PM: Region lost gifted son
05 February, 2010 09:34:00
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Prime Minister Patrick Manning
The region has lost one of its gifted sons, as an innovator of the arts Professor Nettleford also used his talent to spread Caribbean dance and song across the world. He was a true Caribbean scholar whose contribution will be greatly missed by us all. We are saddened by his passing and the void which his absence will create in so many areas of Caribbean life.
Statement of Condolence on the passing of Rex Nettleford
The Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago the Hon. Patrick Manning and the Government and people of Trinidad and Tobago are today mourning the passing of Caribbean academic and cultural luminary (Professor) Ralston Milton "Rex" Nettleford.
Professor Nettleford is widely accepted as one of the most prolific social anthropologists in the region, he is known for his contribution to a groundbreaking study on Rastafarianism with UWI colleagues in 1963. Professor Nettleford made other contributions to the region through the pursuit of a profound understanding of the Caribbean experience in academia and through the founding of the National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica.
His scholarly credentials are underpinned by his having been awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University in 1957, he took over the direction of the UWI school of continuing studies in Jamaica in 1968, he was awarded the Jamaica Order of Merit in 1975 and he went on to become UWI Vice Chancellor in 1996, he held that office until 2004.
The body of his literary accomplishment is vast and potent, he has shared his expertise with his Caribbean colleagues for many years by touring the region and holding court with students and fellow academics alike. (I myself had the pleasure of learning from him when he presented a discourse to persons gathered for the Eric Williams Memorial Lecture series at the Central Bank Auditorium in 2007/2008)
The region has lost one of its gifted sons, as an innovator of the arts Professor Nettleford also used his talent to spread Caribbean dance and song across the world. He was a true Caribbean scholar whose contribution will be greatly missed by us all. We are saddened by his passing and the void which his absence will create in so many areas of Caribbean life.
We the Government and people of Trinidad and Tobago offer our condolences and prayers to family and friends of Professor “Rex” Nettleford and do wish most sincerely that his legacy of hard work, dedication and an enduring Caribbean spirit lives on for many generations to come.
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