so on and the strange thing is that the people living in that community are never aware of the fact.As obvious a name as Garveymeade did not strike the consciousness of the people living there that their community was named after the First National Hero of Jamaica. But once the fact was brought to their attention they began to identify with the name and the man and began to see the good sense in living in a way that befitted the name. So what I am saying is that the first thing that one has to do is give people a sense of identity with the space in which they live, a sense of history which places them in the total historical fabric of the country. Many of our young people have no sense of history, of what went before them, and it is not their fault. It is the fault of the curricula in the schools which do not place enough emphasis on our own history, our past in order to develop a pride of place at the present time. Once this is identified, an education programme in the community will have to be sustained. And I do not necessarily mean book and pencil education because we are not an easily reading people. I mean story-telling, video films, rap sessions, visiting speakers and so on. In short oral communication is the vehicle that should^ be used. In the case of

Garveymeade, the citizens called for a UNIA person to come to the community and a few days after that occasion some youths were seen proudly waving a UNIA

flag. A GARVEY DAY was decided on to coincide with Garvey's birthday and activities are beginning to be invented that link the community not only to the name of Garvev but also to some of the principles he stood for.



152

Collective Self-Esteem

The developing sense of pride in the community led a number of the citizens to respond to a call for a clean-up campaign as on GARVEY DAY visitors will be coming into the community and they want to restore the community to its

original beauty. Many of the youths volunteered their shovels and muscles. The

important point is that people will adapt to a good role model and people really want to be shown a better way of living and a better way of doing things.

The citizers see GARVEY DAY as an annual activity that will bring visitors to THEIR community and they want to make it as successful as possible. Some other youths have started cleaning the parks attached to certain blocks and to

beautify them with palms and other flowering plants. This is equivalent to developing an eco-tourism venture out of Garvey Day, not only for the community as a whole but for the individual citizens which springs from a project to identify the skills in the community.

A SKILLS DATA BASE - Towards a more self-reliant existence

An effort is being made to create a bank of information on the skills that are

present and available in the community so that citizens will support them first before going elsewhere to look for services. The aim of this database is to make the

community self-sufficient but also to help citizens to improve their earning power. This was appreciated by many citizens, especially the young men who are not interested in working for anyone. They want to have their own businesses and this

very creative suggestion gave strength to their entrepreneurial ambitions.The

community is on the way to developing cottage industries and other art industries that would be income-generating.

A SPIRITUAL CENTRE

To establish a space that belongs to the individual nembers of the commu-

nity is very essential. This may be a community centre, a church, a field, a park or a fountain. The important point is that it must be space that has been prepared or built by the citizens so that they can claim collective possession of it. In Chicago, citizens built a fountain and citizens chose the design for the tiles that were placed there, so that they can point to the tile that belongs to them. Garveymeade has no

fountain, nor does it have a Comn unity Centre, but it does have a park which is the

pride of the community as the youth in that block prepared it and maintain it. This

park is used for all official functions andtfie youth assist in stringing up lights and

providing decorations.



153

Transportation / Leisure Time / Cultural Activities

One of the factors that has a great influence on the daily lives of the citizens is the distance from the city. Most of the citizens sleep in Garveymeade but work in the capital and this affects the quality of life of the community. Most citizens possess a car because the public transportation system is so bad that they would not be able to abide living in this community without private transportation. Distance means that the citizens, generally speaking, return home very late in the evenings and so there is little or no leisure time. The business houses have been

very accommodating by opening late in the mornings and remaining open later at

night than those business places in the city. This is the kind of creativity that has led to a different cultural style in the community. Life is organized differently. Banks are open on weekends and the cinema has shows at later hours. The gas station is available for service until a very late hour and individuals have set up shopping outlets to provide some necessities within easy reach.

All of this leaves very litle time for leisure activities, but without facilities the creative energy could foster street theatre, heritage evenings which involve the older citizens, portable cinemas and portable libraries. The Football Team started a bottle drive to earn some funds and the Netball Team regularly organizes a car wash. The creative energy of the citizens has been awakened and they are learning to recognize that in the community there are Rastafarians who have different eating habits and that there are peoples of different religions so that care has to be taken in deciding on the day of the week for certain activities and in that Jamaica Sunday dinner is a very important cultural event. Multiculturalism is in fact in force and if there were peoples of different races residing in the community the cul tural activities would have to reflect those differences.

Partnerships

The community is in the process of seeking support from business houses in the area for their cultural activities and for the erection of a community centre. Some businesses have offered to assist and others are delighted to be part of the development project. Partnerships are also made possible through some of the citizens living in the community. What is clear is the interdependence of community and the business houses in the area, the private sector and the government as well as community and community in joint efforts for the repairs of the roads, the

supply of amenities, environmental care and joint multicultural activities. For each community has its own culture and have found solutions to their problems by using their specific creative energies.

A Centre of Knowledge

The area which is most lacking is that of knowledge and learning. Most of the communities do not have a library or a cultural centre where materials could be



154

kept and made available to the citizens. This is very important especially today when the greatest commodity is knowledge. Each community should have at least one computer and access to internet. This is no longer a luxury. It is a necessity. In Garveymeade there are plans to have a collection of Garvey's works and other related documents but since there is no library or community centre the materials can only be made available on specific occasions at the present time.

Summary

Culture as defined therefore goes way beyond the definition of the Per- forming and Plastic Arts and includes all aspects of daily life which give a sense of confidence and pride in self both on ihe individual and collective levels. It is this confidence of knowing one's self in the context of an environment that provides the creative energy to improve one's life condition and to constantly find solutions to changing situations. The Garveymeade project indicates the importance of identity and a sense of history which provides an understanding of the present and an insight into the future. A Multicultural National Policy must address the phenomenon of many cultures co-existing alongside each other.each one demanding physical, social and intellectual well-being of the individual. Most importantly culture includes a flexibility that allows for creativity and possibilities of self-betterment.

NOTES

1 . VENTURA, Arnaldo La Clef du Développement UNESCO 1983 Chap. V L'impact culturel du transfert de technologie dans les pays en développement.



towards 2000 – models for multi-cultural arts education || multi-cultural national policy and the...

Documents