There are some surnames that have a distinctly Barbadian ring to them. Brathwaite, Walcott and Gibson are among them.
After all, those names have some of the most listings in the 2010-2011 Barbados telephone directory.
Little wonder that even before Eric Holder Jr went before the United States Senate panel in 2009 to explain how he would function as America’s attorney general and told the lawmakers about his immigrant father from St Joseph, Barbadians labelled him a Bajan.
A somewhat similar thing happened the other day when New York City’s mayor Michael Bloomberg chose Dennis Walcott to be the new chancellor of the Department of Education, one of the most influential positions in the city.
As head of the nation’s largest public school system, Walcott, the grandson of Bajans, is the city’s equivalent of a minister of education in Barbados, Australia, Jamaica or New Zealand.
The new chancellor often speaks of his family ties to Barbados and the US Virgin Islands, the birthplace of another grandparent, and also speaks frequently of his Caribbean background and the values he holds dear, education among them.
Less than a year ago, Walcott spoke of his desire to visit Barbados again.
“I haven’t been to the country recently but I think it’s time for me to return,” he said.
The chancellor was born in New York and raised in Queens, a few miles from the neighbourhood where Holder grew up. Walcott holds three university degrees, a bachelor’s and two master’s and was picked for his new position after Bloomberg fired Cathie Black, his controversial choice for chancellor.
She was appointed in January, much to the consternation of most New Yorkers because of her lack of a background in education. But it soon became clear that she was a failure.
Her dismissal and Walcott’s appointment were front page news in the city’s newspapers and the top story in radio and television newscasts. He was hailed by most officials and commentators.
“Mr Walcott will work very well with the stakeholders – parents, teachers, administrators and community leaders, all in the interest of the children,” said Idalia “Dee” Holder, a Barbadian and a retired executive of the Carnegie Corporation, a non-profit, grant-making educational foundation.
“We served together on the board of directors of the New York affiliate of the Child Development Institute and he was always a real gentleman with ideas. He has awesome responsibilities.
With 1.1 million students in at least 1 200 schools,135 000 full-time employees, and an annual budget of US$2.2 billion, the affable chancellor is the man of the moment.
He has a long history as an educator, civil rights campaigner, advocate for youth development and a member of the old Board of Education which once ran the schools.Apart from being president of the New York Urban League for a dozen years, he was deputy mayor for Education and Community Development since 2002.
“I expect him to change the culture so that the agency (Department of Education) is much more consultative with the stakeholders, especially the parents,” said US Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, who represents the Brooklyn district that had sent Shirley Chisholm, who had Bajan roots, to Capitol Hill in 1968 as the first black woman in the House of Representatives.
“An excellent choice for the students, parents and for the small business community,” asserted Dr Roy Hastick, president of the Caribbean-American Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “Walcott has demonstrated that he understands the culture and unique needs of the Caribbean American community.”
New York City Council member Jumaane Williams, a West Indian, thinks Walcott “has the perfect background for what we are looking” for in a chancellor.
“Of course, having a Caribbean background doesn’t hurt. That’s a good thing.”
Bertha Lewis, head of the Black Institute and a strong advocate for the hundreds of Caribbean teachers who fear losing their jobs if City Hall goes ahead with plans to lay off 6 000 teachers this year, was effusive in her praise of Walcott.
“I fully expect him to really engage parents,” said Lewis.
Just as important, she believes he would address the West Indian teacher issue in a way that would save most, if not all, of their jobs and certainly work to protect them from deportation.
Interestingly, Walcott will be the second chancellor in recent years to be familiar with the Barbados educational system. Joel Klein, whose resignation in December led to Black’s appointment, often cited the positive learning environment in Barbados and the country’s high level of literacy, saying that he would be happy if New York City could duplicate Barbados’ success in education.
