Kwanzaa, an African-American holiday which celebrates family, community, and culture, is the fastest growing holiday in the U.S. An estimated 18 million Africans celebrate KWANZAA each year around the world, including celebrants in the U.S., Africa, the Caribbean, South America, especially Brazil, Canada, India, Britain and numerous European countries. Kwanzaa as an African-American holiday belongs to the most ancient tradition in the world, the African tradition. Drawing from and building on this rich and ancient tradition, Kwanzaa makes its own unique contribution to the enrichment and expansion of African tradition by reaffirming the importance of family, community, and culture. The Seven Principles of Kwanzaa. The central reason Kwanzaa is celebrated for seven days is to pay homage to The Seven Principles of Kwanzaa which in Swahili are: Umoja, Kujichagulia, Ujima, Ujamaa, Nia, Kuumba, and Imani. The principles are also known as The Seven Principles of African American community development and serve as a fundamental value system.
"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."
Daughter Nettie was honoured in 1971 as "Alberta's Pioneer Daughter of the Year" and died in 1989 at the age of 96. The Ware's original cabin is a visitor attraction in Dinosaur Provincial Park and the name of old cowboy is remembered through the John Ware Junior School in Calgary. Alberta is bounded on the West by the Province of British Columbia, on the North by the Northwest Territories, on the east by the Province of Saskatchewan, and on the South by the Canada-U.S. border. The Province has a Provincial Conservative Government, led by Premier Ralph Kline, with 62 of the 83 Legislative Assembly seats. The Alberta Liberals have 16, the Alberta New Democratic Party 4 and the Alberta Alliance one.
In spite of an acceleration of the registration process of the voters recorded recently, the 2.4 million registered voters, from a number of approximately 4.2 million citizens of voting age, continues to show a lack of enthusiasm. Such concerns are evident, in certain cases, by the absence of Voter Registration Bureaus (VRB) in hundreds of communal sections; or by the controversial creation of Communal Electoral Bureaus (CEB) and Departmental Electoral Bureaus (DEB). In addition, the dysfunction of the CEB and the DEB triggered protests from numerous candidates. It's also worth noting the installation of Candidates Registration Bureaus (CRB), on September 11th, which should have been functional since September 5th. Keeping in mind that the registration of candidates comes to an end September 15th, it's worth wondering what conjuring the CEP will do in order to achieve the registration of about 7, 733 posts to be provided for every party, on a total of 45 approved parties.
To me, it's a miracle that elections are even being held in Haiti this fall. It's a wonder that such an expression of democracy even exists after the last two years the country has been through. My greatest concern isn't fraud, it's whether or not there will be bloodshed. Also, whether or not enough eligible voters will make it to the polls in order to make Haiti's elections legitimate. News reports coming from Hurricane Rita's brutal assault on the U.S.'s Gulf Coast indicate that mercifully, there was no loss of life as a direct result of the hurricane. My prayer is that the same will be said about the upcoming Haitian elections. I need to remind myself that Hurricane Rita was not man-made, but elections are. Honestly, I have more confidence in a "God thing" than in something that's "man's doing." On the other hand, I do believe that just as God controls the world's weather systems, He can also control Haiti's elections. The second piece of evidence that things haven't changed all that much in Haiti Chen was the report that shipments of food and aid to the victims of last year's Gonaives flood are still sitting in the Port of Port-au-Prince because of bureaucratic "red tape." In other words, someone wants a bribe that relief agencies aren't willing to pay. This is horrendous and absolutely intolerable! Something's gotta change.
On January 1, 1804, Gen. Jean-Jacques Dessalines, proclaimed to the world that his country, henceforth to be called Haiti, was free and independent. Previously dominated by France since buccaneers settled there in 1697, the small Caribbean island, whose eastern portion was under Spanish rule, had become an important slave colony. The slaves were imported from Africa and lived a harsh reality in comparison to the minority white slaveholding population. In 1789, Santo Domingo, as France called the colony, consisted of 450,000 enslaved Blacks, 40,000 whites, and 28,000 free Blacks and mulattos. The death rate for the enslaved population was high: While more than 800,000 Africans had been enslaved in the colony in the 1700s, only 450,000 survived in 1789. In 1791 a slave rebellion under the leadership of Vodou priest Boukman sparked a revolution that lasted thirteen years, culminating in independence in 1804. Toussaint L'Overture was the primary leader among the enslaved population, playing France against the British and Spanish, as he maneuvered the struggle closer to independence. However, in hoping to maintain a friendly relationship with France, L'Overture was deceived and placed in the French gallows upon an invitation to France. His able subordinates Dessalines and Henri Christophe, however, continued the liberation effort achieving independence and eventually driving all whites off the island nation.
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.
Sisters and Brothers in the Diaspora outside Jamaica, Season's Greetings and remember in your prayers, in this time of fellowship and love, not just your own family and friends, but the larger family of Jamaicans and our homeland, Jamaica. In the coming year, we must, must have a conference of Jamaicans in Canada - and, before the middle of the year. Let us sit together, as many Jamaicans as possible, in workshops to thrash out the solutions. We know what the problems are. Time to stop talking about them and start dealing with solutions among ourselves, in a rational, quiet manner, as our forefathers did in order to end slavery and colonialism.
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.
The Los Angeles Caribbean Carnival, held in late Oct 2002, featured uninhibited dancing from scantily-clad women, entertainment from Calypso Rose and other Caribbean musicians and plenty of good food.
