Title: The Gene Denham Story
Author: Faith Linton
Reviewed by: Billy Hall
DO NOT judge a book by its cover" is good advice.
But with this book I make an exception. The cover captures beautifully the subject of the book - Gene Denham.
On the cover, Gene appears in a characteristic pose - hair cut about an inch high, with a white patch located asymmetrically in the forefront, eyes wide open in mystic expression, lips parted as she sings, fingers poised in strumming action on her guitar, which is held against her loose-fitting African print dress.
'That's Gene," I said when I first saw the book, and, as I read it, Dr. Faith Linton did not disappoint in capturing Gene's personality in a verbal portrait that deepened the artistry of the cover.
Dr. Linton, widely known across the Caribbean as an educator, public speaker, seminar leader, and writer, portrays Gene in a clear and crisp style, yet not stiff and stuffy, for the book exudes the warmth of her subject.
In approximately 60,000 words and 200 note-size pages, Dr. Linton has pieced together artfully the "paper trail" that made certain information available - Gene's diary, testimony, and board correspondence.
In her meticulous research, Dr. Linton added to that artifactual storehouse the perspectives of numerous persons, including Dr. Kwame Dawes, now Professor of English at the University of South Carolina.
Dr. Dawes grew up in Jamaica, having a Jamaican father and African mother, and was proud of the African heritage of his parents.
In the book, Dr. Dawes writes about Gene's influence in affirming his ethnicity along with his spirituality. He said Gene made him feel proud, "of being black and being a Christian."
He said, "There is no one I have met who has made me feel so clear about who I am as a Christian - warts and all" (p. 158).
On the surface, Gene Denham seems unlikely to be the subject of a biography. In the wider society, she held no high position, was born poor and never became well off, founded no organisation and led no radical movement.
Even in the church, where she was widely-known, as an evangelical minstrel, troubadour, personal evangelist, counsellor and camp organiser, for 22 years, she was not typical of the icons of her era.
But it is this atypical character that Dr. Linton captures and so transforms Gene's short life of 45 years into a compelling tale that should inspire young people of today and tomorrow.
The factor that should in particular draw inspirations in her witness as "a child of her time" (p. 62). Certainly, in this work, the social realities of Jamaica form the backdrop of Dr. Linton artfully weaves into the fabric of this work the cultural challenges an evangelical Christian of inner-city birth faces, when moved out of context into middle class surroundings - but refuses to conform to the typical mores.
The author reveals how much the subject came under "pressure to conform."
That society, Dr. Linton writes, "made much of light brown or pale skin colour, and hair texture that seemed silky, wavy or dead straight". (p. 15)
Clash of values
In such a society, values often clashed. A high point of Gene's social tension was her years at the posh St. Andrew High School.
It was there she first cut her hair low to sabotage the school ruling to wear plaits. From there she did theological studies at the Open Bible Institute, and then at the Jamaica Theological Seminary.
Her actual perspectives were under-girded when she was able to complete a Diploma in Social Work at the University of the West Indies. And her professional preparation for counselling was advanced when she went to the United States and gained a masters in Psychology at Wheaton College.
But intellectual work was not her forte. She was an activist, with a focus on interpersonal relations, as she witnessed for Christ in numerous settings, and in approximately 40 countries.
Schools Christian Fellowship/Scripture Union (SCF/SU) was the organisation that facilitated her ministry, prudently accommodating her inclination to cut her own path rather then be strictly controlled.
Dr. Linton mentions this socially-shadowed relationship when she wrote that the leading members of the SCF/SU board "belonged to the light-skinned, middle class, privileged group of Jamaicans. Gene did not" (p. 136).
Marcus Garvey was her cultural hero; he taught her the importance of black identity for self-discovery and self-identity to the counter widespread, systematic denigration of blacks by whites. Because of reading Garvey's works, Gene became comfortable with her ethnicity.
Nelson Mandela inspired Gene to patriotic love for Africa, home of her ancestors and all of the diaspora. Significantly, it was in South Africa that she died of a heart attack in 1996.
The life and times of Gene Denham are told episodically rather than chronologically, and this is an attractive feature as it allows for more ready assimilation of facts.
Her spiritual conversion at age 16 is the watershed of her life, she never looked back on her dedication to Christ and His cause.
This book, despite recognising Gene's uniqueness and usefulness, is no attempt to beatify. Gene's frailties and foibles as well as misfortunes are recorded, including a reference to early life abuse and decades later, psychological closure.
On the technical side, the book's flaws are few, such as a photo caption that has her still alive two years after her death. The retail price is surprisingly low at $750.
Dr. Dawes closes the book with a poem dedicated to Gene, with these closing lines:
"Gwaan, Gene, an' tell dem seh we soon come,
Yuh hear? Walk good, sing yu song, mark the road,
An' tell dem seh we soon come, soon come." (p. 202)
This book is a flesh-and-blood account of a young role model. It is a work of quality that sets a literary standard and makes a social statement.
Publishers: Students Christian Fellowship & Scripture Union
