This is no dull historical biography. In this 2 part interview with his publisher Ian Randle, author and former St Georges College Principal, Fred Kennedy explains why he took the unusual approach to tell the Sam Sharpe story as part autobiography and part fiction.
IR: Fred, who is DADDY SHARPE and why is the story of his life important?
FK: Daddy Sharpe is the name by which Sam Sharpe one of Jamaica’s seven National heroes was known.The designation of “Daddy”signified a position of leadership in the Baptist Church and the respect with which he was held by other leaders of the church.Sam Sharpe is of course best known for the leadership role he played in what has become known as the ‘Christmas Rebellion’ of 1831 involving tens of thousands of slaves from the five western parishes of Jamaica. While there were numerous rebellions throughout the slavery period in Jamaica and elsewhere in the Caribbean the 1831 rebellion led by Sam Sharpe was different in that it was conceived as a peaceful stoppags of work rather than an outright plan to kill and destroy. The concept of a slave withdrawing his labour was a unique one, in a sense taking on the element of a labour movement which would be the first in Jamaica’s history. But perhaps more important is the fact that most historians attribute the Christmas Rebellion as giving momentum to the passing of the Abolition Act passed a couple years later ending slavery in the British colonies.
IR: Until he gained significance as leader of the Christmas Rebellion, details of the early part of Sam Sharpe’s life have remained sketchy; does this work shed any clearer light on his life?
FK: Well we know he was born into slavery around 1801 at Coopers Hill in St. James into the Sharpe family who were relatively small landowners. The closest present day landmark would be the site of the Cornwall Regional Hospital just outside Montego Bay. He was a favoured slave and was thus given the opportunity to read and write giving him access to the Bible but also to the anti-slavery writings of persons like Robert Wedderburn.This in turn, gave him the leadership skills and explains his involvement in the Baptist Church.
IR: You have chosen a fascinating and difficult method of telling the Sam Sharpe story. It is part biography, part history, and strung together in Sam Sharpe’s own words through imaginative leaps of fiction.Why did you not simply write a factual historical account?
FK: I chose to do this simply because they are so many gaps in our historical knowledge of Sharpe’s life. I was influenced by the slave narratives of Fredrick Douglass, Equiano and by the life story of Nat Turner which have all been very successful. I wanted to adopt Sharpe’s persona and to give him a voice which I thought would be more effective for the reader.
IR: How much historical research did you have to do and how long did the entire process take up to completion of the manuscript?
FK: The entire project from beginning to end lasted for about six years, three to four of which involved the actual research. Much of the initial research was done at the University of Toronto and later in the Special Collections of the UWI library at Mona, the Institute of Jamaica and through site visits to various estates including Croydon where Sam Sharpe was actually the Head Slave. My research also took me to revivalist meetings and involved many hours of taped interviews. Secondary sources were also important. I consulted works by people like Devon Dick and Kamau Brathwaite both of whom had researched the British Parliamentary Papers and got valuable advice from Swithin Wilmot of the UWI History department. The late Shirley Gordon was especially helpful in coaching me to capture with some authenticity Sam Sharpe’s voice.
IR: Did your research unearth any previously undocumented facts about Sam Sharpe?
FK: No, I cannot make such a claim. What I can say however is that it provides fresh insights into Sam Sharpe’s character and allows different interpretations of the period. We can ask the question for example”Why did Sam Sharpe turn himself in? “ “ What was the role of the other Baptist Ministers in the Rebellion and how did they view Sam Sharpe?” “ Was he the sacrificial lamb for others involved in the rebellion?”.
IR: Has the research and actual writing changed your perceptions or opinions of Sam Sharpe?
FK: When I embarked on this work, I wanted to tell a Jamaican story and I felt that of all the national heroes, Sam Sharpe represented a story of hope and victory of how oppressed people can overcome odds. I believe Sam Sharpe looms large in Jamaica’s history and while I don’t necessarily want to ascribe the title of martyr to his actions, it was as if Sam Sharpe saw his own execution as necessary to secure the freedom of his people. Nothing in the Sam Sharpe story is negative and although he was an ordinary man everyone spoke with admiration about him. I believe that if students and young people in general understood the qualities of a Sam Sharpe -audacity, bravery, hope, sacrifice-to name a few, they would have greater respect for our heroes and have a greater sense of purpose.
