“Four hundred years of White supremacy, Black people, it is time now to claim your own destiny. Let’s rise, let’s unite as one…” – AJA, 1993
These are the prophetic words of Bajan poet, AJA, who penned and released his rhythm poetry piece Blak Distance Voice long before the killing of George Floyd which is now at the centre of protests and uprisings across the world.
While the song was re-released recently on May 25, just days before Floyd’s brutal murder, the piece was originally released in 1993. AJA told Bajan Vibes he felt the need to redo the song at this time.
“The interesting thing is we had the COVID-19 pandemic and what I realised is that it slowed everything down. As a result, it allowed us to see more clearly the racism against Black people across the world. It seemed to become more evident and more visible. It wasn’t anything new as the racism was always there, but now it was exposed. It was like COVID-19 removed the veil.”
He continued: “I also saw a rising Black awareness and Black consciousness coming from people. I even started seeing posts on Facebook about African spirituality that I never saw before. Some African leaders started to shift their position toward the world economic order, national trade, geo-economics and international trade. They finally realised that these rich countries were exploiting them.
“I was now seeing a move to Black unity, and I said let me make my contribution to that. So I went back to Blak Distance Voice, which first came out on my second album in 1993. I said what I was aware of then is relevant now. Clearly, people were not understanding the poem then,” he explained.
AJA said the poem was first penned after a visit to the Martin Luther King Memorial in 1992.
“The song was inspired when I visited the Martin Luther King Memorial in Atlanta. Just being there took me on a cultural high. I was energised and inspired. But while walking down the avenue from the Memorial, I passed through a Black community which was run-down, a real ghetto. I said to myself, it seems Martin Luther King died in vain. He died for the upliftment of Black people, but yet 200 yards from the Memorial were the doldrums of Black existence.”
The writer, entertainer and producer would have performed the song at numerous places, including at three Bussa concerts, before his arranger and band leader, Lowrey Leon, came up with the re-arranged and produced product.
“What Lowrey did was to amend the original arrangements, which was done by Dr Michael Springer. I also amended some of the lyrics to make it more relevant to today. For example, I changed Black ‘man’ to Black ‘people’ and other minor changes. I always had a vision for the video… but with COVID, that wasn’t possible. I wanted a large group of dancers. I should also say that if the piece was released after Floyd’s murder, I would have used clips from the aftermath of his death with respect to what is currently taking place around the world.”
AJA, who is known for other releases such as Poor People Dead, Unchained, Light A Candle, How Great Thou Art and De Bussa Apology said the response to the song was overwhelming.
“It is on three Facebook pages, including Barbados TODAY’s Facebook and Instagram pages. So far, the video has over 12, 000 views from all over the world. That has nothing to do with YouTube, WhatsApp or Instagram. People are sending me feedback from all over: Canada, Korea, London, United States, throughout the Caribbean and Africa. So it is really getting some attention. I have not received this kind of response for my previous videos. No other releases have had a reaction like this and I believe it is because of the timing.”
The artiste lamented that he would not normally benefit from radio airplay, although the island’s lone national television station has been more supportive.
“I have never received that kind of airplay for my pieces on radio. They go with what is popular, not the message. I would credit CBC TV for giving me that national presence with Poor People Dead, Light A Candle for The Children. There are other poets fighting as well to get exposure for their conscious and uplifting works in Barbados such as Winston Farrell and Adrian Green. These guys are powerful.”
AJA performed live with a band for the first time on September 2, 1990 and released his first video, Poor People Dead, in 1993. The veteran of 30 years’ experience in the art form said: “I use poetry to inform and to highlight the negative things that happen in the world. All my works have been used to expose such social and economic atrocities and injustices. My work also refers to the continual struggle of African peoples around the world. As a descendant of enslaved Africans in Barbados, this has been central to who I am as a person and poet.”
While this period would have been extra busy for AJA, who is always heavily involved in the production of both the Barbados Reggae Festival and Crop Over Festival, the COVID-19 restrictions are allowing him to pause a bit and therefore respond to the current social and cultural issues. The current global anti-racism protests come as no surprise to him, especially at a time like this.
“George Floyd’s death was a murder and unfortunate, but no one really knows the secrets of the universe. As a result, at times it uses unfortunate situations to create a better dynamic. It will use people alive or even their situation at death to achieve certain objectives. It may sound contradictory, but if he was not murdered, we wouldn’t be talking today. We certainly would not be witnessing today this anti-racism spirit that has taken over the world. One day an anti-Black energy was inflicting pain on Black people across the globe; then the next day everything just flipped, people are marching on every continent on behalf of Black people. Floyd’s murder combined with the COVID pandemic to create the perfect storm.”
Of the protest, he said: “The fundamental message is that Black people have to do it for themselves. Who want to help come and help but we have to direct this thing. What is taking place right now is significant. We haven’t experienced anything like this for 400 years. Blacks are in a position to create a shift in the United States, which is the bastion of White supremacy. I am glad that people of all colour are marching but Black people have to lead it and determine where they are going to lead it to.”
As it relates to Black empowerment in Barbados, AJA believes the country still has work to do in addressing the issue.
“Barbados was home to the first transatlantic slave society. But up until Hilary Beckles appeared on the scene in 1983, we didn’t know anything about Black rebellions in Barbados. They gave us the impression that Barbados was a docile society and had no level of resistance.
“But Barbados was the most brutal slave society in the world. This is where White Supremacy was hatched and then exported. It is from Barbados that the physical, mental and cultural domination of Africans was perfected and then unleashed on all British colonies through the Caribbean and the United States.
“However, growing up I was not aware of this reality, this dynamic, which was part of my history. Such information became hidden by the information and educational landscape. Barbados became a place where, for such information, it was a place of ‘hush hush’, ‘don’t rock the boat’, ‘don’t stir up the ants nest’, ‘don’t bring up them things’, ‘dah was de past, cos we free now’. But that has to change.”
AJA is adamant that in order to create a new national consciousness and shift the current mindset which dominates Barbadian culture, reform of the educational system is key.
“The root of changing the consciousness of Barbados has to be grounded in the educational system. You have to teach the young people, from primary school, the history of Barbados and where we came from. They have grandparents, who have their own grandparents, and this ancestral trail takes you to Africa.”
He continued: “We are a continuation of our ancestral heritage, mentally and physically. You can’t have a generation of ten-year-olds today who don’t know where it started. If you don’t know where you came from, you can’t chart a course to where you must go. The majority of young people do not know the history of Barbados. They don’t know who they are.
“We can’t just teach them arithmetic for an 11-plus exam. It has to be more than that. The CXC [Caribbean Examination Council] curriculum at secondary level should be teaching George Lamming’s In the Castle of My Skin, Hilary Beckles’ The First Black Slave Society and similar works by our great Caribbean writers and scholars. That is fundamental. We are an independent country but dearly held on to the old British educational system…” the poet said. (IMC)
