Tribute
to Pearl Connor-Mogotsi
Pearl came from Trinidad in 1948 to study Law during
the era of the Windrush and made a tremendous contribution
to the arts and racial justice.
Pearl is respected for her pioneering
trailblazing work as a campaigner and activist for encouraging
the recognition
and promotion of African Caribbean arts. In 1956 she
and her actor husband the late Edric Connor (set up
the Edric Connor agency) this was later renamed Afro-Asian
Agency in the 1970s. Representing Caribbean, Malaysia,
India and Africa, actors, writers and film-makers
in Britain. Although as an actors agent she represented
all races from her address in Shaftesbury Avenue. In
the early 1960s Pearl was instrumental in setting up
the Negro Theatre Workshop, one of Britain's first
black theatre companies. She was loved and respected
by many and will be remembered.
She continued to work with her husband Joe Mogotsi a
South African musician with the Manhattan Brothers.
Pearl continued running her literary agency and black
music publishing as well as acting as a consultant
in all areas of the arts, until her death.
Articles from www.chronicleworld.org
A Blaze of Creativity
Cultural artist Pearl Connor-Mogotsi is perfectly at
home at the speakers' podium. Originally trained in
the dramatic arts, Connor-Mogotsi has added an historian's
touch. In "Our Olympian Struggle" she portrays
a dazzling microcosm of black arts, letters and cultural
politics in Britain from the 1950s to the present day.
Featured are over sixty renowned writers, intellectuals,
dramatists, artists, actors, singers and songwriters.
Part I, presented here, includes tributes to some of
the best minds and creative talents: C.L.R.James, George
Padmore, Rudolph Dunbar, Cy Grant, Paul Robeson, Winifred
Atwell, Tom Mboya, George Lamming, Nadia Cattouse, Andrew
Salkey, the Caribbean Arts Movement, and the Notting
Hill Carnival. Part II will appear in the next issue.
Pearl Connor-Mogotsi is herself a part of this explosion
of black creativity, and a tireless campaigner for cultural
arts and theatre. Her honours include the government
of Trinidad and Tobago's Humming Bird Silver Medal for
outstanding services to the immigrant community in the
United Kingdom, and the National Black Women's Achievement
Award for Entertainment and Arts in Britain.
"Our Olympian Struggle", written as an opening
address to an international bookfair, is more than a
personal trip down memory lane. Many will find it an
inspiring rendition of the last fifty years of black
cultural history in Britain and its Pan-African links.
Connor-Mogotsi's presentation is also a powerful antidote
to popular ignorance. It reveals little-known aspects
of black/white cultural contact, competition and conflict
in British arts and society.
Our Olympian Struggle
By Pearl Connor-Mogotsi
Part one
I am here today to celebrate our survival in the face
of great odds. We have overcome many difficulties, hardships
and pressures in our determination to succeed.
Coming as I did in the 50s from a background steeped
in the, culture and politics of the Caribbean, I was
reassured by the good relations existing between the
new immigrants and the British, who were still flushed
with the memory of our wartime contribution.
I found an elite and select group of professionals,
writers, artists and politicians amongst whom were C.L.R.
James, George Padmore, Sam Morris, Dr. David Pitt and
Learie Constantine (both to be honoured later by the
establishment) and Rudolph Dunbar, Cy Grant, Winifred
Atwell and Edric Connor whom I later married.
Edric was at his peak, singing in BBC Radio series and
taking part in stage plays and revues at the Players
Theatre, and Cy Grant was singing the news in a BBC magazine
programme from 1957-1960. Although this exposure brought
him fame, Cy was very frustrated by the fact that none
of his other talents as an actor were recognized and
he was stuck in a hole of type casting until he broke
loose and went to Leicester to play the leading role
of Othello demonstrating the extent of his talents. Rudolph
Dunbar was conducting at the Albert Hall which was a
first for a black Caribbean man and we were all thrilled
by his success.
Fifties interest in Africa
The 50's also saw a great interest in Africa and films
were made of the Alan Paton novel 'Cry the Beloved
Country' which starred Canada Lee, Sidney Poitier
and Edric Connor. This proved to be their introduction
to apartheid South Africa that both shocked and excited
them. There was also a film made in Kenya 'West of
Zanzibar' during the Kikuyu uprising, in which Edric
played an African Chief. But, for him, the invitation
to play at Stratford-upon-Avon, at the Shakespeare
Memorial Theatre, by Tony Richardson, brought the
first
black actor to that famous seat of British Theatre
in 'Pericles' playing the narrator. This was in 1958,
and the following year Paul Robeson was invited to
play Othello opposite Mary Ure at the same venue.
We had broken the juju, no longer excluded from the
Mecca
of the Theatre.
Meanwhile, Winifred Atwell was breaking records with
her classical honky-tonk piano. She was featured at the
Palladium and at other major venues all over Britain.
She immortalized the steelband by recording an album
'Ivory and Steel', marrying the old and new in a dynamic
combination of rhythm and classical techniques.
Around this time, there was a large contingent arriving
from Africa, both of aspiring politicians and musicians.
Julius Nyerere from Tanzania, Joshua Nkomo from Rhodesia,
Seretse Khama from Botswana (who was to change the history
of Southern Africa by his marriage to a white woman),
and Tom Mboya from Kenya, the ill-fated young lieutenant
of Jomo Kenyatta, soon to be assassinated.
Caribbean leaders and literature
And leaders from the Caribbean countries like Norman
Manley from Jamaica, Grantley Adams from Barbados,
T. A. Marryshow from Grenada and Odo Bumham from
Guyana, going in and out of the Colonial Office,
lobbying for
our independence. Sam Morris was organizing the League
of Coloured Peoples to assist and guide our people,
but he had limited facilities. I remember a group
of us activists meeting Chief Albert Luthuli, President
of the ANC, on his way through London to collect
the
Nobel Prize in 1960, and later meeting Dr. Martin
Luther King when he was in transit to Stockholm for
the same
prize. Claudia Jones, editor of the West Indian Gazette
knew King well and was instrumental in arranging
for some of us to meet him at my home to discuss
ways and
means of assisting his movement. He was very quiet
and seemed tired and out of it all, but we talked
to him about possibilities. Claudia had earlier organized
a march on the American Embassy at Grosvenor Square
to coincide with the march upon Washington, which
was
supported by many of our leading artists and writers,
like George Lamming, Jan Carew, John La Rose, Pearl
Prescod, Nadia Cattouse and many others of us, as
well as members of the host community, sympathetic
to our
cause.
This brings me to Dr. Rosie Poole, the Dutch activist
and writer. She organized a production of protest poetry
to be performed at the Aldeburgh Festival in the heart
of the English establishment, from her collection 'Beyond
the Blues', against a background of jazz. Cleo Laine,
Nadia Cattouse, Lloyd Reckord and I, performed with great
success, poems dealing with the civil rights struggle,
'Rosa Parks' and 'Ma Rainey'.
By the mid 50's, the cream of our literary figures had
moved into London. Edgar Mittelholzer, Jan Carew, George
Lamming, Andrew Salkey, Sam Selvon, Vidia Naipaul and
Barry Reckord. The BBC established the Caribbean Service,
with Earnest Eytle and Willie Richardson producing, and
our writers were featured through their plays and novels.
Those taking part in broadcasts were Carmen Munroe, Barbara
Assoon, Lloyd Reckord, Bari Johnson, Nadia Cattouse and
myself. But one of the finest actors working with us
was Errol John who won the Observer Prize for his play
'Moon on a Rainbow Shawl', which changed his life dramatically.
He became involved in getting his play performed at the
Royal Court Theatre and later went on to the United States.
But, things did not seem to work out as he expected and
he went on to the Caribbean and then back to the U.K.,
trying to find his dream realized. This was not to be,
and he died frustrated and alone without the support
which he needed.
Windrush arrival
With the arrival of the 'Empire Windrush', the British
began to feel the threat of black Caribbean immigrants.
There was a real culture shock, with black people
going up and down the streets in organdie dresses,
with straw
hats and paper bags carrying their prized possessions,
with towels around their necks for scarves. However,
they knew more about England and the British, than
the British knew of them. It was the climate that
foxed them!
Many Africans were flooding into England for education
and work and Wole Soyinka, studying at Leeds University,
began writing for the Theatre. By the mid sixties his
plays were being performed at the Theatre Royal, Stratford
East and at the Royal Court Theatre.
Early in the 60's Jack Hylton brought the first Township
Jazz musical 'King Kong' out of South Africa to the West
End and this had a tremendous impact on audiences who
had only heard of that troubled land and were stunned
to find this great music, song and dance tradition pouring
out on the stage. Then came two amazing plays by Athol
Fugard, 'The Island' and 'Sizwe Bansi is Dead' demonstrating
the plight of the people of South Africa under apartheid
and the conditions under which prisoners were living
on Robben Island.
The year 1966 saw the first World Festival of Black
and African Arts held in Senegal, with a great foregathering
of world famous black and African writer and artists,
including Langston Hughes and Marpessa Dawn. The Negro
Theatre Workshop established by me in 1965 was sponsored
by the Commonwealth Office to attend and represent Great
Britain. There was now a distinct improvement in relations
between us and the host country only to be shattered
by Enoch Powell's 'Rivers of Blood' speech which brought
an overt increase in prejudice.
Kamau, Kelso and Claudia
The Caribbean Artists Movement founded at the end of
1966, marshalled the literary, academic and performance
skills of Caribbean writers and artists. Andrew Salkey,
Edward Kamau Brathwaite and John La Rose were the
catalysts. Kamau broke with tradition and presented
what he called
'Nation Language' - different rhythms in poetry.
He performed successfully in concert at the Jeanetta
Cochrane
Theatre introducing this new treatment of his poetry
in performance.
Notting Hill Carnival (the finest Street Theatre in
Europe), took off in 1965, but we cannot forget the effect
that the murder of Kelso Cochrane had on the whole community
of Notting Hill and Ladbroke Grove, coming as it did
after the race riots in 1958/1959. These events brought
a cohesion and understanding amongst the Afro-Caribbeans
which was lacking before and eventually brought them
all together in the celebration of Carnival.
Claudia Jones did much to promote it in the early stages
as did Amy Ashwood Garvey wife of Marcus Garvey. It was
around her home that we all foregathered to mourn Kelso
Cochrane's death. Amy had worked closely with CLR James
and George Padmore in getting support for Haile Selassie
in his struggle against Mussolini. She was also instrumental
in organizing the 5th Pan African Congress.
The development of carnival was constantly challenged
and provoked by the powers that be, bringing as it did
crowds of people mixing freely together on the streets
of Notting Hill in inter-racial harrnony. It was the
tenacity and perseverance of the practitioners and local
people whose support for this annual festival caused
it to survive and prosper.
Source: Opening Address at the
12th International Bookfair of Radical Black and Third
World
Books - Thursday 23rd March 1995
at the Camden Centre, London, England. � Pearl Connor-Mogotsi
The struggle continues
In this saga of cultural triumphs and travails from
the postwar period to the present, Pearl Connor-Mogotsi
speaks of the many distinguished writers and artists
who have contributed to Black British literary and performance
achievements.
Our Olympian Struggle
By Pearl Connor-Mogotsi
Part two
Black representation in quality drama was clearly absent
in the 1970s. On television, situation comedies filled
the gap. By 1972/75 'Love thy neighbour' scored many
successes with Nina Baden-Semper and Rudolph Walker becoming
household names. By 1978 Michael Abbensetts 'Empire Road'
set a precedent, providing a vehicle for a black cast,
a black director Horace 0ve and himself, Abbensetts,
a black writer.
On stage, the musicals 'Hair', 'Jesus Christ Superstar',
the 'Black Mikado' and 'Showboat', gave opportunities
to many young up and coming black performers, and took
them into the professional stream. Theatres like the
Tricycle and the Cochrane have showcased many Caribbean
and African writers and there has been a breakthrough
on the Opera circuit. Whereas before only Glyndebourne
ever mounted productions like 'Porgy and Bess', in recent
years the Royal Opera House has hosted a black company
performing in Opera, featuring Willard White, the distinguished
Jamaican baritone.
The English National Opera has also accepted several
young black singers in their productions, which was virtually
impossible twenty years ago. The National Theatre has
also inaugurated a policy of including black artists
in their productions and bringing them into the mainstream.
Another important breakthrough is the number of trained
black directors and producers who have been working tirelessly
to prove their competence in the Theatre. Anton Phillips
of the Carib Theatre, Yvonne Brewster of Talawa, Joan
Ann Maynard of the Black Theatre Co-op, Alby James of
the National and Temba, and Malcolm Frederick an independent
producer. These directors now have a plethora of plays
by black playwrights like Michael Abbensetts who wrote
the scripts for two very successful soaps, 'The Fosters'
1976 and 'Empire Road' 1978, about black people in Britain.
Then came 'Desmonds' 1989/94 which was written by Trix
Worrell about a family in a barber shop. The comedy was
very entertaining, though many felt that it did not show
our real lives. Norman Beaton, Carmen Munroe and Ram
John Holder headed a very talented cast.
Dramatists
Very few serious roles are written for blacks although
we have fine dramatists like Derek Walcott, Wole
Soyinka, Errol John, Mustapha Matura, Earl Lovelace
and Felix
Cross among others. Soyinka's plays received professional
exposure both at the Theatre Royal, Stratford and
the Royal Court Theatre which was a great supporter
of
black and Afro - Caribbean Theatre. Derek Walcott's
'O Babylon' was premiered at the Riverside Studios
Hammersmith, and several of his plays were performed
at Stratford upon Avon's Shakespeare Memorial Theatre.
Earl Lovelace's ' The Dragon can't Dance' was staged
at the Theatre Royal Stratford East, directed by
Yvonne Brewster.
I remember going to visit Earl Lovelace in the village
of Matura where he was living a Gauguin lifestyle in
a wooden cottage on the banks of a river, surrounded
by coconut, mango and orange trees. Everywhere were little
tropical insects and it was not uncommon to see a multicoloured
snake wriggle across the grass. But, the most amazing
thing was the huge refrigerator standing in the kitchen
where there was no electricity or running water. I was
surprised and enquired from Earl what a fridge was doing
there if it could not work. He laughed and opened the
door, and there were the manuscripts of his great novels
'The Dragon can't Dance' and 'The Wine of Astonishment'.
He explained that he was saving his manuscripts from
termites and ants which abounded in the bush.
Historic figures like Toussaint L'Ouverture have been
immortalized in a play by CLR James. Ira Aldridge, that
18th century actor who scored great triumphs on the stage,
was remembered in a play by Lonne Elder 'A Splendid Summer'
produced and performed by Malcolm Frederick. Nevertheless,
most of our existing drama does not immortalize our heroes
and until we do this we will continue to leave a huge
gap in the appreciation of our own people.
The most serious setback facing black theatre practitioners
is the need for permanent premises as part of the British
theatre establishment. Some progress has been made by
Yvonne Brewster and Talawa in securing the Cochrane.
Here is an accessible building available to all with
a reputation for representing black theatre practitioners.
"We need our own icons"
However, there is an absence of any historical memory
or sense of continuity regarding our contribution
to the Theatre and the Arts. The vision is of a striving
struggling community, constantly building structures
which are repeatedly pulled down. Our salvation lies
in constructing organizations, support groups and
individuals
in their chosen professions. There is a virus which
strikes at the heart of our endeavours, a legacy
of our colonial past. It is disloyalty and the feeling
that the grass is greener on the other side. Nobody
will honour us or keep our image alive or remember
our contribution. We have to do so ourselves and
record
our history through. books, literature, music and
the Arts. We need our own icons, our own heroes.
Our survival
depends on overcoming our difficulties and dealing
with issues in society like immigration and racism.
Re-discovering Women
If we are going to record our own history we must re-discover
our invisible women. Let me just mention a few of
them.
Mary Seacole who as a mature woman went to the Crimean
War in 1854. She had tried to enrol in the UK with Florence
Nightingale but was rejected. So, she took herself to
the front, opened a clinic, where she prescribed natural
cures (better known as bush medicine), which she had
learnt from her mother in Jamaica and practised in Panama.
She successfully nursed soldiers with cholera and yellow
fever. Those of us who know the value of these traditional
cures in our little islands where medicine was inaccessible
to the ordinary people, know about Aloe vera, Boiscanno
for cough, fever grass and lemon tea and other cures
about which commercial traders like the Body Shop has
become aware in recent years. When Mrs Seacole returned
to the UK after the war, her work went unrecognized,
until she wrote a book named 'The wonderful Adventures
of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands'. This was published in
1857 and reprinted in 1984 since when her own people
have decided to honour her memory.
Claudia Jones was the editor of The West Indian Gazette
and was instrumental in promoting the Notting Hill Carnival.
She was a great organizer and managed to unite the Afro/Asian/Caribbean
community by inspiring us all to greater efforts in our
community activity and support for world causes which
related to us. She had a magical way of persuading people
to get along with one another and to see the bigger landscape.
The struggles these women had are now being re-enacted
in our contemporary world. Just to mention a few, there
is Pansy Jeffries whose tremendous work in Ladbroke Grove
involved caring for the old and destitute black people
and the Pepper Pot Club which she founded to create a
meeting place for them. She created a forum to promote
awareness about the plight of black people in Britain.
And on an even more personal note, Beryl McBurnie whose
great work in the dance and founding the Little Carib
Theatre in Trinidad was an inspiration to generations
of young Trinidadians. She was instrumental in arranging
scholarships for some of her dancers and educated all
who came within her ambit in national pride, which permeated
everything she did.
We must always bear in mind the enormous cost personal
involvement in any struggle inevitably has on relationships
and families. In this respect 1 would like to quote Nelson
Mandela in his recently published autobiography 'Long
Walk to Freedom', concerning his wife Nomzano Winnie
Mandela:
'Comrade Nomzano and myself contracted our marriage
at a crucial time in the struggle for liberation in our
country. Owing to the pressures of our shared commitment
to the ANC and the struggle to end apartheid, we were
unable to enjoy a normal family life. Despite these pressures
our love for each other and our devotion to our marriage
grew and intensified. During the two decades I spent
on Robben Island, she was an indispensable pillar of
support to myself personally. Comrade Nomzamo accepted
the onerous burden of raising our children on her own.
She endured the persecutions heaped upon her by the government
with exemplary fortitude and never wavered from her commitment
to the freedom struggle. Her tenacity reinforced my personal
respect, love and growing affection' and he continues
'But just as I am convinced that my wife's life while
I was in prison was more difficult than mine, my own
return was also more difficult for her than it was for
me. She married a man who soon left her, that man became
a myth and then that myth returned home and proved to
be just a man after all.'
We, the women of the world, must give our support to
those fighting against great odds. oppression, character
assassination, marginalization and disloyalty, and like
the words of the old spiritual says, be watchful even
of those nearest and dearest.
'I saw my brother the other day
I gave him my right hand
And just as soon as ever my back was turned
He scandalized my name
You call that a brother, no, no
You call that a brother, no
You call that a brother, no no
Scandalize my name'
Source: Opening Address at the 12th
International Bookfair of Radical Black and Third World
Books - Thursday 23rd March 1995 at the Camden Centre,
London, England. � Pearl Connor-Mogotsi
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