‘Search for knowledge must not stop’
BLACK PEOPLE’S history is one of resistance.
“There was always resistance. Many people didn’t talk about that, but I didn’t know about it until I went to university. We were sorry for them, but we did not know that every day was a day of resistance. When I was teaching at Hampton and saw pictures of the girls in the 1950s, it was like apartheid in South Africa. So our young people need to know that a lot has been done to make the way easier for them,” Peart told The Sunday Gleaner.
Murders and suicides are dark parts of the history and women were raped to provide labour, and Peart recalled how the face of the aunt of a former Cabinet minister was powdered to cover her blackness, being the first dark-skinned student to attend the all-girls’ Hampton School, and who later became principal of Westwood High School and vice-principal at Bethlehem Teachers’ College.
Reverend Daley said the 1823 deed was in the bloodline of their theology.
“We are a caring church. In theological college, I have met with many others from different denominations, and hearing about us, they said if they left their denomination, they would join ours. We quarrel and fight, but we don’t leave. We go right back together. That’s who we are,” she said.
School history flourished when the minister was also the headmaster.
THE RACE REMAINS UNFINISHED
“This was the biggest Moravian primary school in Jamaica,” said Reid-Foster, who theorised that the children would have walked – or ran – several miles to get to Rowe’s Corner.
The race remains unfinished, and today’s generation is urged to fight just as hard as their ancestors did.
“I wouldn’t use a broad brush. There are many who are helping young people to be better. But at all times, you have resistance, and our politics does not help. The two-party system does not help and people worship politicians and do not understand that politicians just run their mouths. I don’t think they understand how their greed for power affects the minds and brains of our young people,” Peart said with the weight of her 79 years.
For Reverend Daley, “The search for knowledge must not stop. The history of the Moravian Church is testimony to that, but I fear the church is becoming too secularised, causing confusion as to what we are all about.”
She vowed to continue the fight to maintain standards and “teach and educate with love”.
“I make sure that the history and contribution of the Moravians are taught to the students. There are still miles to go,” said Principal Reid-Foster.
Lucinda Grace followed the Lamb with the baton she collected more than 70 years ago from the tree under the cellar, which was her school.
Along the route, the Reverend Charmane Daley began her leg, and with Reid-Foster, they are still on track, preparing others for their own race, shaping the lives of thousands at all levels of the education system.
The baton has not yet been handed off to the current young pupils, but they, too, must continue the run from Rowe’s Corner to still undefined destinations. Punctuated with hurdles, over hills and through valleys, many brilliant legs have been anchored, despite the odds.