[Carolyn Cooper] said there is a dissonance between "the brand" and the "representation of the brand" and that "until in Jamaica we come to acknowledge Jamaica is not an "out of many, one people" country but it is really a country of black people with small numbers of ethnic minorities, we're not going to get the brand right." 'At Independence, Emancipation Day just disappeared. Because if you have Emancipation Day, then you have to ask yourself what you were emancipated from. And then certain people would have to say, well, we were mixed up in it. Slavery, that is. So Emancipation Day was just erased,"she said. "But Garveyites and Rastafari kept the tradition of celebrating Emancipation Day. And it's now back on the national calendar. We even have an Emancipation Park!" "This book is a celebration of Brand Jamaica, the authentic Brand Jamaica and I hope that as you read it, you'll understand why I'm so passionate about the subject," said Cooper as she ended her remarks.
Morgan Heritage though, on their part, should bring out tons of new fans to the festival because of their legendary musical accomplishments. The band of brothers, sisters and other relatives, off springs of famed singer Denroy Morgan, have been able to comfortably navigate the various manifestation of reggae, from dancehall to lovers rock and roots rock. Along the way they have scored numerous hits gleaned from their several well written albums. They include Reggae bring back love, Don't haffi dread, She's still loving me, Nothing to smile about and Down by the river.
The group (JFS), which was founded by the late, Dr. Olive Lewin, OD, one of the world's foremost musicologist and authority on Jamaican folklore, will launch Jamstar's ambitious World Series of Concerts project with three performances in New York City from October 11 thru' 13. Performances are scheduled for St. John's University (Queens), On Friday, October 11; Hunter College (Manhattan), on Saturday, October 12; and Calvary Tabernacle, Hempstead, on Sunday, October 13. Billed as "The Jamaican Folk & Reggae Essay Competition", the project is a Grade based initiative, targeting Elementary through High School age students, and focuses on exploring aspects of Jamaica's Folk and Reggae music. Two of the recommended reference texts are books by the late Dr. Olive Lewin, "Rock It Come Over, The Story of Jamaican Folk Music", and "Roots of Reggae" by Dr. Ptah Shabazz.