Hartley NeitaFor most of the last century, Time magazine has selected what was in the beginning, the 'Man of the Year'. The selection took place during December of each year and the man chosen became the cover story featuring his life and his achievements.
In the beginning the thought of a 'Woman of the Year' was tantamount to sacrilege. But as the century progressed, women like Queen Elizabeth II, Indira Gandhi, Eleanor Roosevelt, Eva Peron and even Marilyn Munroe began to make their presence felt internationally, even if they did not make the cover of the magazine. The person chosen therefore became the 'Person of the Year'.
Here in Jamaica during the 1960s, Ulric Simmonds, who was the political and parliamentary reporter on the staff of The Gleaner, introduced Jamaica's 'Political Man of the Year'. He was selected for his impact on the political life of the country whether for good or for bad.
In keeping with the times, they were all naturally men. Among his choices were Edward Seaga and Hugh Shearer. His choices were not without criticism, and one year when he had a problem where public perception was concerned, his choice was 'The Black Man', a reflection of the black power movement at the time. Incidentally, both Norman Manley and Alexander Bustamante were never chosen by Simmonds as they were too dominant and would have been the only automatic, alternative choices each year.
Another journalist, Evon Blake, also selected a 'Man of the Year' for the cover story of his magazine, Spotlight, during the 1950s and 1960s. They were mainly businessmen. Never a woman. Interestingly, one year he selected himself!
Political Woman of the Year
Now, had women been considered by Simmonds as the Political Woman of the Year, if he had been making this choice in their times, those who would have qualified would have included Mary Morris-Knibb, Iris Collins and Iris King. The first was the first woman Councillor ever elected to the KSAC, the second was the first woman who was elected to our Parliament and the third was the first female mayor in Jamaica, when there was only one mayor. In Kingston. So, too would Evon Blake's choices among women such as family planning advocate Beth Jacobs, poet Una Marson and sociologist Edith Clarke.
Since then, there have been 'Sportsmen of the Year'. Edward Seaga was chosen as this by Alva Ramsay in his magazine, The West Indian Sportsman. 'Man of the Year' and The Gleaner's 'Honoree of the Year' have also been named in recent years. So far, I cannot recall a 'Woman of the Year'. There was also the international song of the century, awarded to One Love by Bob Marley.
When one reflects on the many men and women
who have
been major influences on the political, economic and cultural life of our country, and the world, the list is long. They could have been any year's person. There have been T.P. Lecky who produced the Jamaica Hope cattle; Joy Foster, a world table tennis champion at the age of seven; our boxers; the Bob Sled team; the Reggae Boyz; the Sunshine Girls; Avis Henriques, the first woman to be President of the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce and the Private Sector Association of Jamaica; our three Miss Worlds Carol Joan Crawford, Cindy Breakspeare and Lisa Panton; Perry Henzell who made the first full-length Jamaican movie, starring Jimmy Cliff over 30 years ago; our international models; Spelling Bee champion Jody-Ann Maxwell: Olive Senior whose seminal Encyclopedia of Jamaican Heritage is a storehouse of knowledge and information and should be a gift to every child entering his or her teenage; and Gloria Knight who was president of what was then the largest and oldest financial institution in Jamaica.
contribution to
national morale
As we celebrate the Christmas season, this is a good time to reflect on their successes and the contribution each, singly or as a team, has made and is making to the national morale. I do not 0 I see or hear references to them being made, a lump of pride chokes me. I am glad I have grown in a time when I have been able, as a Jamaican, to share their glory.
I have felt important when, in a distant land, I have been asked if I knew or know Iris King, T.P. Lecky, Lisa Panton, Joy Foster, Cecil Baugh, Rex Nettleford, Reggie Carter, John Issa, Byron Lee, Sonny Bradshaw, Trevor Rhone, Basil Dawkins, Leonie Forbes, Gloria Knight, Olive Senior or George Headley. Those of us who waste time denigrating our people and our institutions are passing fancies. They do not create; they only try to destroy. They spin endlessly in their self-created whirlpools, going around and around and never reaching anywhere.
I do not waste my time feeling sorry for them.
