Dear Editor,
Since 1980 whenever June 13 comes around we are reminded of that horrid event which claimed the life of one Guyana’s and the Caribbean’s finest sons, Walter Rodney. It also brings with it mixed reflections on that hectic period of intense political intrigue and activism, anxiety and sadness. As was expected there wasn’t much fuss to mark this 32rd death anniversary, except for a main lecture by longstanding activist Dr David Hinds, which was attended by the faithful few dedicated Rodneyites, among others. And I did see an interview on national television with one of his brothers.
But your Monday, June 18, publication that brought the celebrated Barbadian novelist Mr George Lamming into focus with his ‘Rodney and the concept of labour’ in the ‘In the Diaspora’ column, was most welcome. Reading Lamming is always a pleasure, a fulfilling experience. He reminded me of a ‘Quote of the day’ which I instantly fell for, and which ran: “Age appears best in four things: old wood to burn; old wine to drink; old friends to trust and old authors to read.” Well, it was the last one that got to me as I was reading his column. Lamming for me is always refreshing. I could never pass him up; his thoughts are inspiring and uplifting, and just like Rodney he makes you understand and says things – in my judgement – almost exactly as Rodney would have said them, though some may want to feel it’s the reverse. There is no frivolity, no playing, and such depth, clarity and simplicity all together. I see them having one and the same thoughts on so many issues, more especially in addressing the role of the intellectual in relation to the working class, which so many other intellectuals shy away from or only deal with from an academic and romantic standpoint. As Lamming stated: “He [Rodney] did not only argue with those who had taken refuge in the enclaves of research and doctoral pursuits, he walked and talked with the African and Indian peasants and workers who had become the raison d’être for his intellectual activities. He had initiated in his personal and professional life a decisive break with the academic tradition he had been trained to serve and died in the conviction that the only fruitful emancipation was self emancipation that ordinary men and women should be intellectually equipped to liberate themselves from the hostile forms of ownership that are based exclusively on the principle of material self interest.” That for me is indeed an accurate description of the man Walter Rodney; he expanded and extended his energy and sharp intellectual mind in the service of the people (the working class) whose labour made his remarkable intellectual achievement possible – his own admission.
I so well remembered him telling us ordinary everyday people/workers at a public meeting in Linden not to trust intellectuals – not even him; that it is only when they “truly attached themselves to the interest and activities of the working class, then and only then can they be considered allies of the working class.”
Walter Rodney was for real, avoiding the poppycock. I recall at a meeting in Tiger Bay, while making a point in response to a statement, in a rather casual way he said, “people like myself, [referring to other intellectuals who were WPA activists] may not be around long enough, hence we will have to hurry up and establish a number of cells so that others can carry on while we are gone. He made that matter-of-fact remark fully cognizant of the texture of the prevailing political climate. I’ve once in a while reflected on that comment and wondered aloud what the thoughts of his peers were – “intellectuals like myself.” But Lamming’s lucid understanding of Rodney’s trend of thought as was described above is characteristic of him, a constant, always profound and consistant, never vacillating. In an address at a graduating ceremony, attending to the question of education, one gets a clear picture of the person Lamming is and exactly where he stands in relation to the status quo: “You are a minority; and you are a minority because education is scarce; and was intended to be a scarcity so that it might serve as an instrument of continuing social stratification, an index of privilege and status, a deformed habit of material self-improvement. This has created acute problems for all forms of leadership. The political leader is the educated one. He leads from above. It has also complicated the role of the intellectuals. These are men women who live and work in an orbit of privilege, and share in those material interests which bind them to the dominant ruling group. Their relation to the mass of the population is a dubious relation; it is a fragile relation, and in some circumstances it is an utterly fraudulent relation. This scarcity of education amidst the mass of our people has given this minority an easy access to comfort; it confers a superficial and sometimes tyrannical authority. It breeds a dangerous self-importance.” Verily I say, Lamming gives conscious people new hope, distant as it may be, but most importantly a sense of satisfaction.
Yours faithfully,
Frank Fyffe
