Social Commentary

(This is a long one, but it does link back to Welland in the end, and I hope it's an interesting read.)

In Trinidad, there is a controversial figure who has been attacking the government, the media, the news, and nearly anything else you can think of for nearly 50 years. He uses the art of music to take shots at anything that strikes his fancy, and he never misses his mark - his songs contain some of the hardest-hitting messages in Caribbean music. His name is Dr. Hollis Liverpool, better known as Chalkdust.

Chalkdust is a calypso singer who specializes in the field of social commentary - songs that reflect on current events in his home country and around the world. Often, this involves criticizing members of the government, or just going after the government as a whole. It makes for a very entertaining type of music, and it incites a lot of controversy.

Controversy never stopped Chalkdust - he just used it as the title for one of his albums, and kept on going. During the early stages of his career, several of his associates (political renegades for the most part) were jailed, but Chalkdust kept singing. In the 1980s, when his type of music was being replaced by faster and less meaningful songs, Chalkdust held his own among the new crop of artists. In the 1990s he recieved a PhD in History and Ethnomusicology from the University of Michigan, and still kept singing. He still performs in Trinidad and the United States to this day.

The name 'Chalkdust' has a double meaning. The simple version is that it was inspired by his job as a schoolteacher in the 1970s. The deeper meaning is that it refers to the nature of actual chalk dust - once you get some on you, it's almost impossible to get it off. In much the same way, once Chalkdust latches on to somebody, he doesn't let go. Nobody knew this better than Eric Williams, former Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, who faced the full wrath of Chalkdust for many years. Chalkie attacked every possible aspect of Williams' life. Even the death of Williams in 1981 did not stop the onslaught.

Yet in spite of his continued lyrical battle with seemingly everyone else in Trinidad, Chalkdust was always well liked. In fact, the people he attacked most often gave him the most respect - Eric Williams counted Chalkie among his close friends. Chalkdust only sang about the negative aspects of his country because of how much he loved his country. It was his way of trying to improve his home, nothing more, nothing less. The people Chalkdust called out in his lyrics never responded harshly, if anything, they were honored to be important enough for him to reference them. The only people who hated him were the ones who were complacent with everything the way it was, and didn't like anyone who suggested changes be made.

So how does all of this come back around to Welland? Well, let's have a second look at the facts about Chalkdust:

• Routinely calls out his government on its recent decisions.
• Never backs down from any kind of opposition.
• Loves the place he calls home and tries to improve it in his own unique way.
• Hated by people who don't like change.

Doesn't this sound like a few people we have here in Welland? It does to me, and there's a good reason for that. Being complacent all the time gets us nowhere. We need to speak out in favor of the things we support, and speak out against the things we don't support. That's the only way to improve the place in which we live. Chalkdust knew that, and that's why he never backed down from his views. Several citizens of Welland know this too, and that's why they do what they do.

Yes, Chalkdust's songs often spoke negatively of the topics at hand. That doesn't make him a 'hater.' If he didn't think Trinidad was great, he would have just left it behind - many other calypsonians did just that during Chalkdust's heyday. Instead, he stuck around and sang about the issues his country faced, so that he would inspire people to make it better. That's exactly what's going on here in Welland, and yet the people doing it here get blasted for being too cynical, time and time again.

So the next time you see someone speak out against something they don't like in this city, don't just dismiss them straight away. Give them some respect instead - maybe, just maybe, they're doing it because they want Welland to improve. 

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Recommended Chalkdust songs to go along with this post:

Ah Fraid Karl (19??)

The Message of '70 (1970)

Seawater and Sand (1986)

What the Hell You Want (1987)

Qualifications of a Politician (1988)