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Rex Nettleford: Death of a cultural icon

Posted by CaribShout on February 5, 2010 at 8:00pm


“I cannot conceive yet of a world without him.”

It was the sentiment expressed by Professor Barry Chevannes, two days after the death of his colleague and friend, Rex Nettleford. While many knew of Nettleford’s passion for dance and culture, his close friend of 15 years saw a side of him the average passer-by would not have. “He loved to cook, delighted in that, that’s a Rex Nettleford that a lot of people wouldn’t have known,” he told BBC Caribbean. Both men served at the University of the West Indies’ (UWI) Mona campus for over 30 years and the former Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences said the institution would be a different place without the man affectionately dubbed, “Sexy Rexy”. “It’s like the entire University has disappeared, he was here so long. It’s impossible to think of him not being here, not hearing him calling you. I just can’t imagine the place without him” An institution Indeed, Professor Nettleford was as much an institution as the institution itself. Except for the period while he was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, he spent most of his adulthood working in some capacity at UWI, first at its Extra-Mural arm, as a lecturer of history and politics, and as Vice Chancellor Emeritus. Jamaica’s former Minister of Education, Maxine Henry-Wilson, called Nettleford the “quintessential Caribbean man … dedicated towards building and creating other people”. “He will have those who will be part of his succession, but I don’t think you will get the same versatility. He covered a span of experiences and intellectual fields and that’s what we’re going to miss him for most - his breadth of knowledge, involvement and experiences,” she said. Chevannes concurred: “He was able to address trade unions, Rastafarianism, race, dance, education, politics, the art of governance but the common theme was his concern and passion about the evolving sense about our sense of ourselves as a Caribbean people.” Dance and publication That knowledge lives on his published works, among them: Mirror Mirror: Identity, Race, and Protest in Jamaica (1970), Caribbean Cultural Identity (1978), and Dance Jamaica: Cultural Definition and Artistic Discovery (1985). The Rhodes Trust also recognised his contribution, establishing a Rex Nettleford Fellowship in Cultural Studies to be awarded in perpetuity. Aside from his expansive knowledge of all things cultural, he was also known for his love of dance. He founded Jamaica’s National Dance Theatre Company (NDTC) and was a principal performer even in his later years. “I’m from a generation that likes to advance financially and to join a company that was so dedicated towards nation building on a purely voluntary basis was an invaluable lesson for me to learn,” NDTC dance captain Marlon Sims, who was a protégé of Nettleford said. “I am very, very honoured to have been a part of that and very privileged to have worked so closely with him.” Personal recollections As a student at the Caribbean Institute of Media and Communication (CARIMAC), where he co-lectured a course in History and Politics, I recall what a striking picture Nettleford made, walking across campus, books in hand, back arrow-straight. To me, his background in dance was obvious. His posture and gait spoke volumes. A tribute is planned for 25 February at the University Chapel and Chevannes said he already knew the three hours planned would be insufficient. Of Nettleford the man, he summed it up. “He was a beautiful mind and a great, great heart.”
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