by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI
Everyone involved in Notting Hill Carnival (NHC) in London – Europe’s largest street festival, knows that the Mass at St Mary of the Angels RC Church in Moorhouse Road, W2, is an important ‘prelude’ before the masqueraders take to the streets. Our own Fr Robert Christo was the chief celebrant at the Mass on Saturday, August 23, with six other priests concelebrating, including parish priest Msgr Keith Barltrop. Once again, Sr Monica and her team worked hard to ensure it all went well.
This year we celebrated the 50th anniversary of NHC. Fr Christo had the entire congregation on our feet, praising God in our inimitable Caribbean style. The theme for the Mass was Harmony in diversity and diversity in harmony. Fr Christo used the Gospel reading (Mt 16:13-20) to ask us to reflect on our identity and on what Church meant to each of us.
He reminded us that just as people had to go through various struggles over the 50 years of NHC – high and low points, Peter also went through high and low points in his spiritual formation. The challenge for us is to focus on the ‘high’ and on things that will create harmony – not divide us. This is our mission as Church. Everything we do must be to glorify God; He must be the centre of our lives. And, we must appreciate what people can do rather than always focusing on what they cannot do. He spoke of the way in which mas, culture and Church can be brought together to build community.
Msgr Barltrop said in his remarks at the end of the Order of Service: “There is so much to give thanks for as we look back over that time, which began with severe racial tensions and has moved steadily in the direction of greater understanding and rejoicing in our different gifts.
“Our theme this year – Harmony and Diversity – has a special resonance for us as Catholics as we celebrate the gift of unity in difference which comes from the Blessed Trinity itself, where three persons make up one Godhead. We can reflect this amazing gift by appreciating the different gifts God has given us and loving the opportunity it gives us to overcome our selfishness and reach out to others who we may not easily understand at first.”
The usual street party that followed the Mass provides a wonderful opportunity for old and new friends to meet and greet one another. The sound of Nostalgia steelband filled the air with sweet music, and the generosity of those who provided sumptuous food at 2 pounds sterling per plate reflected the values that underpin our lives as Catholics – sharing the gifts that God has given to us.
On Sunday and Monday I was honoured once again to be one of the judges at the NHC. Hon Dr Lincoln Douglas, T&T’s Minister of Arts and Multiculturalism, was present also. I noticed a new development, that is, that there are quite a few bands that now use dry ‘abeer’ and wet ‘chocolate’on Sunday. Monday’s rain did not dampen the Carnival spirit.
The lead-up to the 2014 Notting Hill Carnival saw a number of key events, including the launch of the book Carnival: A photographic and testimonial history of the Notting Hill Carnival, edited by Ishmahil Blagrove Jr. I was one of the hundreds who attended the launch. As Blagrove explained, the collection was “primarily assembled with the aim of addressing various historical fallacies surrounding the genesis of the NHC. It reveals some of the obstacles and challenges faced by the community out of which the carnival was born.” It acknowledges the contribution of people like the late Rhaune Laslett, Claudia Jones, Russ Henderson, Geraldine Connor and many others.
Margaret Busby, a contributor to the book, states that Laslett, “a half-Native-American, half-Russian social worker, was instrumental in bringing about Notting Hill’s first multicultural street festival in 1966.” She wanted to galvanise the community and saw it as an all-inclusive affair. At the book launch, Laslett’s son and two grandsons received a trophy in her honour.
We must not forget, though, the contribution of Claudia Jones, political activist and founder in 1958 of Britain’s first black newspaper, the West Indian Gazette, who organised an indoor carnival in St Pancras Hall in January 1959.
In the 1950s there had been “carnival-themed revelry” at a number of London venues. Today, the Notting Hill Carnival “contributes immeasurably to the State’s coffers and to the world’s perception of Britain’s enviable cultural richness” (Busby).
