Caribbean L 62 ife, Oct. 11-17, 2019 BQ
“Kid Activists” by Robin Stevenson,
illustrated by Allison
Steinfeld, every good changemaker
had to start somewhere.
What do you do when you
see something that you think
is wrong or unfair? Many kids
whine and do nothing else but
if you’re the kind of person who
takes the issue to an adult and
tries to change things, you’re
in good company: for much of
history, everyday people have
stood up for what they think
is right.
Before that happened,
though, every one of those people
was a kid.
Take Dolores Fernandez, for
instance.
Little Dolores was born in a
tiny town in New Mexico, the
granddaughter of immigrants.
When she was a kid, her parents
split but she kept in close
touch with her father, who was a
labor organizer and a politician.
As a teenager, she noticed discrimination
in her high school
and she started paying attention
to the world outside of school.
These, and other injustices,
spurred her to become an activist
as an adult.
No doubt, you’ve heard about
Rosa Parks and her refusal to
move to a different seat on a bus
back in 1955. Of course, Mrs.
Parks was a child once, growing
up right in the middle of
racism and discrimination and
she naturally didn’t understand
it. But that was the way things
were, until she got involved with
the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP) and she learned that
with just one small, quiet action,
change would come.
Helen Keller learned to communicate
as a child and later
inspired others with her social
justice efforts. Six-year-old Ruby
Bridges was instrumental in
integrating schools in Louisiana.
And Autumn Peltier still works
to ensure that the world’s water
is safe to drink and use.
On the national stage, protests
are nothing new. Your child
has likely grown up with them
on the nightly news, and has
perhaps participated in a march
or rally herself. In “Kid Activists,”
author Robin Stevenson shows
children that small starts like
theirs can make big change.
“Regardless to her teeth and
maybe her skin problems, Delcita
is not a shy person,” it says.
“She is a dynaand superb entertainer.
She is positive, articulate,
ostentatious and loquacious
in the likes of Good Times
sitcom star J.J. Evans.”
A talented actress, Everybody’s
says Delcita has appeared
in numerous Jamaican plays,
including “Shebada.”
“A play with ‘Shebada’ and
Delcita is always a must-see,” it
says, adding that theatrical productions
Delcita has been associated
with are “Granny Rule 1,”
“Granny Rule 2,” “Missa Dweet
Nice,” “Delcita and Stamma,”
“Di Driva,” “Money Worries,”
“Extortionists,” “The Plumber,”
“Ova Mi dead Body,” “The Politicians,”
“Court House Drama,”
“University of Delcita,” “Miss
Elsayda,” “Border Patrol 1,”
“Border Patrol 2” and “Granny
Del.”
“For non-Jamaicans, who
have never seen or heard about
Delcita, when they see her portrait
- her rotten teeth, weird
makeup and hillbilly dress code
– lead them to believe she has
no class, and the use of her
photo is in bad taste and a turn
off,” the magazine continued.
“The truth is, there is no such
person in real life named Delcita
Coldwater.”
Everybody’s says Delcita is
a character created by Paul O.
Beale, a prolific playwright and
filmmaker, and perfected by
Andrea Wright playing the role
of Delcita.
In real life, the magazine
says Wright is a guidance counselor
at the Ministry of Education
and holder of a Bachelor
of Science degree in Guidance
& Counselling from Northern
Caribbean.
During the summer of 2016,
it says Wright was one of the
guidance counselors commissioned
by the Ministry of Education
to deliver psychosocial
training to high school teachers
across Jamaica.
A former school teacher, Everybody’s
says Wright is also a
computer technician, the first
Jamaican woman to be an A+
certified computer technician,
a market/social researcher,
salesperson and entrepreneur.
In 1989, Wright made her
theatrical debut as Miss Agnis,
an old woman in the play “Mus-
Mus Tail,” Everybody’s says.
For a long while, it says
Wright also played the role
of Pumpkin in Granny Rule,
another character that became
a popular fixture in Jamaican
theatre.
The character, Delcita, was
born in 1996 when Wright
appeared in the play “Mr. Dweet
Nice,” Everybody’s says.
It says Wright played Jewel
in “Safe Travel,” Jamaica’s first
AIDS awareness documentary,
written by renowned Jamaican
dramatist, playwright, actor
and director Trevor Rhone.
Everybody’s says the Delcita
character was relaunched in
2008 in “Di Driva.”
“Since the rebirth of Delcita,
Jamaican theater has not been
the same,” the magazine says.
“Theatergoers continuously
flock to see her in action.”
Continued from Page 61
Continued from Page 61
call to emigrate between 1948
and 1971 to that colonial home
country and assist in rebuilding
it from devastation suffered from
the so-called World War II.
Experiences of the Windrush
Generation and their descendants
ranged with the disappointment
on arrival in the UK to find
themselves unwelcome mainly
for racial reasons, then to later
discover that despite their, contribution
to national development,
the right to citizenship
that they thought was automatic
was being denied — an issue,
including deportation, that an
untold number of these Caribbean
continue to deal with up
to this day.
For this reason, the exhibition
can be described as a moving
living display of Caribbean
life involvement in the UK.
BMHS Education and Community
Outreach Officer, Kaye
Hall said “this exhibit was conceptualised
as an exploration of
a missing part of our history. We
covered things like slavery quite
well, not so much migration to
Britain and history outside Barbados
as it affects Barbadians.”
She added that Naipaul’s
book title, which some suspect
was an autobiography, was borrowed
because he, “was one of
the most conflicted people with
regards to the migratory experience,
a Caribbean person and
who identifies as a British person
as well, which he. encapsulates
not just in his writing but
his personal life, that internal
conflict between feeling a part
of the British Empire and then
arriving in Britain and discovering
that the English people do
not consider you to be part of
the British empire as you considered
yourself to be.”
The display began in June and
runs until Nov. 30.
Among those featured is a
person who as a youngster represented
three different English
clubs playing on Wednesdays,
Saturdays and Sundays, then he
played in the Lancashire League,
for 19 years.
Continued from Page 61
Delcita (center) with the cast of “The Honeymoon.” Husband Patchie
A living
breathing
exhibition
Kids inspire others
DELCITA’S LOVE SAGA
Kaye Hall (L) and Natalie Batson stand beneath billboards
that address the Caribbean immigrant’s dilemma in the
United Kingdom. Photo by George Alleyne