Legacy of triumph over ignorance

THE EDITOR: Over the next couple of days we will see every accolade thrown Denyse Plummer’s way. All deserved, of course. But lurking behind every positive story will be the shameful backdrop of how she was treated on her debut in 1985 at Calypso Fiesta at Skinner Park.

Now touted by many as simply a PNM party group meeting, back then, although some like Dr Morgan Job were already warning us, most felt calypso and Calypso Fiesta were not synonymous with the PNM. That has now changed and even the most hardcore PNM supporter recognises, if not silently admits, that the PNM "owns" calypso.

So in a sense I would like to make the case that the hate, vitriol and toilet paper Plummer received on that stage 37 years ago, foreshadowed the death of the calypso tent and the racially divisive state calypso appears to be for people like me at this point in time.

This attempt to put people in their place who "don’t belong" is why today the art form suffers to the point that it cannot survive without heavy government funding, which in turn further cannibalises its audience.

Plummer's second indelible mark to our nation’s psyche is related to, and stems from, that very same day at Skinner Park, because even though some have tried to deny it, at the heart of Plummer’s treatment was race. And while Winston "Gypsy" Peters and Sugar Aloes shared similar treatment from the Skinner Park crowd for their perceived political allegiance, which in itself has racial overtones, Plummer’s was purely a manifestation of one of mankind’s ugliest traits.

The product of a Caucasian father and black mother, Plummer suffered her fate because although she was of mixed race she looked "white." This touched me personally, since I am also of mixed race and look more ethnically Indo. And as a young 14-year-old I was repeatedly skipped over and eventually dismissed at an African drumming class at the Morvant Community Centre because, according to the instructor, "this is not your thing."

Not a unique story I am sure, since I have heard similar narratives of "stay in yuh lane" from people of all ethnicities and backgrounds. But it was Plummer’s response, which should never be forgotten, as she demonstrated grace under fire, and rather than respond in a similar fashion to the ignorance of that crowd, she held her head high and pursued her goals, eventually becoming a calypso queen.

So as we bid farewell to the icon, I thank her for the example she set, and to let her family and close friends know that even though she has left us, she has left a legacy of triumph over ignorance – "nah leaving."

TIM TEEMAL

St James