Cheddi Jagan Research Centre
Dr James Millette - Great Admirer of Dr. Cheddi Jagan
Until recently, few people in Guyana had heard the name James Millette or heard it connected to that of Dr. Cheddi Jagan.
But that’s only because the Trinidad-born scholar has spent most of his professional life tutoring people abroad about life and the aspirations of people in the West Indies.
In reality, Dr. James Millette and Dr. Cheddi Jagan were household words to each other.
"We weren’t only good friends," stressed Dr. Millette when GIS spoke with him here last Monday. "We were that. But I was also a great admirer of Dr. Jagan."
Dr. Millette, who is a Professor and Chair in Oberlin College’s Department of African American Studies in the U.S. state of Ohio, on Wednesday delivered the keynote address at the opening of the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre at its temporary location at the refurbished Red House on Main Street, Kingston.<
The history professor last visited Guyana in 1996, for the conference at which Dr. Jagan launched his much-heralded New Global Human Order. "I thought it was a good initiative," said Dr. Millette. "The significance of that conference is that it heralded the beginning of a fight-back by Third World and developing Countries."
Dr. Millette observed that some of the trends in Dr. Jagan’s initiative that he has been discussing in his lectures - such as globalisation - have already begun to develop. "Globalisation is already on the agenda; it has started."
Dr. Millette is an internationalist, as was the late Guyanese President, and his lectures, like the one he delivered at the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre opening, encompass Dr. Jagan’s concerns for improving south-south, north-south relations and debt relief for developing countries.
Of Dr. Jagan’s New Global Human Order, Dr. Millette said "ways have been found to perpetuate the initiative not only because of Dr. Jagan and the need to memorialize him in an appropriate way, but also because of the significance of the issue." And he hoped the work of the conference launching the initiative would be continued.
Millette urges at CJ Research Center opening:
Rise To Development Challenges
Guyanese have a glorious opportunity to rise to the many challenges facing them and to develop their country amid the onset of globalisation.
That’s the conclusion of U.S. based Trinidadian history professor James Millette.
He spoke at Wednesday’s ceremonial opening of the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre at its temporary location at Red House, telling a packed centre audience that Guyanese and the developing world should see globalisation as a catalyst for transforming the lives of ordinary people.
"I don’t think globalisation is all negative and people in the developing world shouldn’t see it only in that perspective, because my feeling always is that people rise to challenges with which they are faced, and globalisation presents us with challenges that we have a great opportunity to rise to."
Dr. Millette put his theme, Globalisation And Its Many Challenges, in the context of efforts by the world’s economies to co-exist and the role the late Dr. Cheddi Jagan played in arousing the consciousness of peoples to the need for forging development with a human face.
He said private enterprise competition in the United States and the struggles by Third World countries to emerge from the era of colonialism have triggered stocktaking by people on both sides of the development spectrum. The result, said Dr. Millette, is that, as last November’s World Trade Organization negotiations in Seattle indicated, "people in the developed world are beginning to associate with the causes with which Third World peoples alone had previously identified."
"So I think the future for us is bright," he added.
Dr. Millette’s speech was preceded by an appeal by Dr. Jagan’s daughter, Ms. Nadira Jagan-Brancier, for Guyanese to make full use of the facilities of the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre.
She allayed speculation about the upkeep of the centre by disclosing that it will be operated by Jagan family members and friends independent of government or any political party.
Former President and Dr. Jagan’s widow Janet Jagan, later presented Dr. Millette with a publication of the life and work of Dr. Jagan.
The ceremony was chaired by University of Guyana history professor James Rose.
The legend of Dr. Cheddi Jagan lives on
at `Red House’
A GIS Feature by Sheleeza BakshIN RECENT years, there has been significant growth and interest in historical artifacts, research and documentation of distinguished Guyanese personalities, which are on display in museums and other institutions.
With the quest to establish comprehensive bibliographic data and re-live the spirit of the legendary former President Dr. Cheddi B. Jagan, the refurbished 'Red House' on High Street was officially designated the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre (CJRC) on March 22, 2000. This date also commemorated Dr. Jagan’s 82nd birth anniversary.
The location is temporary and sometime in the future, a more befitting edifice may be built. However, the downtown area has been significantly transformed with the graceful contrasting architecture of the Umana Yana, Le Meridian Pegasus and the Red House.
The 19th century three-storey Greenheart structure, with its British colonial architecture, Dutch heritage and a tower overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and part of the city of Georgetown, is famous for its wooden ‘Demerara Shutters’ (windows).
Research shows it was referred to as the historic 'Red House' because of the colour of the protective coating of shingles. According to historian Dr. James Rose during his address at the launching of the Cheddi Jagan Research ‘Institute’ on March 5 1998, for many persons particularly in the 1960's, 'Red House' represented “the house in which the communist Jagan lives.” He explained that red in this sense owed its derivation not to the colouration of the building, but rather to the political ideology of the person who resided therein.
Over the long years of his political career, Dr. Jagan wrote several books, presented many papers and delivered numerous speeches. Many of them are available in print, audio and video formats at this institution which has already become famous.
According to Archivist/Librarian, Mr. Dudley Kissoore, the centre was established in honour of Dr. Jagan to collect “the works of this eminent third world statesman, the story of his life, his early political administrative career, his struggles, achievements and capturing for history his influence on local, regional and international affairs during the 1940’s to the 1990’s.”
He added that CJRC is dedicated to making available to both local and international researchers, the legacy and work of Dr. Jagan through research and education, easily affordable and accessible in one convenient location. In earlier days, some of the more powerful and illustrious colonial personages occupied the `Red House’. For some time, it served as the official residence of the British Colonial Secretaries who would have also acted as colonial Governors for varying lengths of time. In the 1940’s, the building was passed on to the Colonial Development and Welfare Division.
Mr. Eustace Woolford, a renowned colonial political maverick and one-time Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, occupied the house in the pre-1950’s. It was subsequently secured by the Government and served as residence of the first Premier of British Guiana, Dr. Jagan, between 1961 and 1964. It was subsequently used by the Department of External Affairs and as Training Division of the Public Service in the 1980’s when it fell into disrepair.
Mr. Kissoore told the Guyana Information Services (GIS) in an exclusive interview that rehabilitation work began since 1996 through a grant provided by Barama Company Ltd.
He stressed that the architectural work of the heritage building, done by Mr. Carlton Ambrose, Francois and Associates, should be kept for posterity.
The Archivist explained that CJRC has three important working components: a museum, an archive and a conference centre. The museum on the top floor has on display a collection of photographs and paintings from the 1940’s arranged to portray the philosophy, aspirations, preoccupations, the struggle and the accomplishments of Dr. Jagan and his involvement in the national and international political arena.
It also has facilities where individuals can select one of Dr. Jagan’s speeches or significant episodes from his life from audio/visual materials. Employing modern advancements in electronics and design to produce an interactive relationship between the researcher/viewer and the exhibits, to impart a multi-dimensional impact.
The museum also has on exhibition some of the pieces of gift items he received as President locally and overseas. A replica of Dr. Jagan’s study when he worked at home (State House) as President of Guyana, has been recreated at the Centre.
The ultimate goal of the museum is to make the experience of contemporary history as direct and intense as possible for visitors. Mr. Kissoore added that it must at all times represent a dynamic exhibition of items drawn from the Jagan legacy.
The archive on the middle floor houses a large collection of important documents such as the personal papers of Dr. Jagan, copies of the public records for understanding the issues and actions of his Administration, transcripts, interviews, collection of books, magazines, newspapers, pamphlets and printed documents bearing upon Dr. Jagan.
According to the Librarian, about 600 pieces have already been listed and there are another 600 papers dealing with various issues. Stating that the preparation of an information storage and retrieval system for the Archival Collection is now in progress, Mr. Kissoore explained that he is in the process of creating a database/index of all the documents using a UNESCO bibliographic programme.
Some of Dr. Jagan’s works found at the centre include Selected Speeches from 1992 to 1994, Forbidden Freedom, My Fight for Guyana's Freedom, West on Trial, A New Global Human Order, Bitter Sugar, Poverty: Cause and cure in Developing Countries, British Guiana’s Future – Peaceful or violent?
It is hoped that the archive would become a centre for the study of contemporary Guyana, its economic development goals, ethnic and political conflict and reconciliation, and national and foreign policy.
Mr. Kissoore revealed that Dr. Jagan’s original writings are being scanned, printed, and masked on CD-ROM. He noted that writings for the period from 1942 to 1964 are almost completed and are now available for use by students from the University of Guyana, High Schools, Critchlow Labour College and other academic institutions to carry out research. Local and overseas students (up to the Doctoral level) are eager to access the collection for study and research on 20th Guyanese and Caribbean history.
The Conference Centre or training room at the ground level seeks to project some of Dr. Jagan’s deepest concerns, his attempts to reconcile the world of ideas, action, scholarship and political decision-making, as they co-existed throughout his lifetime. Mr. Kissoore said it is also used by Government, local and international organisations to conduct training and they have expressed immense satisfaction regarding the facilities.
Mr. Ron Van Oers of UNESCO World Heritage Centre, during a recent visit, was impressed with the “outstanding example” of the physical outlook of the Red House and the use to which it has been put. He told Mr. Kissoore there is a possibility that it could be put on the list of World Heritage buildings. He was also impressed with the spacious lawns, which, according to the Librarian, are suitable for open-air activities such as receptions of various nature and social activities including fund-raising ventures.
The CJRC is a non-profit Non Governmental Organisation (NGO), which provides access to the entire archival collection, free of charge. It is supported by charitable donations and fundraising ventures both locally and overseas, and by rental of the lecture hall.
Mr. Kissoore said that the centre is managed by a Board of Trustees headed by Mrs. Janet Jagan and Management Board who together decided on the temporary location for the centre and is responsible for all fundraising ventures. At present the centre has a staff of three including a librarian, an assistant and a person who does cleaning and photocopying.
Mr. Kissoore stated that the aims and objectives of the research centre are to publish material and promote research on the life, work and ideas of Dr. Jagan and to promote research into the history of Guyana as a whole from the early 1940’s to the late 1990’s. On average, approximately 150 persons visit the Red House monthly, including numerous foreign dignitaries, local Guyanese and several school groups, he noted.
Highlighting the future plans of the centre, Mr. Kissoore said it intends to furnish the training centre with modern equipment, digitise the collection, create a website and make it available on the internet, market the museum and send out invitation to schools throughout the country.
As time progresses, the Archive will have the necessary facilities for scholarly research such as study rooms, the use of CD-ROMs, the most advanced equipment for a continuing oral history project, for documentary reproduction and for full exploitation of audiovisual materials.
With the numerous requests by visitors to purchase authentic work of Dr. Jagan, a shop was installed with his published works and key rings and according to Mr. Kissoore there are plans for expansion to include more items such as T-shirts, mugs and cups which will also be a source of funding for the research centre.
The CJRC is a reflection of the respect and recognition of the contributions to society made by Dr. Cheddi Jagan, for his homeland.
“Many have expressed confidence that the centre has been appropriately located at the 'Red House.' It has been in existence for almost 100 years and it may be there for another 1000 years,” stated Mr. Kissoore.
