SVG Brooklyn teachers pay
tribute to late cultural icon
By Nelson A. King
The Brooklyn-based St. Vincent
and the Grenadines Ex-
Teachers Association of New
York, Inc. on Sunday dedicated
its 37th anniversary gala luncheon
at Grand Prospect Hall in
Brooklyn to the late Vernalyn
Blencowe, a staunch executive
member of the group, community
stalwart and cultural icon,
who died on July 20 and interred
on Aug. 3 in her native Union
Island in the southern St. Vincent
Grenadine islands. She was
79.
Blencowe’s professional career
spanned over 50 years of teaching
both in St. Vincent and the
Grenadines and Brooklyn.
She was also a licensed practical
nurse in New York, community
activist and poet, among
other things.
In its souvenir journal for the
annual celebration, which also
marked the birthday of slain
US civil rights leader, the Rev.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Ex-Teachers Association of New
York, Inc. said Blencowe “had no
tolerance for tardiness, procrastination
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“She was refreshingly candid
about her life, her frailties and
her aspirations,” the group said.
“But her angelic demeanor and
infectious laughter belied a formidable
talent for discourse.
“She relished animated
debates, many of which she instigated
with catch phrases such
as: ‘All yo joking; this is serious,
serious talk’, or ‘Doh come to me
with that nonsense,’” it added.
“But once the gauntlet was taken
up, she took no prisoners, skillfully
articulating her position,
and challenging her opponents
to defend, on principle, their
propositions.
“Coming from a large, closeknit
family, she gained an
appreciation for the importance
unconditional love and discipline
played in the cultivation and
maintenance of healthy and productive
relationships,” the group
continued. “She learned to be
compassionate without being
condescending, and, in the process,
developed excellent leadership
skills and ethical practices.”
The St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Ex-Teachers Association
of New York, Inc. also said that
Blencowe “benefited from lessons
in generosity, loyalty, humility
and comity – four fundamental
principles that underpinned her
Vernalyn Blencowe’s children, from left, Eric, Carl and Maria,
with Dr. Herman Ambris. Photo by Nelson A. King
persona, and which she exemplified
as community leader, teacher,
nurse, founding member of
The St. Vincent & The Grenadines
Ex-Teachers Association
and, above all, mother, mentor
and friend.”
“A staunch Catholic, proud
Union Islander, political activist,
nation builder, prolific writer
and poet, she eschewed injustice
in any form, and wrote extensively
and powerfully about its
destructive effects,” the group
said. “Small wonder, then, that
this patriot would selflessly dedicate
her life to being a tireless
crusader for women’s rights,
an advocate for the marginalized
and a spur to societal conscience.”
In addition, the ex-teachers
said Blencowe was “a woman
whose fierce love for, and devotion
to, the local arts and artistes
thrust her to the epicenter of the
struggle for their promulgation
and preservation.
Hermina Ambris-Claxton
(right) presents bouquet of
fl owers to Maria Blencowe.
Photo by Nelson A. King
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