Rex Nettleford

Ralston Milton "Rex" Nettleford, OM, FIJ,[1] OCC (3 February 1933 - 2 February 2010),[2] [3] was a Jamaican scholar, past student of Cornwall College, social critic, choreographer, and Vice-Chancellor Emeritus of the University of the West Indies (UWI), the leading research university in the Commonwealth Caribbean.

Biography

Born on 3 February 1933 in Falmouth, Jamaica, Nettleford attended Unity Primary School in Bunkers Hill, Trelawny, and graduated from Cornwall College in Montego Bay, Jamaica, before going to the University of the West Indies (UWI) to obtain an honours degree in history.[4][5] As a child he sang and recited in school concerts, sang in the church choir, danced, and began working as a choreographer at the age of 11 with the Worm Chambers Variety Troupe, which helped to fund his studies.[4] At Cornwall College he acted in productions of the college's drama club, and was published as a poet.[6] He was a recipient of the 1957 Rhodes Scholarship to Oriel College, Oxford, where he received a postgraduate degree in Politics,[7] returning to Jamaica in the early 1960s to take up a position at UWI.[6]

At UWI he first came to attention as a co-author (with M. G. Smith and Roy Augier) of a groundbreaking study of the Rastafari movement in 1961. In 1962, Nettleford and Eddy Thomas co-founded the National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica,[8] an ensemble which under his direction did much to incorporate traditional Jamaican music and dance into a formal balletic repertoire.[6]

For over twenty years, Nettleford has also been the artistic director for the University Singers of the University of the West Indies, Mona campus in Jamaica. The combination of Nettleford as artistic director and Noel Dexter as musical director with the University Singers has seen the creation of what is referred to as "choral theatre".

Beginning with the collection of essays, Mirror, Mirror, published in 1969 and his editing and compiling of the speeches and writings of Norman Manley, Manley and the New Jamaica, in 1971, Nettleford established himself as a serious public historian and social critic. In 1968, he took over direction of the School for Continuing Studies at the UWI and then of the Extra-Mural Department. In 1975, the Jamaican state recognized his cultural and scholarly achievements by awarding him the Order of Merit. He also received the Gold Musgrave Medal (1981) and 13 honorary doctorates, including one in Civil Law from Oxford University.[6] In 1996, he became Vice-Chancellor of the UWI, and held that office until 2004, when he was succeeded by E. Nigel Harris.

Death

On 27 January 2010, Nettleford was admitted to the intensive-care unit of the George Washington University Hospital, Washington, D.C., after suffering a heart attack at his hotel in the city.[9] He was unconscious and in a coma for several days. On Tuesday, 2 February 2010, Nettleford was pronounced dead at around 8:00pm EST.[10]

Nettleford died one day before his 77th birthday. He suffered a serious brain injury while he was in cardiac arrest. He was in Washington for a meeting discussing the current state of racial discrimination going on around the world. The meeting was with the United Nations. Nettleford was expected to meet in New York with his former employer, University of the West Indies, for a fundraising event but was unable to make it due to his sudden death. Nettleford was an important individual to the extramural studies department at University of the West Indies. He was also an advisor to political leaders in the Caribbean. [11]

Legacy

The Rex Nettleford Foundation was established after his death.[12] Nettleford's life was the subject of a trilogy of films by Lennie Little-White, commissioned by the foundation.[13]

Selected bibliography
  • Roots and Rhythms: the Story of the Jamaican National Dance Theatre (1969), London: Deutsch.
  • Mirror, Mirror: Identity, Race and Protest in jamaica (1970), Kingston: Sangster and Collins.
  • African Connexion: Parallels; Historical Continuity; Panafricanism; African in the World, University of the West Indies (1972).
gollark: Yes.
gollark: Threaten to use orbital lasers on countries which do not comply.
gollark: Lithium ion batteries are annoying that way.
gollark: You can spend the money on... planting trees, paying people in other countries to not emit as much CO2, carbon capture (research), sort of thing.
gollark: So if you charge enough to offset that external cost, everyone is happy except the people who are probably paying more.

References
  1. "Death of Professor The Hon. Rex Nettleford, OM, FIJ, OCC", The University of the West Indies at Mona, Jamaica.
  2. "Rex Nettleford: leader in Caribbean culture and education" in Donald Markwell, "Instincts to Lead": On Leadership, Peace, and Education, Connor Court, 2013.
  3. "Jamaican scholar, choreographer dies in US at 76". Yahoo! News. 3 February 2010. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  4. Reckord, Michael (2014) "Rex And The Rhumba Dancers", Jamaica Gleaner, 31 January 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2014
  5. "Professor Rex Nettleford is dead", Go-Jamaica, 2 February 2010.
  6. Reckord, Michael (2014) "Dance, Theatre Constant For Rex", Jamaica Gleaner, 7 February 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  7. See "Rex Nettleford: leader in Caribbean culture and education" in Donald Markwell, "Instincts to Lead": On Leadership, Peace, and Education, Connor Court, 2013.
  8. "Eddy Thomas, NDTC co-founder, dead". Jamaica Observer. 2014-04-12. Retrieved 2014-05-05.
  9. "Nettleford 'soars like an eagle', says former UWI head" Archived 2011-06-04 at the Wayback Machine, from Jamaica Observer dated 3 February 2010
  10. Howard Campbell, "Icon lost - Golding, Simpson Miller mourn Nettleford", Jamaica Gleaner, 3 February 2010.
  11. Kenner, Rob, "Rex Nettleford, Jamaican Scholar and Educator, Dies at 76", The New York Times, 17 February 2010.
  12. Rickards, Colin, "Recognising Rex Nettleford's legacy", Jamaica Observer, 9 April 2011.
  13. "Film Trilogy Celebrates Rex Nettleford", Jamaica Gleaner, 22 September 2013. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
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