Born in Falmouth, Trelawny, on February 3, 1933, Professor Nettleford climbed to the pinnacle of academic success and attainments in the arts. He was a devoted nationalist – one who understood that the sustainable growth and development of Jamaica depended on the nurturing of the nation’s people and on the attention paid to empowering them as individuals who could become full participants in the national effort.

A former Rhodes Scholar, Professor Nettleford saw education as one of the most potent empowerment tools, and he gave his active support to the lifelong process of learning. He had a passion for education, and strongly believed in community participation in identifying workable solutions to educational issues. He also provided unstinting support for trade unionism and workers rights; one of his most notable achievements was his founding of the Trade Union Education Institute, which provided the vehicle through which factory and farm workers could connect with scholars to help bridge the education gap between the classes.

Professor Nettleford was unfailingly loyal to exploring the dynamics of the unique Caribbean and Jamaican culture, and this led to him playing a part in the establishment of one of Jamaica’s treasures – the National Dance Theatre Company (NDTC), whose founding dovetailed with the attainment of Jamaica’s independence. Truly, his scholarly exploits and his nurturing and exportation of the best of Jamaica’s culture, made him well-deserving of the titles of leading Caribbean intellectual, visionary and cultural icon.

His conviction that the Jamaican spirit was as indomitable as the very Middle Passage that caused us to be here, drove him to extol that spirit in all areas of his endeavours. He was “bigging up” Jamaicans long before there was a popular phrase of such.

Professor Nettleford excelled in everything he undertook, and his death has undoubtedly left an irreparable void for Jamaicans and Caribbean nationals. May his soul rest in peace.