My work is simple, my life is simple. I draw from what I know and what I see. I have always felt it is much safer to work with nature than against it, to remain in harmony with life. As a child, I would collect war newspapers and go off bottle digging. I am sure that people perceived me as an anorak. Yeah ... I am proud of being seen as an anorak because I once had a traditional blue one and loved it.
Being of Jamaican parentage, I am aware of how my culture has been viewed in society, of how black achievements have been air brushed out of the history books. I have been fortunate to witness people of all nationalities embrace the umbrella of multiculturalism long before the word became the new landmark on life's monopoly board.
I started seeking out black theatre and film memorabilia because I got fed up with going to bookshops and specialist fairs to be told that they did not have 'anything like that'. I soon discovered I had a passion for unearthing the windows of the past and as my collection grew I felt the need to expose people to the great artists, producers, photographers and writers from yesteryear who not only shaped the past but opened doors for the future - for legacy can only be measured by what survives. There is a great thirst growing in the black arts and history sector. This became my plight, where my journey began. I formed Positive Steps - reworking the past to create the future - a future where respect, fairer options and accessibility are paramount.
An opportunity presented itself - to fulfil a long held dream - to visit the Schomburg Centre for Research in Black Culture in New York to explore their rich collection and look at new ways of cataloguing and collating archive material. Schomburg, where the excitement of Harlem is captured under one roof - dance, music, costumes, photographs, letters all bounded by the rhythm and melody of yesteryear. Names jump out of every paving stone - Florence Mills, Duke Ellington, Josephine Baker, Cab Calloway, W E Du Bois, Langston Hughes - artists who refused to be crushed, who gave Harlem its vogue, their spirit still ever-present, still the heartbeat of Harlem.
The trip was a life-enhancing experience amplified by the 75th anniversary celebrations at the Centre which featured an exhibition - Africana Age, African and African Diasporan Transformations in the 20th Century - comprising 350 images drawn from the research collections which captured the social, political and cultural struggles of the black world during the 20th Century.
Arthur A Schomburg possessed an innate desire to 'awaken the sensibilities, to rekindle the dormant fibres in the soul, to fire ... radical patriotism by the study of Negro books? ' (1) Whilst pleading the case for a chair of Negro History at Cheyenne Institute in 1913 he implored 'we need a collection of books written by our men and our women ... We need in the coming dawn the man who will give us the background for our future, it matters not whether he comes from the cloisters of the university or from the rank and file of the fields.' (2)
Schomburg's vision is still as pertinent today - it propels the forces of creative energy worldwide, serves as a rock for all who are interested in black history and glistens in the hearts and minds of not only the Harlem residents but historians, archivists, publishers, author's, filmmakers, actors, dancers and directors of the 21st Century. Dr Maya Angelou says: 'Knowing our legacy, undistorted by others and documented by those who lived it, aligns you and me and our children in the continuing struggle to fully claim our dignity in all areas of life.' (3)
More than five million items including manuscripts, books, photographs, and a rich collection of periodical posters, art objects, films, videotapes, audio recordings, memorabilia and artefacts illuminate people's lives and learning. The Schomburg Centre forms part of the New York Public Library and is situated on 515 Malcolm X Boulevard. It is described as the 'heartbeat of Harlem' perpetrating every segment of the community with in excess of 80 public programmes for community leaders, schoolchildren, senior citizens, scholars and artists. Its engagement with the community is likened to a live magazine (4) - people meet to connect as a living history, fuelling reflection, discussion and celebration.
I still close my eyes and smile at how fortunate I have been, my vision and spirit have finally found recognition and acknowledgement -yet in some way it is upsetting that I had to go to the other side of the world to be accepted and to define my future role. I have been given a new sense of what is important, the archive of the now. For my work need no longer be just about protective sheets or temperature controlled rooms but will attempt to shed light on the glittering, priceless chapters of history through the creation of living archives, through the people to the people, so they never lose touch. A living font whose ripple effects can be seen on the streets of Harlem, London and Kingston. It is to these people we need to return, to acknowledge the relevance to them and to you. You can only make changes if people give you time and listen to you, make different statements and live by them, take yourself off the back foot and step onto the front foot. 'It's over whelming to have the Schomburg in Harlem as a presence, it's our history [that] we can see all over the walls ...' (5) It's the International depository for black history, the largest in the world (6). I was born here in Harlem hospital, the black capital of the world.` Yeah I go in and speak to the librarian and get advice on books to read.? (7)
I am an activist archivist. I believe my findings will one-day illuminate a time line transmitting the past, present and future, clarifying the black presence in Britain and allow these great chapters in British history to take their rightful place as a doorway to education. But let us remember the light can only shine if you have the energy to do it. For me there are far too many talented dance people, silent witnesses to dance's history, Evrol Puckerin, Ray Mc Clean, Noel Wallace, Pam Johnson, Joan Lloyd Evans, Pat Salzedo, Jackie Guy, Darren Panton, Smart Thomas, Brenda Edwards, Jimmy Williams and Sheron Wray, the list is endless, lets start valuing and respecting the talent here in England.
I feel the need to acknowledge the pioneers within the African and Caribbean dance community, to highlight the supporters, and makers of black dance history, who have made the transition to greatness. Those artists and choreographers who have made the path easier for us all, and who still manage to support themselves, and live with the great sense of enthusiasm, even though they never got the opportunity to take their rightful places on the great stages of London.
Les Ballets Negres, for example, was Europe's first black dance company founded in London by artistic director, Berto Pasuka. Les Ballets Negres opened at the 20th Century Theatre in April 1946 and comprised of dancers from Ghana, Nigeria, Trinidad, Glasgow, Liverpool, Cardiff and Jamaica. I was introduced to the company by Richie Riley one of the founder members - a man full of humour, integrity, knowledge and wisdom. In the words of Brenda Edwards it was 'like we found the needle to the thread'.(8) Following the company's debut in London it toured the Howard and Wyndham circuit prior to returning for a successful season in the West End. It was also one of the first classical ballet companies to tour Europe following the savages of war. Pasuka had felt that he no longer needed to emulate the stylised and 'artificial pointe work' used by the Russian Ballet preferring to draw on a reservoir of hundreds of years of African and Caribbean history. Eric John, ballet critic for The Stage and Theatre World magazine said of Pasuka: 'he is the most colourful dance personality since Isadora Duncan'.(9)
The Schomburg Centre was full of great black achievements. It honours a new era of freedom and enabled me to look at ways of rejuvenating my approach to my work. It also highlighted the feeling I sometimes have in England, of being caught up in the chains of someone else's dance legacy. Harlem allowed me to walk in the footprints of my ancestors and gave me a sense of being free. The people have kept the arts alive and have dared to see things differently The margins have always fed the mainstream, and now I feel it is time for the plethora of unsung artists to break the rules and reinvent themselves. We need to take a page out of Schomburg's life's works: 'Back in the day we used to have Negro week it was so dehumanising, we wanted to go back and study white people's history, when we were back at school they used to teach us about Tarzan, the Schomburg was the only reference to enlightenment.(10)
There is a whole notion about not reinventing the wheel. However, it is important to acknowledge and understand the mistakes of the past, because we need constant movement, growth and development that embraces the dynamics in the various constituencies. My Jamaican culture is telling me that I need to remain in the cycle of my forefathers who honoured and supported each other, as in the circle we are all equal. Being born in a vertical structure in England, means that we are in a constant fight to keep a place for the past in the circle of the future, as the structure is based on a hierarchy. At times as an independent artist, I find I am measured by the same yardstick as that of major companies. That is why I try to engage, in constructive dialogue. My work is both intercultural and intergenerational with the aim to salute our heroes and heroines in order to make black dance history more visible and to open up doors for future generations.
Exhibition works
- The Jamaican High Commission - History of Jamaican Theatre and Les Ballets Negres, 1996
- The Blackie Museum Liverpool - Les Ballets Negres, 1997
- The Royal Festival Hall Blitz Festival - Tribute to Les Ballets Negres, 1999
- The Theatre Museum Covent Garden - Market Day, 2000
References
1.2. Schomburg, A. A. Extracts from the 60th Anniversary tribute of the Schomburg Centre, New York, 1986
3. Angelou, Dr M. Extract from the 75th Anniversary Flyer of the Schomburg Centre, New York, 2001
4. Lawson, T., Interview with staff member in art and artefacts, the Schomburg Centre, New York, 2001
5. Cuevas-Martinez, T., Interview with film director, the Schomburg Centre, New York, 2001
6. 10. Briggs, R. Interview with original Panther, the Schomburg Centre, New York, 2001
7. Mr Smalls, Interview on a bench outside the Schomburg Centre, New York, 2001
8. Edward, B., Les Ballet Negres, Theatre Museum, Covent Garden, London, 2000
9. John, E., The Stage and Theatre World Magazine, London, 1946
Leon's research trip was supported by the Society for Theatre Research, The Lisa Ullmann Travel Scholarship Fund and the Arts Council of England.