THE EDITOR, Sir:

THERE IS an old adage that says, "A people without a knowledge of their history is like a tree without its roots". In fact, this is a quote from our first national hero, Marcus Mosiah Garvey, and he could not be more correct. Ostensibly, National Heroes Day in the month of October is a time that has been set aside to reflect on and celebrate our national heroes here in Jamaica - a time to revel in our rich and unique culture and its impact on the wider world, according to Paul Espeut who wrote an eloquent piece on National Heroes Week in his recent column.

He went on to argue that, if nothing else, as a people we need such moments, as these days there is little to distinguish us in an admittedly globalised, monochromed world that is characterised by blue Jeans, iPods and BlackBerrys.

One-day recognition inadequate

In an ever-growing materialistic world, where 'bling culture' has become the aspiration of the masses, I would argue that now, more than ever, it is vital that Jamaicans get in touch with their history and their culture, in order not to lose themselves completely. As such, we need to ask if one week, (which, on many occasions, boils down to just one day) is really adequate for a deep and comprehensive exploration of our past and our heritage? I would argue that it is clearly inadequate and, as such, we should designate the entire month of October as National Heritage Month.

In truth, the ideal situation would be to designate the entire year for exploring our past and our heritage, but a month would be a start.

We need to ask ourselves how much about our national heroes is actively taught in our schools? How much depth, detail and scope is devoted to our national heroes in our school curriculum? Very little, I would argue.

Even at the tertiary level, students are not necessarily exposed to detailed information about any of our national heroes, (especially Paul Bogle, Sam Sharpe, Nanny and Marcus Garvey), unless they enrol in specialist courses. To compound the situation, the availability of these specialist courses in Jamaica, in truth, is still somewhat limited.

If, for instance, we consider Jamaica's first National Hero, Marcus Garvey, to date, he is still not widely taught in Jamaica. A handful of lecturers teach Garvey at the University of the West Indies (UWI) and, just recently, he is being taught at Hydel University (Ferry, St Catherine) by Stephen Golding (Prime Minister Golding's son).

Additionally, February, which was once exclusively Black History Month in Jamaica, now has to share the month with reggae. Reggae is an element of Jamaica's cultural heritage that we should be very proud of but why couldn't a different month be designated to celebrate it?

Members of the UWI National Heritage Month Committee believe officially designating October as National Heritage Month, will compensate for this dilemma.

I am, etc.,

Dr Michael Barnett

University of the West Indies