Haitian konpa groups have developed a reputation as one of the liveliest facets of the West Indian celebrations. "Everybody agreed to bring costumes, which could mean that they will be all in uniformity and coordinated with the leader of the group of whichever band it is," said Jean Alexander, spokeswoman for the Carnival Association. "They are going to be visited by some of the members, to see what it is they are portraying." Haitian konpa groups have developed a reputation as one of the liveliest facets of the West Indian celebrations. "Everybody agreed to bring costumes, which could mean that they will be all in uniformity and coordinated with the leader of the group of whichever band it is," said Jean Alexander, spokeswoman for the Carnival Association. "They are going to be visited by some of the members, to see what it is they are portraying."
Head of Arsenal in the community Alan Sefton said: "We are looking forward to our second visit to Guadeloupe in the summer, when Arsenal community coaches will deliver coaching sessions to the island's young coaches and young footballers."
"Gonaives... my heart is being torn apart, too many mothers have lost too many children," [Wyclef] sings in Creole, while distributing WFP food rations. "We wanted to capture the raw essence of Gonaives and give people inspiration. Not like: 'Be sad for us,' but asking how can we as people really help Gonaives," he said.
Many have blamed the Windies' decline on the MTV generation, who are more interested in American basketball than cricket. And cricketers, although still idolised in the Caribbean, would never earn the amounts of Michael Jordan or Shaquille O'Neal. In this sense, James placed cricket on the same level as Western literature. "We live in one world," he wrote in a 1969 essay, "and we have to find out what is taking place in the world. And I, a man of the Caribbean, have found that it is in the study of Western literature, Western philosophy and Western history that I have found out the things that I have found out, even about the underdeveloped countries." Throughout his life James viewed cricket as a means of helping unite a disparate set of islands, of establishing a Caribbean as opposed to an island mentality. He had little difficulty in understanding why Norman Tebbit should make cricket the basis of his loyalty test - or why most black people would fail it.
The irony of the black man with his top off - such as almost any black music star you care to mention - is that it doesn't say to me: "Look at this wonderful black man with his six-pack." We were never wanted for our minds, which was why it was illegal to teach slaves to read. We were flesh, a commodity, labour. As today's black man shows off his pride and joy, the modern billboard becomes the equivalent of yesteryear's slave stocks. The tragedy with the flesh doesn't end there. Too many of us are impressed by a black fascism which fails to question the oppressive power structures of idealised family structures or the obsession with genes, blood and national pride.
"Nothing can bring back those days," Mrs [Letitia Rose] declared. "Everything has changed. Nowadays, I don't bother to do a lot of shopping because it is not as enjoyable." "The party was usually held in a big park," she recalled. "There would be lots of food and music playing until late into the night. While the big people danced we used to have our little secret boyfriends and a group of us would to go off and play hide and seek. "As children in Jamaica, we used to organise parties and collect gifts for needy children in the community," said [Iris Gordon], who helped set up the Jamaica Heart Foundation. "Making children happy is what I enjoy most about this time of the year."
Biographer Delia Jarrett-Macauley stumbled across Marson's name while doing research for another book. The book has been well-received throughout Britain. Copies have sold out during every one of Jarrett-Macauley's book-signings and scheduled talks. "I saw this clipping that said, `Una Marson, the well-known BBC producer is now on holiday in Jamaica.' And I said: `What! You mean we had a black woman producer at the BBC as early as 1945 and we don't know about it.' I decided her story must be known," she said. Marson joined the BBC in 1936 and made an immediate impact, rising rapidly through the ranks. In 1942 she became the West Indies producer and created the Caribbean Voices programme, which won exposure and respectability for Caribbean writers and poets.
Beneficiaries thus far include: West Yorkshire's Cosmos, assigned L30,000 to stage a year-long exhibition for local ethnic communities; Liverpool's Nigerian Community Development Project, given L90,000 to refurbish its Grade II listed building; Wales's Gateway historic parks and gardens access project, granted L113,000; Brixton's National Museum and Archive of Black History, handed L302,000; and central London's Coram's Fields play area for children, awarded £1m for a complete restoration. [Helen Jackson] says there are many ways in which HLF can benefit the black community and that it is particularly keen to address issues such as social exclusion, depravation and young people's concerns. "We want to ensure lottery funding goes to all groups," she says. "We are aware we have more to do in really promoting equality of access to our funding.
Culture is a powerful tool for inspiring human beings and bringing them together in a concerted `family' action, says Prof [Marimba Ani], adding: "Our cultural roots are the most ancient in the world." This is very true and it is accepted that Egyptian science and technology laid the foundations for the development of Europe. It is also true that the finance to fund this development came from the proceeds of the barbaric slave trade. Black history is rich and diverse and knowledge of African achievements in education, politics, art, agriculture, medicine, science, religion, metallurgy, engineering, music and sports can help to boost our self-confidence no end. Records refer to the small population of `Negras' in Elizabethan London and even stretch back to the Roman Empire's occupation of Britain, when Africans were marooned at Hadrian's Wall in the third century AD. In the mid-'50s the Transport and General Workers' Union, now headed by Jamaican-born Bill Morris, insisted that no more than 52 of Wolverhampton's 900 bus workers should be black. This kind of colour bar was prevalent in many city transport companies from West Bromwich to Bristol.
Prophet and loss: A [Bob Marley] documentary forms the centrepiece of a Channel 4 special series on the Caribbean The music continues on August 7 with Top Ten: Caribbean, a celebration of Latino, reggae, ragga, hip-hop and everything in between with the 10 most successful Caribbean chart acts in pop history. Representing the lighter side of Caribbean life is rising star Richard Blackwood in a one-off Caribbean special of his entertainment series, The Richard Blackwood Show.
