I had not met Kacey Jeffers when a mutual friend placed a copy of his book, Uniform, in my hands. On page 11, I found an image of an 11-year old boy named Ty-reese. “I am the only boy in my class,” he wrote for the caption accompanying his portrait. At age 11, I, too, was the only boy in my elementary school class, a group set apart for accelerated learning in the days when such apportioning was regarded as sound educational policy. But I paid a price in the form of name-calling, intimidation, exclusion and shoving on the playground among the other boys. I was also the smallest and the only Jewish boy in my class. Soon my father, who had wrestled for his college team, taught me how to topple any antagonist. I admit that in one instance duly noted by the boys, I didn’t wait to be struck first.
There is much talk everywhere about teaching compassion to our children as a way to erode the structural prejudices in our communities. But showing compassion to our children may be the best instruction. This is the spirit I discovered throughout Uniform. Having found it in the photographs, I decided to contact Kacey and solicit his work for On The Seawall. As you will learn, he grew up and was schooled on the eastern Caribbean island of Nevis, population around 12,000. The name Nevis, derived from its Spanish colonizers through the phrase Nuestra Señora de las Nieves (Our Lady of the Snows), first appeared on maps in the 16th century. The literacy rate in Nevis is 98%, one of the highest in the Western Hemisphere. – RS
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Introduction to Uniform by Kacey Jeffers
Each Sunday evening, from preschool until I was a 4th grader at the Combermere Primary School (now Violet O. Jeffers-Nicholls), my mother hunched her back and contorted her limbs, like the women in Degas’ “The Laundress.” Three cotton yellow shirts and two khaki pants, steamed, ironed, and starched to perfection.
Mornings, she marveled at her work and cautioned, “Go to school and learn, and bring this uniform back home just how you left with it.” I tried my best to dodge chewing gum, ink, and schoolyard scuffles while keeping my grades up and having fun. My shirt stayed tucked in my pants, pants firmly on my waist, with seams remaining razor sharp.
She passed the baton – the iron – with eagerness and some reluctance. She had good reason to. The occasional burning of fabric proved that I could never live up to her standards.
After I enrolled at the Gingerland Secondary School, I became accustomed to sleepily dragging the iron across my brown cotton shirt and khaki pants. No grace, no elegance. The garments looked okay. As if I was preoccupied with self-preservation more than I was with self-presentation.
Twelve years ago, while attending the Nevis Sixth Form College, I wore a white cotton shirt with brown pants. This uniform holds weight. It says, “Here is a young professional man. He is serious about education and his future.”
I was an 18-year old filled with uncertainty, questioning the status quo, longing to belong, and desiring fuller expression. By the end of the school year, my dark brown pants had faded to a lighter shade, and bright white shirts had dimmed. But a creative spirit was awakening within me.
Uniform started as an idea to catalog the different school uniforms of Nevis. It soon evolved through my desire to recognize individuality.
The project unfolded over the course of two weeks at the end of the school year, in abandoned spaces, classrooms, libraries, halls, and music rooms. The complete project features 26 students, in ages ranging from 10 to 18, from 14 schools on the island.
Our brief conversations revealed youths who are engaged with the world around them. I left feeling impressed with how they framed topics such as female empowerment, self-acceptance, bullying, and loss within the context of their personal experiences.
Uniform is a message in a bottle, celebrating the ever-evolving distinctiveness that lives within all of us.
— Kacey Jeffers
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Keniyo, 11, Jocelyn Liburd Primary School
“God is wonderful. I turn to him when I am feeling down and thank him for my family. I am now a big brother to a 5-month old. When he is crying, I take him out of the crib and pat his back. My idol is Kevin Durant. I love how he works hard day and night. I am short but determined to play in the NBA.”
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Sasha, 12, Violet O. Jeffers-Nicholls Primary School
“My mother tells me every day to be a light in the dark. When I see others doing bad things, like littering, I know that I don’t have to follow them. I want to make Mother Earth better.”
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Ty-reese, 11, St.James Primary School
“I am the only boy in my class. When we are playing cricket, I get nervous since I am playing with the bigger boys. After I hit the ball, it all feels much better.”
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Aqui-la, 11, Elizabeth Pemberton Primary School
“My mom told me that when I was a 3-year old, I was afraid to touch sand. Now, I love going to the beach but I get scared if I hold my head under the water. I want people to loosen up and share their stories. It’s okay to have weird fears.”
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Nyashia, 11, St. Thomas Primary School
“I love dancing so much that when I grow up, I want to be a choreographer. I feel loved and appreciated by my family. It is because they believe in me, I also believe in myself.”
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Alixandria, 11, Montessori Academy
“I find myself plugging my ears with my headphones and listening to music to feel calm. Grandma tells me that watching certain shows on YouTube isn’t healthy for my brain. I try to control what I watch. I take a peek and if it’s not for me, I press forward.”
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Thane, 12, Maude Crosse Preparatory
“I go to church every Sunday morning at 10 o’clock. The pastor prays for me. What do I pray for? For the country to be better. For people who are sick. And for safety when I ride my motorcycle to the beach.”
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Khylee, 13, Gingerland Secondary School
“I live in the community of Rawlins Village. Everyone is very helpful and tend to get along with each other. I’m working on getting along better with my classmates.”
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Apryll, 16, Gingerland Secondary School
“Watching movies sparked something in me. I can’t describe the feeling but it felt different. It made me realize that I wanted to be a filmmaker. I’m passionate about photography and movie making. Excited to receive my first camera for my 17th birthday!”
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Juliska, 11, Ivor Walters Primary School
“One time while traveling to St. Maarten, I looked out the window and could see a shark swimming in the ocean. Flying can be scary. It feels like we’re dropping. The more I travel, the more comfortable I feel. For my next trip, I want to go to England to shop and play in the snow.”
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Tejanah, 11, Charlestown Primary School
“My dad teases me: You’re the only girl playing with the boys. That doesn’t stop me. Most boys think that girls shouldn’t play sports. When I beat them in basketball, cricket, and pitching marbles, they say that I am lucky or that I cheated. It doesn’t matter to me that I’m a girl, I’ll play what I want — including the steel pan.”
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Shanelly, 13, Charlestown Secondary School
“Last year for my annual dance production, I performed to a song called “Skyscraper.” I felt a deep connection with this song since my mom had recently passed and I was rising from a dark space. People are constantly asking me, ‘How are you making it through?’ The answer is simple: I use my mom as motivation. Life can be unfair but we just have to push forward and remember that there are better days ahead.”
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Zoe, 18, Nevis Sixth Form College
“I kept failing to realize the unlimited love that most people have for me. My antisocial behavior hurt them. Now, it is about rebuilding the bridges I once let burn. A single argument two years ago destroyed six years of friendship between my best friend and me. I lost her trust, her friendship, and a sister. I’m reluctant to approach her. I don’t want to be rejected. Some things aren’t worth fighting over, but a friend like her is worth dying for.”
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Uniform by Kacey Jeffers may be purchased by clicking here. Fine art prints in limited edition of 7″, 20″ x 25″ are also available. Inquiries may be sent to uniform@kaceyjeffers.com.