Respect D Tribe -Part 2

First, congrats to all the successful candidates, teachers, parents etc. in the recent C-SEC and CAPE exams, the results of which were published this week.

This includes my own grandchildren. For the parents of those who did not do so well, for whatever reason, and for the  disappointed ones themselves, please don’t give up, this may just be a temporary blip. Recommit and work harder to turn the setback into an advance. Now, to continue with my “Tribe” story, for those who wonder what is the purpose of this apparent historical journey when there are current-day issues; it is not by any means a romantic trip. Our reality is that most of us are not aware of the historical journey that we have been travelling, involuntarily in most cases. And the old saying about if you are not aware from whence you came, you cannot know or plan where you are going, applies perfectly here.

My reference to “D Tribe” is to those, some recognized but many unsung, who were in essence, the foundation stones of the still unfinished tasks of transforming our society. They were the ones who stood in the frontline of the battle to end not just formal colonial rule, but the many vestiges of colonialism still present in our society.

We can start by what is today called the “Black Power” movement, still a hugely misunderstood phase of our development challenge. There is still, among our young people, a gaping lack of knowledge about that historical process of decolonisation, aided and abetted by fundamental misunderstanding on the part of many of the generation which lived through that period, about the Black Power phenomenon. Ironically many of these are the chief beneficiaries.

First and foremost, it was “D Tribe” which helped to spread black consciousness in our society and racial and national consciousness in our society. It was D Tribe which had to suffer the negative reaction for urging black people and indigenous people to have pride in themselves, to seek information and education about black heroes and their achievements. Today, people with locks, male and female alike, occupy prominent positions in our society. Many in D Tribe, were persecuted for even wearing plaits, much more becoming Rastafarian. It didn’t just happen so. Pride among black women, was a product of those times.

Today, leaders of the independent Caribbean proudly speak of developing ties with Africa, India etc. It was like heresy to even talk of independence for countries like ours in those days, the prevailing thinking was that we are “too small” to provide for ourselves. Sadly, today there are still among us people who aspire to leadership but lack that confidence in our own abilities.

It was D Tribe which promoted the need to know and understand Black history and our own national indigenous development. That was the origin of National Heroes Day, that we dress up and “pampaset” on today.

When the Black Power movement took up Marcus Garvey’s claims for Reparations, they were considered as “ignorant’, today that is the “In thing” with even an official Caribbean Reparations Movement”, though without much reference to the journey.

In everyday terms, the Black Power Movement it was, which must be credited for the revolutionary changes in the names we give our children today, names which reflect their heritage. However, while this has happened massively on a personal level, on a society-wide level, we are still hesitant about renaming the colonial vestiges- the Victoria Park, Princess Margaret beach etc. Just on the weekend in Trinidad, Prime minister, Keith Rowley announced that the Coat of Arms is to be changed by replacing Columbus’ three ships with a steel pan. We seem afraid to make similar changes, especially to the Constitution.

Above all, it was D Tribe which demonstrated the importance and value of the organization of the poor and powerless. Over the years, penniless YULIMO and the UPM fought against police brutality, injustice and discrimination. Through this popular mobilization, we had the historic achievement of not only challenging a government which shamelessly boasted of being “the strongest government in the world”, to the extent that the attempt to pass repressive legislation, the so-called “Dread Bills” was stopped by the mobilised will of the people in 1981.

That history provided the background, the experience, the confidence of the popular movement in stopping the excesses of the Mitchell government and, again unprecedented, shortening its life in 2000. It is the rock on which the ongoing struggle for social and economic transformation is based. But its history and significance are not appreciated, nor is the contribution of so many unsung heroes who had the courage and commitment to make the sacrifices necessary so that today’s youth can benefit.

Just as we appreciate the educated brilliance of today’s young people and must encourage more of them to follow in that path, so too we must learn about and from the examples set by those who paved the way – D Tribe.

• Renwick Rose is a community activist and social commentator.