rootsandculture

Clairmont Chung What’s in a Name? C.L.R. James  The unwarranted comparisons between Chris Gayle and ‘Dudus’ Coke, Worrell and Sammy, betray where Beckles’ loyalties lie and his analysis of West Indies cricket begins. The problem is compounded by where he situates himself and who he represents. The tenuous foundation on which he builds dooms the structure. In placing Sammy as captain, he seeks to do for Sammy what CLR.James did for Worrell. From there he made the comparison. James because of his writings and political analysis is credited with the ascension of Worrell to the captaincy of WI. Of course, Worrell was eminently qualified. After the success, James in a plea to rest Worrell asked, “After Frank Worrell, what?” Beckles in his recent plea to retain Sammy, asked, “After Sammy, then what? Then who?”  There is no mistake here. Beckles fancies himself in the same shoes as James: a kingmaker. Beckles places himself in the same historical place as CLR James. But the more he

clairmont chung WHO IS THE MAN? Bill Gates is a walking talking Bill Gates commercial. It matters not that he retired from Microsoft. The Bill Gates image is still very serious business. Arguably his most famous quote is “Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.” He dresses the part: very casual with the preppy uniform of khakis and blue. His preppiness and nerdiness follow from his prep school background. But not too many nerds dropout of college as did Gates. In fact, College is the place to find nerds. That’s where nerds get their revenge. Gates constructed the Microsoft company environment like a college campus. It’s part of the myth of that gentle coed, carefree, nurturing, professorial, and now the giving, philanthropist, Bill Gates. It’s all very disarming. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) leads the push to bring nutrition and health to Africa. But this move requires some scrutiny and a determination as to whether this is another i

Edited by Clairmont Chung    PUBLISHED By Monthly Review Press        Forthcoming October 2012                                The life of the great Guyanese scholar and revolutionary Walter Rodney burned with a rare intensity. The son of working class parents, Rodney showed great academic promise and was awarded scholarships to the University of the West Indies in Jamaica and the School of African and Oriental Studies in London. He received his PhD from the latter at the age of twenty-four, and his thesis was published as  A History of the Upper Guinea Coast , now a classic of African history. His most famous work,  How Europe Underdeveloped Africa , is a mainstay of radical literature and anticipated the influential world systems theory of Immanuel Wallerstein. Not content merely to study the world, Rodney turned to revolutionary politics in Jamaica, Tanzania, and in Guyana. In his homeland, he helped form the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) and was a consistent voice for th

I n my most recent piece on this hateful game, [i] surrounding cricket, I addressed a speech made by the Principal of the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, and West Indies Cricket Board, Director, Sir Hilary Beckles. In that speech he compared Former Captain Chris Gayle to convicted Jamaican gangster Chris ‘Dudus’ Coke. He made a number of unsupported conclusions and maligned a number of current players. I hoped my response then would have put the issue to rest for us both. This was a serious miscalculation, if not an overgrown ego, on my part. Nevertheless, Beckles did rest for a while. But he re-entered with his most damning conclusion ever. He proclaimed in an article entitled, Cricket, Cash and Country [ii] that Darren Sammy “..is the Worrell-like figure, leading a youthful West Indies team through the political debris that blinds us all.” This is as bad as the Dudus comparison. In a racist society people of African descent have had to perform over and above the call