Musgrave Medal awardees ‘surprised’ by honour

The Musgrave Medal Award ceremony held at the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts at The University of the West Indies, Mona, last Wednesday represented the passing of the baton, and as Gold recipient Dr Vivian Crawford said, “I feel privileged to be a member of the relay team.”

For journalist, author, film-maker, and cultural consultant, Barbara Blake-Hanna, that tradition is even more personal as it now embedded in her family’s history.

“The Blake ... and Blake-Hannah ... family has made Musgrave history as my father received a Silver for Journalism in 1978, and my son, Makonnen, was awarded the first Youth Musgrave for Information Technology in 2001, making me the third member of the family to receive Musgrave medals. First Rastas, too!” a proud Blake-Hannah told The Gleaner.

The Musgrave Medals in Gold, Silver, Bronze, and the Youth Musgrave are awarded by the Institute of Jamaica (IOJ) in recognition of notable contributions in literature, science, and art in Jamaica and the West Indies. The awards were founded in 1889 as a memorial to Sir Anthony Musgrave, governor of Jamaica, who founded the Institute of Jamaica in 1879.

In the Gold medal category, the awardees were Vivian Crawford, (Arts); Professor Marcia Roye (Science); and Professor Carolyn Cooper (Literature). Silver medal awardees were Dr Lenora Antoinette Stines, (Arts); Dr Conrad Douglas, (Science); and Barbara Blake-Hannah, (Literature). Awardees in the Bronze category were George ‘Fully’ Fullwood and Carlton ‘Santa’ Davis, for Arts; Merline Bardowell for Science; and Dr Sharma Taylor, for Literature.

All were present to collect their awards, following vignettes that showcased their individual journeys to brilliance.

Crawford, a Maroon from the hills of eastern Portland, has a formidable list of letters behind his name, including OD, JP. FJIM, ED.D (Honoris Causa). He was hailed for his “dedicated and distinguished service in the field of arts and culture”. The IOJ recognised Roye as an outstanding scientist, mentor, and educator.

An expert and pioneer on Jamaican popular culture, Cooper is the author of two critically acclaimed books and noted that “one of the things I am proudest of is setting up the Reggae Studies Unit” at The UWI. Stines, who was that very night awarded the Gregory Isaacs Foundation Award by the Jamaica Reggae Industry Association, was hailed as a trailblazing, director, choreographer, author, actor, and dancer.

Applied Scientist Dr Conrad Douglas’s expertise extends to technology and innovation in industry and the environment.

George ‘Fully’ Fullwood’s “innovative bass lines have profoundly permeated the global music scene, shaping the sounds of Jamaican music”, and Carlton ‘Santa’ Davis’ drumming artistry is regarded as “a level symbolising peculiarities that define reggae music’s uniqueness”.

Merline Bardowell has been contributing significantly to science and technology in Jamaica and the Caribbean for more than 37 years, and Dr Sharma Taylor is a critically acclaimed Jamaican writer and lawyer whose short stories appear in various anthologies.

Cooper was chosen to speak on behalf of the awardees and shared that she had suggested Crawford “because him know how fi speak, know how fi mek joke, and him is a Maroon”.

To carry out her task, she asked the awardees, via email, how they felt about being an honouree. “What was amazing was that everybody expressed a sense of surprise,” Cooper reported.

She added an element of drama and mix-up when she shared comments from two friends, who asked: “So, when yuh going tell them to stop using the white man name?” and “So yuh going to give back the medal?”

Her responses: “How oonu so unreasonable? Di white man set up the Institute of Jamaica. Di white man was a visionary.” “No, I’m not going to give it back.”

“The medal is mix-up. We can’t avoid it,” Cooper said, adding that it was important to extract the positives from that history.

“Musgrave was born in Antigua. He is a West Indian [laughter and applause] ... his people is from foreign, but him born inna di West Indies, so we have to claim him as part of the culture. And for him to have that vision to say that we need an Institute of Jamaica so we can celebrate the creativity of people ... yuh know,” Cooper reasoned.

As a visionary herself, Cooper said that there is “a need to extend our conception of what the arts should be to include the arts that we don’t consider to be serious”. She suggested that there should be Musgrave Medals for barbers — like her own barber, Zacks Barrett — hair colourists such as Marvia Williams, whose creation contributed to Cooper's "wow" factor on Wednesday night, and stylists such as the legendary Carol Reid, who was the lead hair and makeup for the Bob Marley:One Love movie during its Jamaica shoot.

yasmine.peru@gleanerjm.com