A special tribute will be paid to Caribbean scholar and internationally acclaimed thinker Professor Rex Nettleford this weekend on Conscious Lyrics (CLF) radio magazine, said host/producer Shujah Reiph.
Prof. Rex Nettleford died on Tuesday, February 2, at the George Washington Hospital in the USA, hours before his 77th birthday. He was the Vice-Chancellor Emeritus of the University of the West Indies at the time of his death.
Part one of the two-hours radio program will air on SOS radio 95.9 FM, on Saturday, February 6, 12 noon, while part two will broadcast on Radio Soualiga 99.9 FM, on Sunday, February 7, at 12:30 noon.
In February 1998, Nettleford delivered CLF’s 7th annual Black History Month lecture.
Prof. Nettleford, considered by many as the practical dean of Caribbean cultural studies, was the founder, artistic director and principal choreographer of the world famous National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica.
His 1978 publication, Caribbean Cultural Identity, the case of Jamaica, has been referred to as a bible of Caribbean culture.
The Conscious Lyrics tribute will feature excerpts from Nettleford’s 1998 lecture in St. Martin, and comments from various St. Martiners who have worked with or appreciate the professor’s work, like Clara Reyes, Lasana Sekou, and Louis Mussington.
Reyes a former student of Prof. Nettleford was shocked by the news of his passing. Sekou had just last week contacted the professor to deliver the keynote address at the 8th annual St. Martin Book Fair (June 3 – 5, 2010).
"Titles such as author, orator, choreographer, dancer, cultural advocate and statesman are not enough to describe the magnitude of this man," concluded Reiph. "We invite the people of St. Martin to tune in to honor the productive life and work of Professor RexNettleford."