Randall Robinson
On occasion of the 80th Anniversary of the Birth of Walter Rodney
I had the honor of meeting Walter Rodney at a reception being given by the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania fifty years ago. By that time, Rodney was well known and highly respected internationally. His book, Groundings With My Brothers, had been read across the globe, and he had demonstrated, via his actions, his commitment to truly being his brother’s keeper.
Regardless of class or culture, there is a natural instinct to take care of one’s family. And regardless of class or culture, there is often an impulse to care about one’s friends. There is a very special type of human being, however, who cares deeply about the security, the protections, the advancement, the well-being of persons and groups with whom they have no personal connection. Walter Rodney was one of these rare and special human beings.
Walter believed in the intrinsic worth of all human beings. He understood the importance of looking beyond such surface features as wealth or lack of wealth… formal education or a lack of formal education… access to political power or a lack of access to political power. And we all saw this in the way that he, who had earned the very highest levels of academic achievement, made a point of serving as a bridge between the University of the West Indies and the grassroots community surrounding UWI’s Mona campus. By his example, Walter showed us the importance of those with social advantages being more respectful toward those without. Indeed, Pat tells us, “One cannot measure the… connection Walter… felt with his brethren. He was profoundly changed by their struggles – considering their survival as a daily accomplishment.” And Walter himself shared “(These individuals)… have a vitality of mind, they have a tremendous sense of humor, they have depth. How do they do that in the midst of their existing conditions?”
There is an ancient Haitian proverb, “Tout moun se moun” – every human being is a human being – and Walter Rodney instinctively and brilliantly manifested this philosophy. Walter was the human manifestation of the African philosophy of Ubuntu – the belief that we discover our true humanity not through lives of isolation, but via our relations with other human beings.
The life of Walter Rodney, begun 80 years ago, was brutally cut short. Yet this evening is powerful evidence that, in our hearts, and across the world, he lives.
Walter Rodney, by his example, demonstrated the importance of empathy. Awareness. Respect for self. Respect for others. Constructive action. Our world was made dramatically better as a result. And for that, we are grateful. For that, we will be forever in his debt.
Thank you.