"Carry me ackee go a Linstead Market, not a quattie wud sell" is a line in the popular Jamaican folk song 'Linstead Market'. Ackee is the national fruit of Jamaica as well as a component of the national dish ñ ackee and codfish. Ackee is derived from the original name Ankye which comes from the Twi language of Ghana. The botanical name of the fruit ñ Blighia Sapida ñ was given in honour of Captain William Bligh of "Mutiny on the Bounty" fame, who in 1793 took plants of the fruit from Jamaica to England. Captain Bligh also brought the first breadfruit to Jamaica. Before this, the ackee was unknown to science. In 1778 Dr Thomas Clarke, one of the earliest propagators of the tree, introduced it to the eastern parishes. There are two main types of ackee identified by the colour of the aril. That with a soft yellow aril is known as 'butter' and 'cheese' is hard and cream-coloured. Ackee contains a poison (hypoglcin).
Speaking of "audacity of hope," [Marcus Mosiah Garvey] burst upon the global scene at a time when the vast majority of Africans suffered under the boot of white supremacy either through ruthless, exploitative and humiliating forms of European colonialism or segregation/apartheid in the Diaspora. As his life's commitment, the Jamaican-bom national was determined to use his extraordinary gins as a visionary, orator and organizer to uplift the African race and propel Black people to their rightful place in the forefront of civilization. To achieve his goal, however, he had to find a way to "keep hope alive." One of Garvey's greatest gifts was his keen appreciation of the role that symbols play in inspiring, uplifting and motivating disadvantaged and oppressed people. There was hardly a more daunting challenge than finding a way to give hope to the ethnically disparate and virtually universally despised sons and daughters of Africa. Never one to be discouraged by the difficulty of the task, Garvey boldly declared that he would give Black people a vision of a "government," men of "big affairs and a "flag!"
"That is the difference between the parade in Haiti and the parade in America. Here-it unites us," said [Wilner Auguste]. "I believe that if we can live with the idea of being united for one day then that idea can carry on throughout the rest of our days."
Considers the ways of the placing of and playing with Puerto Rican flags constitutes a visual praxis of haciendo patria or nation building. Terms that affix paradigms of nationality, albeit a transitory nationality, onto the people of the non-sovereign nation of Puerto Rico; Idea of Puerto Rico for Puerto Rican artists who were not born or did not grow up on the island; Information on the work of art of Juan Sanchez, a Puerto Rican artist.;
Bon Nouvel, Haiti's largest publication and oldest Creole magazine presented a historical overview of Haiti's flag in its May 2003 issue. To my surprise, there wasn't a so- called "creation" of the flag on May 18. There was rather a presentation that occurred during the month of May in a congress held in Arcahaie. Like Thomas Madiou, Haiti's renowned historian, Bon Nouvel did not write May 18 as the date of the presentation of the flag.
