My thoughts on…Miss Lou’s death
Yesterday, Mrs. Louise Bennett-Coverley, popularly known as “Miss Lou”, died yesterday, causing Jamaica to lose one of its greatest cultural icons. She was much beloved by Jamaicans, as she taught us to embrace our culture, and never be afraid to be Jamaican. She made us proud to speak patois, which was once looked down on as “bad English”, and made us appreciate the uniqueness and richness of our dialect. Her unique sense of humor and trademark style of storytelling entertained generations of children. She dabbled in just about all forms of cultural activity, such as pantomimes, television shows, poems, and art. The popular kids show “Ring Ding” aired for 12 years, and encouraged children to sing, dance and recite poetry.
She got a fight when she first started, as patois was considered to be the language of the lower class. Through hard work and determination, she broke into the mainstream and into our hearts. She received many accolades for her work, most recently the Order of Merit. Though her time was before my own, I still knew of her work, because she had made such a tremendous impact that if you didn’t know about Miss Lou or her work, you simply weren’t Jamaican. We need a Miss Lou, now more than ever, as our country seems to have lost its identity, as we purse American and European standards and values. We need someone to teach us the value of laughter, to teach us that we should be proud of what and who we are as a people. Goodbye Miss Lou. We’ll miss you.
My sympathy is with Jamaica in this day of sorrow.
Please accept my most sincere and deepest condolences upon the passing of this great personality!
Sorry for the loss.
She sounds like she was an inspirational woman.
I loved Miss Lou so much, she was a role model, and most importantly, a mother for all jamaicans. She helped us to be proud of who we are today, how we speak, and our culture. This is an enormous loss to us jamaicans and we feel it in our hearts. She was an inspiration, motivator, and an extremely special person. I love her work; everything. Even though we need her now more than ever, its her time to rest, she been through so much for us Jamaicans and we give her our greatest gratitude, thanks, and will miss her so very much. Miss Lou, yuh gone but will neva be forgotten. You will be in our hearts. Wi luv yuh. Rest in peace. Ay iy iy. love Jamaican4eva.