Janet Silvera, Senior Gleaner Writer

Historian and social activist Professor Rex Nettleford stands next to a life-size photo image of the late Louise Bennett-Coverley after its unveiling at Outameni Experience's Heroes Walk ceremony in Trelawny yesterday. - Photo by Janet Silvera

WESTERN BUREAU:

Jamaica's Olympic stars were yesterday urged to continue to inspire citizens to achieve new feats at the unveiling of a tribute to past and present Jamaican icons.

Among the persons honoured in the Heroes Walk initiative at Outameni Experience in Trelawny were Jamaica's first lady of the arts, the late Louise Bennett-Coverley, Olympians Veronica Campbell-Brown and Usain Bolt and a composite tagged 'Ras Bob'.

Life-size figures of the three Jamaicans and a Rasta reggae composite drawn from Outameni's logo were among the first heroes to be unveiled in a garden setting. The Rastafarian depicts the Jamaican cultural symbol representing the virtues of reggae music.

"He's a little piece of Bob Marley and Bob Andy and Peter Tosh, and Dennis Brown, Burning Spear, Garnett Silk, Culture and Freddie McGregor ... U-Roy and Bunny Wailer," said historian and social activist Professor Rex Nettleford, keynote speaker at the event.

Discrimination

Suggesting that those Jamaicans helped diversify the nation's culture, Nettleford lauded them for their contribution in decreasing racial denigration and discrimination, particularly in modern Africa.

He said Jamaicans were too unsophisticated to be racist, and not foolish enough not to be race conscious.

"That is the delicate balancing of sensibility that Jamaica offers the world," he added.

A son of Trelawny, Nettleford spoke proudly of folklorist Bennett-Coverley, better known as Miss Lou.

"She was a great Jamaican who used her imagination to create a language that is respected all over the world.

"She had a most generous spirit, sharing much of all she had," he reminisced about the storytelling maestro, who was born in Spanish Town, St Catherine.

Nettleford also paid tribute to the athletics achievements of Veronica Campbell-Brown and Usain Bolt, fellow Trelawny natives, and urged them to leave a lasting legacy beyond Olympic glory.

"Every athlete, every workman is as good as his or her last job, beyond that you have to continue to make an impact on the lives of others, which is what they have both done, especially to the youths in the parish of Trelawny," said Nettleford.

Bolt won three gold medals in record-breaking times at the Beijing Games in August. Campbell-Brown retained her 200m title.

Ecstatic

Film-maker Lennie Little-White, executive chairman of Outameni Experience, was ecstatic.

"We felt it was important to open Heroes Walk at this time, and what better way than to celebrate a son and daughter," said Little-White.

He said the attraction was geared at pulling in overseas visitors to learn more about Jamaican culture, but the facility had received more support from locals, particularly schools.

janet.silvera@gleanerjm.com