Prime Minister Mia Mottley has called for calypso legend the Mighty Sparrow‘s song Slave to be included in the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) curriculum, saying every child in the region should understand its message about slavery and Caribbean identity.
Mottley made the appeal on Friday as she joined mourners in Trinidad and Tobago for the funeral of the King of Calypso, real name Slinger Francisco. He died in New York on September 27 at 91.
Speaking at the National Academy for the Performing Arts in Port of Spain, the Prime Minister said the Caribbean had a duty to pass on Sparrow’s music, which addressed everything from colonialism and education to politics and economic inequality, to future generations.
Referring to Slave, she said she hoped she and Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar could persuade other Caribbean leaders to support its inclusion in the curriculum.
The song, she said, “must be a core part of the CXC curriculum so that every single child, every single child of this Caribbean understands both the pain, but the mission that that song presented”.
“I don’t think that there is a stronger theatrical performance of any song in the Caribbean from when we took control of our fate,” Mottley added.
She opened her tribute with lyrics from Slave, using them to make the case for preserving Sparrow’s contribution to Caribbean history.
“If you don’t know those lyrics, then it means that we really haven’t done our job well,” she told mourners.
Mottley said Sparrow was among the artistes who gave Caribbean people a way to express their experiences and challenge the systems they lived under.
“We have used calypso, as you have heard from this stage, as the means by which we could tell the stories of our lives, inspire our people to greater action, laugh and treat it like a pressure cooker to make sure that we don’t explode out of madness.
“But we come to understand that life must be balanced. And that in balance, we think, we reflect, but equally, we laugh, we lime, and we dance.”
She recalled Dan is the Man in the Van, which challenged colonial education, and Sparrow’s message about the value of learning in Education: “If you want to earn tomorrow, you must learn today.”
The PM also cited his treatment of the introduction of Pay As You Earn (PAYE) taxation in Trinidad and Tobago under then-Prime Minister Dr Eric Williams, as well as songs addressing capitalism, international politics and democracy.
Through those compositions, Mottley said, Sparrow had captured the experiences and concerns of Caribbean people at different stages of the region’s development.
Born in Grenada on July 9, 1935, Sparrow grew up in Trinidad and Tobago, where he rose to prominence in 1956 with Jean and Dinah, also known as Yankees Gone.
Over a seven-decade career, he became the Caribbean’s most celebrated calypsonian, earning acclaim for his political commentary, humour and stage performances.
His lyrical brilliance was evident in over 500 penned calypsos, 70+ albums, ten Calypso Monarch titles, eight Road March victories, and decades of cultural, social, and political commentary that gave voice to the Caribbean experience.
The University of the West Indies conferred an honorary Doctor of Letters (DLitt) degree on Sparrow in 1987.
In 2001, CARICOM leaders awarded him the Order of the Caribbean Community (OCC) for his outstanding Caribbean legacy.
Friday’s funeral service formed part of Trinidad and Tobago’s national farewell to the cultural icon.
(BT)
