Support Your Local Steelband

A version of this article was posted on Facebook, Pan People Steelband’s Public Group.

For 30 years Pan People Steelband has been a pillar of support for the community, developing our own initiatives, programs etc., and supporting others designed to contribute positively to the lives of the economically disadvantaged around the AUC campus and elsewhere in Metropolitan Atlanta.

And many benefited, maybe even you did, from our selflessness and the support we provided in cash, in-kind and otherwise.

Many Pan People alums and their families benefited from our generosity and even our missteps.

For example, there is a built-in loan policy in the structure of Pan People to make loans available to Steelpan Scholars and their parents/guardians:

 

          RULE 10. Short-term, interest-free loans may be made at the discretion of the Director.     Special loans (of more than $100) require the approval of the Executive Committee.                    

(Pan   People Steelband, Rules, Revised June 10, 1993.)

 

And even when we did poorly, as we often did with our fish dinners and patty sales, the resulting leftovers were a bonanza for the food pantries of some families.

 

Our "incubator groups" the Oglethorpe Steeldrum Ensemble and the Bethune Steelband Project were also havens of support-- for parents, teachers and students alike.

 

The refrain was common in the school halls: —“put him/her in steel drums.”

 

     If a student was not focused on his/her school work—“put him/her in steel drums,”

 

     When a student was having problems with Math—“put him/her in steel drums.”

 

     A student may have ADHD--—“put him/her in steel drums.”

 

And with healing pan sticks (not mallets), we turned them around. Ask them (or ask yourself).

 

For some parents the steel pan program became an “after-school day care”. The students came to steelband rehearsal after their classes, and their parents picked up, whenever they completed running errands, etc., with no real interest in the steelpan program.

 

Additionally, Pan People Steelband united the Atlanta African-American community and Afro-Caribbean communities with the Atlanta Caribbean Carnival. New African People’s Organization – “Black Star Line” (1990) and the Atlanta dance community with Dance Diaspora (1991). Dance Diaspora, the theatrical production played to packed houses at Clark Atlanta University's Davage Auditorium in October 1991.

We were also "regular participants" in the Malcolm X Festival, Juneteenth Festival, Kwanzaa, etc. And we were well respected in the Atlanta arts community, at least that is indicated on the commendation plaques from the Atlanta City Council and two Georgia governors, Joe Frank Harris and Sonny Purdue.

 

Then, the unpopular Dr. Ajamu was well-liked for the “Shadow Day” understudy experiences he provided to the high school Steelpan Scholars of Pan People Steelband.

 

Scholars were offered the opportunity to spend a day on CAU’s campus with Dr. Ajamu, attending classes, eating in the Cafeteria with college students, hanging out on the Promenade, sitting in on my office hours and, in general, getting a sense of the college experience.

 

Then there is an issue with the Caribbean radio personalities in Atlanta, especially on WRFG, Community Radio Free Georgia. Plain and simple, we believe they did not give Pan Under the Stars enough airplay. And we sure they have a bunch of excuses, real and imagined.

 

This is not the appropriate forum to resolve those issues because we have personal relationships that go way back. But we must acknowledge that the schisms in the Atlanta Caribbean community run deep and, unfortunately, are often played out on the airwaves.

 

These are only second to the divisions that have historically characterized our relationship as people of color—divisions between African Americans, Africans from the motherland and Africans in the Diaspora.

 

Suffice it to say at this juncture, Pan People Steelband will inaugurate an all-pan radio show/station in 2017.

 

Some comments on Facebook:

 

In October, 2016, I assumed the administrator position for Pan People Steelband's Facebook Public Group.

 

I always wondered what the "likes," in so many variations, meant:

 

Apparently not a darn thing!

 

Or probably they are just a ploy to keep Black folk busy ". . . while dirty tricks sour the nation.”

 

Going forward, only the privileged few will have access to our Pan People Steelband, LLC's. Private Facebook Group. That honor will be reserved for true friends of Pan People Steelband.

 

The door will not entirely be closed. But many of you will now have to access our stuff from the Public Facebook posts.

 

And boy we’re going to have stuff because we’re Moving Forward!

 

Let’s be clear, Pan People’s new posture is only marginally related to the lack of support for Pan Under the Stars.

 

We have come to realize that Trinis don’t usually support pan, especially when they have to pay to attend pan events. Pan People Steelband’s record of poorly attended but stellar conferences and concerts is a sad testimony to folks "who can't see the trees for the forest.

 

Pastiche (Google them) was at Kennesaw State University, less than 30 minutes north of Atlanta, on October 20-21, 2016. I attended the Thursday evening concert along with the less than 20 other persons in the huge auditorium.

 

In June 2016 I traveled to Brooklyn, NY for the Fathers’ Day Pan Jazz Concert.

 

The concert featured Garvin Blake, Othello Mollineau and Iman Pascall, Would you believe that too was sparsely attended? Further, the average age of the attendees was 60 plus.

Take Panorama in T&T and Brooklyn as examples, many youth are playing pan but where are their friends, family?

 

Maybe the sparse attendance at steelpan events is related to the socialization process of pan supporters especially in T&T. There has been, and still is, too much ”freeness” as far as pan is concerned.

 

Then the argument could be made that the steelpan is a public good and should therefore be provided without charge. The counter argument I would pose is that the mechanism used to distribute resources to steelbands (Panorama?) is ineffective and inefficient.

 

There was a time when neighborhoods supported their steelband (or were motivated to do so). In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Harmonites, for example, gave thousands of "free" T-shirts to supporters. Their Blockoramas in the early 1970s, which had thousands flocking to Harmonites Panyard every Sunday, were "free" of charge.

 

The relationship between steelbands and supporters has for long been skewed in favor of supporters. They benefit from steelbands but contribute no more than “lip support” to the band.

 

The relationship between the steelband should be a symbiotic one. A steelband provides “self-esteem” and other forms of “satisfaction” to supporters associated with the band (especially if the band has a winning record).

Supporters, in turn, should contribute to the band’s income by purchasing its T-shirts, concert tickets, etc.

 

The “freeness” trend continues in T&T and Brooklyn. The major steelband parades in T&T, Pan on the Avenue, Borough Day, Laventille Steelband Festival, etc. are “crowd pullers” only because supporters get the chance for a “free jump.”

 

Similarly, Labor Day J'Ouvert, for the most part, is really a "free jump" for pan fans in Brooklyn.

 

I believe it was Ellsworth James who said during a Blocko in the 1970s “Support your own local selves.” Trinis in particular, in T&T and the Diaspora, need to support pan. You are of necessity the first line of support for pan.

 

The lack of support for paid steelband events could be tempered by audience development targeted at schools, churches, and community organizations.

 

For example, I was appalled by the sparse attendance at the Youth Steelpan Explosion during the Emancipation celebrations in T&T in 2016. Schools should be encouraged to have “school outings” to the Emancipation Village.

 

The Emancipation Support Committee should welcome the opportunity to provide transportation and bag lunches for school children on outings to the Emancipation Village.

 

I always wondered what Kambon and his people did with the millions obtained annually from government for Emancipation!

 

In the US, the strategy should include capitalizing on the spread of steelbands among non-Black educational institutions and communities. Include their students in the range of steelband events.

 

Additionally, tax-exempt organizations should be pursuing grants to bus school children to steelpan events. Audience development could be facilitated by including Diasporic arts and culture in K-12 curriculum of Charter schools and Afrocentric schools in US cities.

 

It is not an accident that one of Pan People Steelband’s alums is one of the main organizers of the Bermuda Heroes Weekend.

Likewise, it was not accidental that one of our MD alums has a thriving cultural/sports bar in addition to his practice in T&T.

Come on people, it’s time to take command of this artform and realize the benefits abound. The first step is to support the steelpan wherever you may be.

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Replies

  • odw, why it is that the steelband movement in the Mecca don't attract people like Dr. Ajamu?

    • I don’t think the problem is attracting people like him; it’s more about the mind-set in the Mecca and Pan Trinbago. Some of us can remember when Martin Albino started Pan in the schools in the 60s and the challenges he faced. I’m sure there are others who can share their personal stories and experiences in communities where they made an impact.

      In the early 70s proposals were being pushed to have a greater projection of steelband music on the radio and television. 2016 PAN in the Mecca is relegated to limited programing. So much for giving support.

      • odw you are correct because of our mind-set we would never see ah Doctor working to make the steelband movement better in the homeland, this is the reason they attract hustlers whose only interest is to skim the grants supplied by the government. There is a problem also with attracting capable expats, many are not interested in getting involved because of peoples attitude.

  • The problem is the "FREENESS" mentality which has been inculcated by a certain political party in T&T and which is so ingrained in the PAN voting block that supports that political party that both FREENESS and CRIME are accepted norms.

    Nothing is going to change!!!

    • Change is going to come from outside of T&T, Ajamu's work in Atlanta is evidence of what can be done when individuals in leadership roles in their communities are able to lobby and work with state institutions, the business sectors in a win/win solution for PAN global promotion and acceptance. This one individual, Pan Trinbago is still trying to sort out its primary role "identity crisis." Is it a cultural organization or is it a for profit business entity?   

  • Hey Ajamu,
    Thank you for this post. I concur with this post and I support steelpan where I am with my $$$. I support steelpan builders by buying steelpans from them. I support tuners through my annual tuning fees. I support players by teaching them and I support patrons by providing information, education and compliments.
    The BIG question I had after reading your post was, is this a global problem, and how can pan people respond in cash to steelpan programming?
    I just wanted to say that I'm am in the process of conceptualizing and developing a steelpan entrepreneurship program based on a for-profit model that will be tested in Toronto middle to end of 2017.
    Thanks again,
    Mike

    • We're basically on the same page though I may be a bit ahead of you. Let's talk.

      • Sure man! We should talk. my email is michaelcwj@yahoo.com.

        Thanks

  • Speaking of technology, Cecil. Is Leston Paul a better PAN MAN than Boogsie?

    https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=mcafee&p=indigis...

    • I've never seen Leston Paul play a pan, but he certainly use those pan tones well, he is ah excellent arranger and keyboard player.

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