In my time I have had the opportunity to attend a number of graduation ceremonies and listen to some interesting commencement addresses. Only two of those addresses had the kind of impact that made me remember the speakers and their themes. One was delivered by Sir Arthur Lewis at my own graduation from the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill in 1971. The other was by Oprah Winfrey at the graduation of one of my sons from Morehouse College in Atlanta in 1999.
Another such address was delivered by Inez Archibald at the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College graduation ceremony two weeks ago. It was magnificent in its simplicity and depth, and it was crafted in such a way that it could be understood on three different levels.
‘Literal level’
On the literal level, she told a story which could easily be titled “Values My Father Taught Me.” Gifted storyteller that she is, Ms. Archibald was able to narrate and dramatise the real-life story of a loving father moulding the character of a young girl growing up in the Virgin Islands of 70 years ago. That was a place where the effort to survive created the Virgin Islands character. It was a place that exists now only in the memory of early immigrants, Ms. Archibald’s generation, and the few remaining members of her father’s generation — the giants on whose shoulders the VI stands today.
‘Inferential level’
Understood on the inferential level, the story could clearly be titled “The Virgin Islands Story, Part Two,” because it mediates a profound understanding of the forces that created the character of the Virgin Islander.
The experience of Ms. Archibald is essentially the experience of every Virgin Islander who is a product of struggle, perseverance, discipline, hard work, self-sacrifice, humility, faith and triumph of the human spirit. You had to live it in order to appreciate it, and Ms. Archibald’s dramatisation of the story made it live for those who did not experience it firsthand.
Then there was the level on which listeners could interpret the story, in the context of their own knowledge, experience or imagination. Being a student of literature myself, I realise that on this level it is possible to add two and two and come up with five and even six. In other words, our interpretation, being coloured by our own experiences, could lead to conclusions that may or may not be intended by the storyteller. Let me be the first to confess that I am guilty as charged.
Asking questions
Be that as it may, any listener who chose to understand the story on the level of interpretation could not help but ask a number of questions. What does this story mean to me in the context of life in a place which (in terms of not only the physical but also the social and psychological infrastructure) is unbelievably different from what it was 70 years ago? How did we get to where we are today? How did we lose sight of the values our forefathers taught us? Is there anything left to salvage?
I dare to suggest that there is always hope. The hurricanes of 2017 have given us an opportunity to start over, but where do we begin?
I dare to suggest that stories such as the one told by Ms. Archibald should find their way into every classroom and every household. I believe that they may inspire in the young the same respect and admiration that I felt for the father and the people of his generation as I listened to the story. There may still be something left to rise from the ashes.