Happy birthday Marcus Garvey! →
Marcus Garvey. “A Membership Appeal from Marcus Garvey to the Negro Citizens of New York”, July 1921.Courtesy of The Marcus Garvey and UNIA Papers Project, UCLA
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Remembering Samuel Sharpe
Before his execution in 1832, Samuel Sharpe—leader of Jamaican’s Baptist War Slave Rebellion—said: “I would rather die among yonder gallows, than live in slavery.”
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Reclaiming My West Indian Roots
As a young girl growing up in Jamaica — and later in Brooklyn, NY — I often heard the poetry of Louise Bennett (Jamaicans affectionately call her “Miss Lou”) permeate the air. One of my earliest recollections of Miss Lou’s lyricism was hearing the term mout amassi (big mouth). The term comes from the title of one of her most popular poems about a young lady, Liza, who loves to gossip and chat.
To be called a “mout amassi” was far from a compliment and the nickname could follow one around for a lifetime. Adults used it on adults and children alike. Children used it on each other, often eliciting uncontrollable laughter.
I have more fond memories of how Miss Lou’s poetry reverberated throughout my youth and the many phrases that I—as well as my fellow islanders—eagerly adapted to tease as well as to assert my identity.
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Popular reggae artist Jimmy Cliff was born April 1, 1948 in St.
James, Jamaica. Moving to Kingston at the age of 14, Cliff
would go on to pursue musical ambitions. He is known for such popular
recordings at “Waterfall,” protest song “Vietnam,” “Follow My Mind,” Cliff
Hanger, and the highly acclaimed “I Can See Clearly Now,” for the 1993
film Cool Runnings. Cliff also starred in the film The Harder They
Come, and created many of the songs.
