"It must be relevant because most of the Jamaican population is of African stock, and we have never been able to forge that link between the motherland and the Caribbean," he told IPS. "It's very important to decide on our next step (to develop) a South-South relationship because we've always been looking to the North." Pan-Africanism is in one sense a united movement of countries on the African continent, but in the wider sense, encompasses a collective consciousness of all peoples of African descent. "[Marcus Garvey], as the father of Pan-Africanism, always tried to forge that link - that's why he started the (shipping line) Black Star liner," said Mutabaruka. "Politicians, people don't see the necessity to deal with Africa because they say Africa is not a place of development." "There wasn't a single nation or country with people of African descent and Africans which did not celebrate Nelson Mandela becoming president (in South Africa), because there was such a strong sense of identification with that," [Zweledinga Pallo Jordan] notes. "(But) it wasn't just identification, it was based on the fact that everyone in the entire African community across the Atlantic had participated in one way or another, some in big ways, some in small ways, but everyone had made a contribution, that's why people felt it was their victory."
"There was no trial. No formal accusations. They just dumped all of the prisoners like animals into a cage," [Jan Mapou] recalls. "they stripped us and then crammed 14 of us into a small cell. We had no idea if we would ever see our families again. We had no idea if we would even be alive from one second to the next." Tell no one "When I first started working with Jan Mapou and the Sosyete Koukouy, I knew very little about the meanings of the daces I was performing," says Nancy St. Leger, who is now the dance troupe's choreographer. "Mapou opened me up to the significance of each dance. He didn't want the dance troupe to perform anything we didn't understand." "What Mapou is promoting through his work is not just Haitian culture but what Haitian culture represents," says [Yves Colon]. "He keeps alive those ideas of beauty, harmony and black pride which are all a part of what Mapou believes is Haitian culture.
The term, "To run a boat," originated in the Caribbean. A group of boys or grown men would trump up whatever they had, little flour, bully beef, corn, cassava for bammy, salt pork, sugar, lime and water. Each person would bring one item and the firewood or stove would be lit. The resulting cornucopia would be most pleasing and satisfying, both to the palate and the gullet. The success would be measured by the hearty belches and the question, "So when we going to run the next boat?" Very much like the camel and its' hump. "Lord, Miss Gwen, de baby need to fatten up; mek sure him eat four bowl of porridge every day, plus two quart of milk, plus four boil eggs. Remember, a fat baby is a healthy baby." No function succeeds without plenty food, and in fact the measure of its status and success is the abundance of food that is served. Not even the dearly departed is spared. Nine days after a person dies, a wake or "nine night" is held. Just another excuse to wolf down the family's food. Other cultures burry the corpse within 24 hours, but not us, who choose to keep it until enough food can be bought to feed the ravaging hordes that are expecting to descend on the premises.
Toussaint L'Ouverture: The Other Bonaparte! When the friction of social injustice and deprivation ignite that fuel, glimmers of hope begin to surface. So it happened with the baby boy who came on the world scene as Toussaint L'Ouverture. Acts such as these stirred [Toussaint]; he felt destined to remedy the societal ills. He also knew the time was not yet right, so he waited and learned. Toussaint became the most humble, obliging slave. He was held up as a model to other slaves.
Although the program has a long, academic-sounding formal tide, "Sugar, Slavery and Imperialism: How Sugar Drove the Forced Migration of Africans to the Caribbean and the Impact of the Haitian Revolution," it is an informal presentation aimed at general audiences. This is a rare opportunity to learn more about Haiti's former status, as the richest, rather than the poorest, country in the hemisphere; about Haitian participation in the American Revolutionary War and aid to other independence struggles; about the brilliant diplomatic and military leadership of Toussaint L'Ouverture, Dessalines, Petion and others, who defeated the forces of Napoleon, Britain and Spain together; about how the Haitian victory caused Napoleon to sell the vast Louisiana territory to the United States, and about the great heroism of ordinary Haitians that was required for victory to be won. (The Louisiana Purchase, which will be commemorated on specially minted nickel coins in 2004, also opened the way for an expanded domestic "slave trade" within the United States, which was even larger than the former Atlantic trade).
"Once again, WLIB's commitment to New York's African American and Caribbean communities has been confirmed. We have devoted significant air time to voter registration drives, Public Service Announcements and other programs specifically organized to motivate our listeners to vote," said Janie Washington, station manager.
Except for inroads made in the first 10 - 15 years after the revolution, what is black has been heavily stereotyped; and nowadays there are no black actors to speak of on Cuban television, which is easy to see by tuning in. [Alden Knight] is best - known for his performance poetry - especially that of Cuba's mulatto National Poet, the late Nicols Guill'en our kind of Langston Hughes, the two of them having been contemporaries and friends. He regrets that it makes little sense in 1995 to perform Guill'en's classic 1964 poem of social redemption for the black Cuban: "Tengo [I have] is the sum total of what was achieved in this country for blacks, for the poor... and now it's been lost. I have said that when that poem can be read again in all honesty. We shall have regained what we had won by the end of the 1960s. When we were poor but equal. She and her sisters - three doctors and a philologist who specializes on Africa - were known since they were little as the daughters of Lilliam and Unan Emilio. The four were born and raised in Santiago de Cuba, the island's second and most Caribbean city, renowned for its history of rebellion, heroism and hospitality, as well as its more predominantly black population.
What roles do Caribbean Migrants play in the electing of Caribbean American officials and can Caribbean Americans only win in heavily populated Caribbean communities? Have they become a force to be reckoned with as it regards politics? These and other related questions have been foremost on the lips of many as more and more Caribbean Officials are elected into political positions in their communities. The recently held elections seemed to have further the theory that that Caribbean Americans are strongest in these areas where there is a large Caribbean community, as two more Caribbean Nationals joined the list of a growing number of Caribbean Americans now in politics. Jennifer Williams's one resident of Miramar believes the Caribbean Americans have their best chance in heavily Caribbean populated areas. "It is not that they can't win anywhere else but in these areas their votes are sure. "More Caribbean people, regardless from which island they are from, would much rather be represented by people they can relate to and someone who they believe shares similar issues," she said. "Who better to know of the different problems we experience than a Caribbean City Commissioner and we expect that they will be there to help us resolve some of these problems," she said.
With many of our local elections already gone and the presidential election fast-approaching, I sat back and took a long look at the candidates that ran for the various seats. I noticed something that truly startled me. There was not one candidate of Caribbean descent in any of the many elections that took place on September 3. Although it's a sad commentary on what's happening in the Caribbean community, it is also a chance for the community to make changes for the future. So many of us are American citizens of Caribbean heritage and have all right to run for election. Caribbean-Americans could be a very influential enclave in this town, not only economically, but politically as well. Hispanic candidates turned out in droves. In practically every race there was at least one Hispanic candidate. Black Americans also managed a strong showing. Most notable, with Arthur E.
One basic but tremendously important strategy is becoming and staying involved in our daughters' education. Our girls need to be told and reminded that all professions are open to them and that they must begin from an early age to prepare for these professions. Historically, girls do not take as many math and science courses as boys do, yet many top-paying professions require these subjects. Let your daughters know that math, chemistry, physics, etc., are not boy' exclusive domain but that girls have the aptitude to do just as well in these areas. These are women whose lives speak eloquently of courage, determination and achievement. Contemporary women also provide striking examples of qualities our own daughters can emulate. Within our churches, schools and communities are countless women with stories worth sharing.
