Examines the representations of Jamaican dancehall culture and Yardies in British journalism and in two novels published by X-Press publishing firm. Analysis of the novels Yardie, by Victor Headley and Cop Killer, by Donald Gorgon; Discussion on the Jamaican dancehall music and the raggamuffin or ragga consciousness; Discussion on the symbolic location of Jamaican youth in British discourses.;
The author explores themes of Black masculinity using both historic and contemporary examples. He discusses "neoliberal" expectations regarding sexual orientation, family life, and self-fulfillment. He explores alternate definitions of gender as exhibited in the self-portraits by Abdi Osman and Syrus Ware.
The author responds to articles in the journal by Kevin Gaines and Patricia Saunders concerning her book Left of Karl Marx: The Political Life of Black Communist Claudia Jones. Particular focus is given to the notion of outsiderness regarding the status of black women and Caribbean women within radical and intellectual traditions. Lessons from the life and political career of political activist Claudia Jones are explored.
Discusses the history of migrants from the British Caribbean in Cuba during the early twentieth century. Views of sociologist Anthony Maingot on the single greatest lacuna in the study of the Caribbean; Focus on the organization practices of these migrants answering questions within social science scholarship in the Caribbean such as race, religion and nation; Information on the Universal Negro Improvement Association formed by Marcus Garvey.;
This essay examines public discussions around skin bleaching in Jamaica and demonstrates that a discourse of pathology is a dominant frame of meaning used to explain this practice. I argue that the practice of bleaching destabilizes popular conceptions of blackness that rely on an understanding of the body as immutable and naturally marked by race. Depicting skin bleaching as pathological attempts to recenter hegemonic conceptions of blackness and to discipline bodies so that they adhere to them.;
