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South Florida celebrates 'Miss Lou' pioneer of Jamaica's 'patwa'


 DAWN A. DAVIS
The legacy of Louise
 Bennett-Coverley has
 left an indelible impres-
sion on Jamaica and the
Caribbean. It is this icon, this
tradition, this birth right, that
was commemorated at the
South Regional Broward
College Library in Pembroke
Pines, Florida last month.
 Under the patronage of
Sandra Grant-Griffiths,
Jamaica's consul general to
the southern United States,
the event brought together
linguists, educators, writers,
performers and friends who
celebrated an indigenous lan-
guage and culture and
"Miss Lou", the woman who
instilled pride in Jamaican

 Journalist, playwright,
director, actress and cultural
activist Barbara Gloudon was
among those honoring the
woman that gave voice to
Jamaica.
 "Louise was marked out


 "Louise was marked out to
 free the tongue of the
 Jamaican people" Gloudon


to free the tongue of the
Jamaican people," Gloudon
said.
 "Louise was born for a
particular purpose, at a partic-
ular time. As happens in every
generation, one or two people
are born to change time.
Barack Hussein Obama car-
ries that burden, Nelson
Mandela carries that burden,
Martin Luther King Jr. carried
that burden, Marcus Mosiah
Garvey carried that burden.
So, we need to take her work
seriously."


 Miss Lou was the major
force in promoting Jamaican
language as a legitimate form
of communication. She used
Jamaican patwa, a mixture of
African languages brought to
the island by slaves, and
English in her writings as a
young journalist, in perform-
ances, and everyday life with-
out shame. And, in time, her
genius was recognized with a
scholarship to Britain's Royal
Academy of Dramatic Arts,
an institution that represented
the system she fought to
loosen its grip on Jamaican
culture.
 According to Gloudon,
Miss Lou was part of a politi-
cal movement. The statements
in her poetry were political,
the strongest being her railing
against the British. In those
days, all things British was
good. Hence, a whole genera-
tion was made to feel
ashamed of their tongue
because it was not "the
Queen's English".


Gloudon


PANTOMIME
 Among the stages Miss
Lou used to showcase her
proud heritage, talent, and
persistence was pantomime, a
British tradition of acting out
children's stories onstage that
traditionally opened on
Boxing Day each year. Miss
Lou performed in 25 pan-
tomimes between 1943 and
1975; several times alongside
her famous sidekick Ranny
"Mas Ran" Williams. She


became a prolific director and
performer, peppering her pro-
ductions with the language of
her people. The tradition con-
tinues today.
 "She gave us no end of
proverbs, which were in fact
parables; they were almost
biblical in their connotations,"
Gloudon said. "For example,
'wen chubble tek man, pick-
ney shut fit im'. It is clear,
when trouble takes man a
child's shirt will even cover
you. It was almost biblical wis-
dom, which she would put
into folk language, and little
by little they have become
part of our history. If you look
in the Oxford dictionary now,
it is carrying words out of the
Jamaican autography."
 But, it was not only pan-
tomime that benefited from
the strength and character of
p ai%., '. Not just a theatrical
genius, Miss Lou weaved her
stories, poems, and plays with
folkloric tales in the voice of
the characters she brought to
life. And, she did not keep it
to herself, but passed on the
tradition to those around her.
Gloudon was one of her pro-
teg6s.
 Miss Lou, and Gloudon
after her, were perhaps the
first journalists to use pai.. ',
in the print media for every-
day communication. Both
women worked at The
Gleaner, Jamaica's oldest
newspaper, in their early
careers.
 "The Gleaner received
enormous amounts of com-
plaints that Louise Bennett
and myself had conspired to
cheapen the Jamaican lan-
guage and weaken the identify
of the people," explained
Gloudon.
 Later, when Gloudon
started her radio call-in pro-
gram "Hotline", she was again


R&B star faces felony charges for alleged beating of Rihanna


LOS ANGELES, California -
The District Attorney's office
here says R&B star Chris
Brown has been charged with
two felonies following the
alleged beating of his girl-
friend, Barbadian pop singer
Rihanna.
 The singer made a brief
appearance in court with his
attorney Mark Geragos early
this month and did not enter a
plea to the two felony charges
of assault and making criminal
threats.
 The judge granted Brown's
request for a continuance on
April 6.
 If convicted, Brown faces
anywhere from probation to a
maximum four years and eight
months in state prison,


District Attorney spokes-
woman Sandi Gibbons said.
The formal charges come
almost a month after the cou-
ple argued on the morning of
Feb. 8, just hours before
Rihanna, 21, and Brown, 19,
were both scheduled to per-
form at the Grammys.
 U.S.-based media organi-
zations published the sordid
details of the incident, while
quoting an affidavit which
chronicles the attack in which
Brown allegedly punched,
bloodied and threatened to
kill his girlfriend. They also
indicate that the couple has
reunited following the inci-
dent.
0


criticized for speaking in
p' il \\ '.
 In spite of that, and per-
haps because of that, the show
has grown to become one of
Jamaica's most popular com-
munity radio shows. Listeners
can call in and air their opin-
ions in a language they are
comfortable with.

BEYOND COMEDY
 Gloudon implored schol-
ars to look beyond Miss Lou's
comedic performances for she
was much more than that.
 "We have forgotten to
spend some time on the
importance of the journey that
she took and its relevance to
the development of Jamaica,"


"In time, her genius was
recognized with a scholar-
ship to Britain's Royal
Academy of Dramatic Arts,
an institution that represent-
ed the system she fought to
loosen its grip on Jamaican
culture"

she said "...Her purpose was
to be tongue and voice to a
people who had no voice...The
work I do as a writer is all
driven by Louise...But, we
have to understand that the
road ahead still nuh dun."
 Gloudon is involved in a
project that will help keep
Miss Lou and Jamaica's
indigenous voice alive. A web-
site, www.ltmpantomime, has
been created. It celebrates 60
years of Jamaican theater. The
site features a detailed history
of the movement as well as
directors, producers, and cast
members from every pan-
tomime performed since 1941.
Packed with a dizzying array
of facts, visitors to the site will
also learn about choreography
trends, designers, and little
known facts about the pan-
tomime company and
Kingston's Little Theatre.
 Even the Canadian gov-
ernment recognizes the valu-
able contribution Louise
Bennett-Coverley made to
Jamaican culture with the cre-
ation of "Miss Lou's Room".
Opened on July 26, 2007 at
the Harbourfront Centre in
Toronto on the first anniver-
sary of Miss Lou's death, the
facility provides a permanent
display on her life and per-
formances and houses DVDs,
audiocassettes, and interactive
media that allows visitors to
".- rh Irm" along with the
beloved Jamaican icon.

Dawn A. Davis is a freelance
writer for Caribbean Today.
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March 2009