– THE PRECEDENT

The Ethnic Relations Commission on the March 9 and 10 presented to the public Neaz Subhan’s play ‘I am Us. The play was given to yours truly to read and make suggestions which were done, then the play was presented to the full commission for consideration and further exploration.

As I contended that the subject matter of racism between two families that lived in apparent harmony could explode when the question of political loyalties aroused, that provides a significant insight into the ‘other’ social microcosm that exists- whether it is composed of myths, falsifications, adulterated truths, and genuine cultural differences that give rise to contentions real and imagined.

Guyana has, from the post-emancipation, a clash of cultures evolved with definitions and stereotypes of each group with colonial help. With the vacuum of not understanding the different philosophies of survival that emerged over a few thousand years in the continental ‘Old countries’ with the variations of humanity that arrived here, innate philosophies emerge at conflicting levels upon interaction with opposing values. This is the unearthed foundation that the play rests upon.

The play addresses through a real-life scenario at a grassroots level among friends, where disagreement in the absence of a wider pool of clarifications that are demanded for an honest and sober exchange, simply do not exist in the wider public consciousness, because we do not engage in tough discourses about our perceived differences.

Thus they react with the inherited language of contempt for ‘the other’ whispered by those old people. Therefore, I am US is a precedent, at a level for adult and secondary school audiences, which will certainly force the commission to consult and have answers for the many “why’s” that young minds will throw beyond the stage in their need to understand in-depth – for instance, what went on from at least 1838 to 1966, before reaching further into the mythic worlds of older origins.

‘I am US’ did receive some bad publicity that I should clarify. The author signed a licence contract that permitted the Commission to use his play and extracts of it. This fee was less than GYD$500, 000 but it was rumoured that the author received an enormous amount of some $3.5M, in fact.

The entire production cost less than $3.4M which included actors, ads, NCC, food, transportation etc. In the real world G$3.5M is not an enormous amount, depending on what entity you’re licensing a play to, and where in the contract they indicate that they intend to take it. At the launch, I invited my media colleagues and public groups to engage the ERC in public dialogue on the subject of racism, because as an artist I have experienced racism thrown against my work.

That reminds me of an analysis a foreigner residing here alluded to; she said that the politeness of Guyanese society gives the impression that there is an incredible homogeneity existing among variations of humanity despite roots of opposing cultures. But she soon learned from her child, who related certain questions in respect to things told to her by other students that there is an unclean element of defining the other existing.

I was a young writer and illustrator who took his work to a major beverage company in the 80s. The then Marketing Manager took a look and responded favourably. He proposed to use the comic to promote the new line of beverages. The year was 1983 and the name of the book was ‘THE SPEAR’. When I returned the mood was changed and charged with hostility. He threw the book on the desk where I sat and told me, “I will never support this, your reference to Israel is saying that ‘Jesus’ came from black people” and that was it. The same castigation came with the ‘SHADOW OF THE JAGUAR’.

It was perceived as a Black superhero and thrown out of the Chronicle in early 1993. Then again in 2008 with ‘LEGEND OF THE SILK COTTON TREE’ Forbes Burnham was struck out of the play and efforts made by the director to insert other stuff that I successfully resisted, based on the contract I designed. Forbes Burnham in 1949 was the Lawyer who had represented Kate Fullington, who was an integral reference to the content of the play. And my experiences with vibrant undercover racism did not stop there.

So when I read Neaz’s play, I recognised its relevance with the mandate of the ERC, which is not only a complaints desk commission, but with a broad mandate to make a real uncompromising difference, that will at times be not en vogue with certain mainstream propaganda, as our President warned: “It will be at times a thankless job”. ‘I am US’ is where the public discourse begins. Across this country there is a need to understand, a request for clarity and an appeal to intercept the ugly secret doctrines preached and forced into the minds of the most innocent of our citizens; our young- by persons who know better, and by those who don’t.

The NCC audience who saw the play was receptive; the actors did their job well. I have invited the media and serious members of the public to engage the ERC to expand the conversation. I know from experience that what needs to be understood from a cultural perspective on the subject of bigotry, never had a collective discourse, but I did witness on TV recently ‘Jumbie Jones’ and some actors reflecting on the subject.

We have got to start somewhere and the Arts have been a tremendous influence in this area. In North America that was even segregated before Nazi Germany ‘Raison in the Sun,’ ‘To kill a mocking bird’ and the 2016 series ‘This is us’ among other dramas have pioneered and contributed to inspire the rationale of our common humanity because to ignore the ugly is to our own peril.

Neaz Subhan’s play ‘I am US’ is all Guyanese in content with relevance and lurking apprehensions. It will be feared and ignored by political Pharisees and their media hecklers, but it should not be, by brave and enlightened Guyanese.