Lorna Goodison Wins B.C. National Award for Non-Fiction

Lorna Goodison, author of From Harvey River, a memoir about growing up in Jamaica, has won the 2008 B.C.'s National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction. She accepted the $40,000 prize Thursday with tears in her eyes.

"I am accepting this award on behalf of all the people from the Caribbean who are now Canadians, who hold this country dear, as I have come to hold it dear," said Goodison, 60, who is best known for her poetry.

She has lived in the United States as well as in Jamaica and Canada, now dividing her time mainly between Toronto and Ann Arbor, Mich., since she teaches at the University of Michigan. With husband Edward (Ted) Chamberlin, also a university professor and author, she cherishes holiday time at B.C.'s Halfmoon Bay, where she finished writing From Harvey River: A Memoir of My Mother and Her People.

At the lunchtime award ceremony at the Pan Pacific Hotel, where Premier Gordon Campbell spoke fluently about how great non-fiction helps readers to "move beyond the edge of what we know about ourselves," each of the three finalists for the award received an eloquent tribute.

Describing From Harvey River, Gary Geddes (author, most recently, of Falsework, poems about the 1958 collapse of the Second Narrows Bridge) called it "a paean to family." He said: "It's been a rich learning experience for me -- indeed, a revelation -- to discover not only fine writing but also an attractive and discerning sensibility" in the book.

Goodison writes of her late mother, who raised nine children, of whom Lorna was the eighth. Her hands always smelled of onions because of the amount of cooking she did.

Lawyer Keith Mitchell, chairman of the BC Achievement Foundation, which gives the award, said a thread about the importance of family runs through the other two books, as well.

Jurors David Mitchell, Patrick Lane and Sandra Martin, who chose the short list from a 10-book long list and, ultimately, 90 submissions, thought that Jacques Poitras's Beaverbrook: A Shattered Legacy (about whether the art treasures amassed by press baron Lord Beaverbrook were a loan or a gift to the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton, N.B.) would make as good a winner as Goodison's memoir.

"You're all winners today," Mitchell, a vice-principal of Ontario's Queen's University, had told Poitras, Goodison and Donald Harman Akenson before making the announcement.

Akenson's book, Some Family: The Mormons and How Humanity Keeps Track of Itself, is about the Family History Library of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the world's pre-eminent trove of genealogical information.

Paul Whitney, city librarian with the Vancouver Public Library, said Some Family is an example of "that sweet spot, for a university press, where academic expertise and research intersect with the preoccupations of the general public."

It's published by McGill-Queen's University Press. Beaverbrook comes from Goose Lane Editions, while McClelland & Stewart published From Harvey River (one of five books on the Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction short list).

Poitras and Akenson each received $2,500.

The award, which was $25,000 in its first three years, rose over the summer to $40,000 -- the amount of the Griffin Poetry Prize and the Scotiabank Giller Prize.

Source: The Vancouver Sun

Bonita Jamaica
Beautiful Place. Amazing People.

See you in Jamaica.

A Gift from Reggae Superstar Luciano

Bonita Jamaica would like to thank Reggae Superstar Luciano for this lovely present. Luciano's new album, Jah Is My Navigator, in stores now. Get it.

Bim!

Bonita Jamaica
Beautiful Place. Amazing People.

See you in Jamaica.

Monsignor Gladstone Wilson - The 7th Most Learned Man in the World

This man right here was greater than great. Show some respect. RIP Monsignor Wilson.

RT. Reverend Monsignor Gladstone Orlando Stanislaus Wilson (1906-1974) Class of 1921Ph.D., M.A., B.A Hons, B.D., D.D., D.C.L., B.C.L., F.R.S.A, Dip. Soc. Sc. (Diploma in Social Science)

Born March 10, 1906, in Mavis Bank, St. Andrew.
Father: Nelson Cameron Wilson
Mother: Rose Anne (nee Moore)

Was tutored privately by his parents as a boy and won three scholarships.

He attended St. George’s College, 1918-1922

Roman Catholic Priest, Educator-Lecturer, Traveller and Linguist
Chancellor and Secretor of the Curia

Vicariate Apostolic of Jamaica from 1940 (many times in charge of the Vicariate)
Elevated to Monsignor in 1950

Member of:
Catholic Inter-Racial Council of America
American Association of Social Workers
Many Government, Educational, Social and Civic Boards in Jamaica

1923 – 1925 Worked in the Civil Service in the Kingston Collectorate and Surveyor General’s Department.

1926-1931 Urban College Rome (Resident Scholar)
B.A Hons. – Won the Latin, Greek, Natural History Awards and the Chancellor’s Philosophical Scholarship

1929 Ph.D. summa cum laude

1930 Gold Medallist and Prizeman in Psychology, Moral Philosophy, and History of Philosophy, B.D. (Hons.)

1930-31 President Newman Club (literary Association for English speaking students In Rome)

1931, Dec. 24, Ordained by His Eminence William Cardinal Van Rossum, by special permission of His Holiness Pope PiosXI

1932 D.D. "magna cum laude” Faculty of Philosophy, winning Chancellor's Prize for general excellence

1932-33 Tutor, Urban College, Rome (distinction only West Indian, and Negro to occupy post)

1933 Associate Lecturer in Missiology and Modern Language, Vatican University

1934 Candidate for Vatican Diplomatic Service; B.C.L. Faculty of Law

1936 D.C.L "summa cum laude." Achieved Faculty Fellowship in 1936

1937-38 Attached Jamaica Mission

1938 Clinical work in Manhattan State Hospital Ward U.S.A.

1940 Graduate student Fordham University (Sociology and Psychiatry), M.A., (Sociology) and Diploma in Social work

Selected by ballot, under-grad., Representative Urban College (1927) Official celebrations, Tercentenary Estab. Urban College, and Golden Jubilee (1929). Pope Pius XI, who personally complimented him on Speeches, delivered on both distinguished occasions

Was associated with His Holiness Pope Pius XII, Eugenio Pacelli when Secretary of State and as Supernumerary Chaplain to the then late Cardinal Lamenti, Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of Rites

Made contributions to several specialized Magazines and Journals; considered one of the most highly qualified Ecclesiastics in the Roman Catholic organization

Travelled extensively in Europe, and the Americas, and spoke several languages fluently, including French, Spanish, Italian, German, Portuguese, Latin, Greek and Hebrew

He delivered the homily at the re-interment of National Hero Marcus Mosiah Garvey in 1964.

Considered to be the seventh most learned person in the world at the time of his death on December 1, 1974.

RT. Reverend Monsignor Gladstone Orlando Stanislaus Wilson was inducted in 2000 into the St. George's College Hall of Fame and named St. George's College Student of the 20th Century.

St. George's College Old Boys Association - Ontario Chapter

Bonita Jamaica
Beautiful Place. Amazing People.

See you in Jamaica.

Roger Mais - Journalist, Novelist, Poet and Playwright

Roger Mais (August 11, 1905 Kingston−June 21, 1955 Kingston) was a Jamaican journalist, novelist, poet, and playwright.

Mais was perhaps the most important writer to emerge from the nationalist movement which began with the labour rebellion of 1938. His play of that year, George William Gordon, which focused on the Morant Bay Rebellion of 1865, played an important role in the rehabilitation of the eponymous character, who was in conventional colonial history described as a rebel and traitor, and who would be proclaimed, on the centenary of the rebellion, a National Hero.

Mais became a writer for the weekly newspaper, Public Opinion, which was associated with the People's National Party. A column he wrote for the newspaper, entitled "Now We Know", critical of British colonial policy resulted in his imprisonment for sedition.

This period of imprisonment was instrumental in the development of his first novel, The Hills Were Joyful Together, a work focused on working-class life in the Kingston of the 1940s. Mais's second novel, Brother Man, was a sympathetic exploration of the emergent Rastafari movement.

While Mais's first two novels had urban settings, his third novel, Black Lightning centred on an artist living in the countryside.

Mais was also known as a poet, and showed a fine command of lyricism, and a short-story writer. His short stories were collected in a volume entitled Listen, The Wind, thirty-two years after his death.

Mais's novels have been republished posthumously several times, an indication of his continuing importance to Caribbean literary history. He also had an influence on younger writers of the pre-independence period, notably John Hearne.

Bonita Jamaica
Beautiful Place. Amazing People.

See you in Jamaica.

Sosheba - Trench Town Girl Rocks International Runways

In less than two years Sosheba Griffiths has moved from being a simple girl in Trench Town to a well-known international model.

She has been featured in a Victoria Secret catalogue and has had to grapple with the realities of racism in the international market.

Sosheba was discovered in 2005 by Deiwight Peters, the CEO of Saint International, while attending Denham Town High School. She was groomed by the agency and entered the Fashion Face of the Caribbean model search, which she won in 2006. She finished school that year and this gave her the opportunity and time to fully launch her career as a model.

During her short time on the fashion scene, she has already been featured in several overseas publications and campaigns. So far she has been on campaigns for Moschino, has graced the covers of Vogue Knitting, Japan's Luire, Ibiza Style, had six pages in Chinese Bazaar and editorial appearances in Teen Vogue, Trace Magazine, Vogue Gioella, The Guardian, Seventeen Magazine and WIG Magazine.

The dizzying pace has also landed her the high-profile campaign for Erin Fetherston and she has appeared on the runways of New York, London, Paris and Milan. She has also made appearances for leading clients including Chloe, Van Cleef and Arpels (London), Sportsmax, MAC (Milan).

Sosheba is also featured in a 12-page spread in France's Jalouse Magazine, which is currently running.

With all these achievements, she says the biggest one since the start of her career has been her appearance in the Victoria Secret catalogue within two months after she won Saint International Fashion Face of the Caribbean.

"The Victoria Secret catalogue had lots of girls and I, the only black girl in the competition, won it. It went well with the photographer and I liked it. It's tough for black girls 'cause only one or two will burst out. So you have to work hard for it to come true," said the excited Sosheba as she recounted her experience.

Faced with racism

She says she has already faced some level of racism as the black models have to work harder than the other models to get jobs in some of the magazines or modelling agencies that traditionally employ Caucasian models.

While racism has been her biggest challenge yet, she says that she misses her parents and the rest of her family but due to her drive to succeed in modelling, she says she is willing to make the sacrifice.

"I have to wake up really early in the mornings to go to castings and photo shoots from eight in the mornings to 10 in the night. For the Erin Fetherson campaign, I start photo shoots from two in the day and go 'til the following morning but I don't complain like the other girls," she said.

She says the other girls complained about the lengthy hours but she loves what she is doing and remembers her humble beginnings.

Diewight Peters, who has guided Sosheba's career thus far speaks very highly of her.

"All the clients also report on her warmth. She is also very personable and has a great spirit. In the pressuring world of fashion, sometimes it's hard for girls to remain personable and friendly under pressure, not Sosheba."

Confident individual

She also has attributes which she believes make her easy to work with. "I am very confident in myself, outgoing, like to work a lot, friendly, meet different people, like to travel and be myself," Sosheba said.

At only 18 years old, she says she has at least another 12 years in the industry. Peters, however, says he believes she has more than 15 years left. He believes she has a 'timeless' look that can almost guarantee her a place in the industry for decades like Lauren Hutton, Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer, Kate Moss, Iman, Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista and Tyra Banks.

Sosheba has her role model in sight as well. "I want to be like Naomi Campbell. She is a supermodel. She has been in music videos and she has given to charity," she said.

Sosheba is also planning to give back to charities and to kids, hospitals and her alma mater, Denham Town High. Her aspirations for modelling are high, but she is aware that they are not guaranteed as she intends to pursue a career in midwifery when her modelling career ends.

But those concerns have been neatly stashed away as she is enjoying every bit of her golden opportunity. She will leave London within three weeks for New York for castings, photo shoots, shows and fittings. She will be in Milan by February and then Paris by March to participate in a 'Ready to Wear' fashion show.

Source: The Jamaica Gleaner

Bonita Jamaica
Beautiful Place. Amazing People.

See you in Jamaica.

Michael Manley for Civil Rights Walk of Fame

WASHINGTON, Jan. 4 (JIS): Saturday, January 05, 2008

Some 10 years after his death, former Prime Minister, Michael Manley will create history when he will be the first Jamaican leader to be inducted into the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame, on Saturday, January 12.

Mr. Manley's induction, part of the annual Trumpet Awards, will take place at the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site, in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, following a ceremony at the landmark Ebenezer Baptist Church. He will be inducted alongside such American civil rights icons, as poet Maya Angelou; singer/dancer Sammy Davis, Jr.; activist, Benjamin Hooks; radio host, Tom Joyner; and Martin Luther King's attorney, Clarence B. Jones.

The annual Trumpet Awards programme, which begins on Thursday, January 9, culminates on Sunday, January 13, with the presentation of the awards at the Atlanta Civic Centre. Inaugurated in 1993, the Trumpet Awards honour African American achievers in many different fields of endeavour, including law, business, medicine, politics, entertainment and public service.

Glynne Manley, widow of Mr. Manley will attend the ceremonies in Atlanta and unveil Mr. Manley's footprints on the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame. Prime Minister from 1972 to 1980 and from 1989 to 1992, the late former Prime Minister was also a Vice President of Socialist International and a recognized voice for a new international economic order and for civil rights.

Mr. Manley's footprints will join others from previous years, including former US Presidents, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter and Lyndon B. Johnson; current Atlanta Mayor, Shirley Franklin and former mayors, Andrew Young and the late Maynard Jackson; the late former Bahamian Prime Minister, Lynden Pindling; Harry Belafonte, Stevie Wonder, Sidney Poitier, Lena Horne, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Dick Gregory, Julian Bond, Medgar Evers, Rosa Parks, and Thurgood Marshall.

According to the Trumpet Award Foundation's Executive Director, Xernona Clayton, Michael Manley was selected for induction based not only on the outstanding contribution he made during his life, but also because of his powerful enduring legacy in civil rights. He was a prominent voice in raising international awareness about the great civil rights issues that continue to resonate around the world.

The International Civil Rights Walk of Fame was created five years ago as an added feature of the Trumpet Awards, and recognises those who have sacrificed and struggled to make equality a reality for all. The Civil Rights Walk of Fame display has become one of Atlanta's most visited tourist attractions.

Source: JIS (Jamaica Information Service)

Bonita Jamaica
Beautiful Place. Amazing People.

See you in Jamaica.

Mary Seacole Honoured With Blue Plaque

LONDON, England (JIS), December 5, 2007:

The London home of pioneering Jamaican healer, Mary Seacole, has been marked with one of English Heritage's prestigious blue plaques. The plaque, which was unveiled last week at a ceremony at the house at Soho Square in Westminster, describes Mrs Seacole as a "heroine of the Crimean War".

The house is in fact one of several places in London where Mary Seacole lived during her time there and is the only one that has survived until today. The very plaque mounted at Soho Square previously adorned Mrs Seacole's earlier address at George Street in Marylebone before its demolition.

The Soho Square address was where Mrs. Seacole lived after her return from the Crimean War and at the time of the publication of 'The Wonderful Adventures of Mrs Seacole in Many Lands', the first autobiography written by a black woman in Britain.

To coincide with the unveiling of the plaque, the Florence Nightingale Museum has opened a display devoted to Mary Seacole's life and contribution to the nursing care of British soldiers during the Crimean War.

English Heritage has managed the blue plaque scheme since 1986. Plaques have since been issued to commemorate the achievements of a vast range of figures from different countries, cultures and backgrounds including late former Prime Minister and historian, Sir Winston Churchill; American musician, Jimi Hendrix; crime fiction writer, Agatha Christie, and Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist, Sigmund Freud.

The residence of another legendary Jamaican, Bob Marley, was commemorated with a plaque last year.

Mary Seacole was recently voted greatest ever black Briton in an online poll.

Bonita Jamaica
Beautiful Place. Amazing People.

See you in Jamaica.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year from Bonita Jamaica.

Wishing you BIG things in 2008 and, of course, make sure you visit Jamaica in 2008.

Bonita Jamaica
Beautiful Place. Amazing People.

See you in Jamaica.

Connie Matthews - International Coordinator of the Black Panther Party

In 1968, an articulate young Jamaican woman named Connie Matthews, who was employed to UNESCO in Copenhagen, Denmark, helped to sponsor Bobby Seals visit to Scandinavia. Afterwards, she became active in the Danish Committee for Solidarity with the Black Panther Party. Energetic and dedicated to the Black liberation movement, Connie Matthews became the International Coordinator of the Black Panther Party in 1969. She spent several months visiting the Black Panther Headquarters in the United States, coordinating activities between the European solidarity committees and the Black Panther Party, writing for the Panther newspaper, and speaking at conferences. She briefly joined the Black Panther delegation to the Pan African Cultural Festival, and the following November Matthews returned to Algiers to collaborate with Cleaver on the international activities of the Black Panther Party in Europe.

Taken, in part from, The Black Panther Party Reconsidered, by Charles Earl Jones.

Information on Connie Matthews is very scarce. If anyone has any additional information on her, please email us with it at BonitaJamaica@gmail.com.

Feedback from someone who met Connie Matthews

This email was sent to us on May 30, 2008

At the internet I looked for Connie Matthews, and since you are asking for further information about her I can tell as follows - it is not very much, I am sorry to say!

I am a danish woman, 75 years old, who 1970 divorced my husband to marry a highly idealistic medical doctor who became the love of my life & vice versa. He suddenly died at the age of 56 after 6 years of happy marriage.

We were living in a large house north of Copenhagen, and on March 1970 Kathleen Cleaver came from Algiers with her infant baby to recover from intense stress & fatigue. At this time I had never heard about The Black Panther Party and Eldridge Cleaver. She stayed in the house until March 10th 1970, and on her departure she signed my husband´s danish translation of Soul on Ice with these words: For the good doctor & revolutionary, Dr. Erik Jørgensen, who has done us a wonderful favour. Many thanks Kathleen Cleaver.

I saw Kathleen only once (before I moved in) but I have never talked with her, I was bashfull and insecure. She seemed quite remote, and I did not know what to say to her.

Not long after her departure arrived Connie Matthews. She was very beautifull and kind, I never forgot her. She and my husband spent hours talking together, discussing political things I did not have any assumptions at all to understand.

Connie had a boyfriend (vaguely I remember that his name was Jan) he was a very nice, danish man, taking good care of her, loving her at nights, if I may say so)

But generally the start of my living in Vedbæk, Denmark, was quite stressful. The telephone rang all the time (from Algiers I guess) mostly by night, and Connie herself telephoned a lot long distance, probably to Black Panther Party members.

In the mornings when my husband had gone to the Copenhagen hospital (he was a chief doctor) Connie came into the dining room to have breakfast and coffee with me, she was such a tender and warmhearted woman! By the way - I did not know she was a Jamaican, in fact I did at that time not know anything at all, except being a housewife!

Now for many years I have been an author, right now I am writing memoirs of my life with "the revolutionary doctor" 1969-1976. I have made a lot of research, and doing so I read about Eldridge Cleaver, and to-day I know all the things I did not show any interest in when I was in my thirties. I think he was a really fantastic person!!

During research I was awfully sad internetwise to learn about the death of Connie Matthews in Jamaica as a victim of cointelpro.

Sorry I did not contribute with very much concerning Connie. Take care of yourself, whoever you are reading this mail.

Kindly regards

Inge Krog Holt

Gilleleje

Denmark

Bonita Jamaica
Beautiful Place. Amazing People.

See you in Jamaica.

Opal Palmer Adisa - Literary Critic, Prose Writer, and Storyteller

Jamaican born, Opal Palmer Adisa is a literary critic, poet, prose writer, and storyteller. Her published works are: Caribbean Passion, poetry (Peepaltree Press, 2004); Leaf-of-Life, poetry (Jukebox Press, 2002); The Tongue is a Drum, CD of poetry and jazz with devorah major (Irresistible Recordings, 2003); It Begins With Tears, (Heinemann, 1997); Tamarind and Mango Women, winner of the PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Award (1992); traveling women (1989); Bake-Face and Other Guava Stories (1986); and Pina, the Many-Eyed Fruit (1985); and the recording Fierce/Love with devorah major (1992).

Read more about Opal Palmer Adisa here: Creative Work Fund

Bonita Jamaica
Beautiful Place. Amazing People.

See you in Jamaica.

First Jamaica Restaurant Opens in China

By Jason Walker
Atlanta GA

The official opening to the Cho-Cho Jamaican restaurant in Hangzhou China was held during the summer of 2007. According to owner Glendon Thompson this is the first Jamaican restaurant to be opened in the country of 1 Billion people. Amazingly Thompson who is from Jamaica, lives in Atlanta and then opened the restaurant in Asia, this is truly a global business.

Such a global trotting business activity came about from a "desire to introduce the culture of Jamaica to Chinese friends in a personal way. They knew we were track stars but not much else. The Chinese love to eat and socialize. While they eat they hear Jamaican and Caribbean music", Thompson. Thompson also goes on to say that he chose to go into China because of a "real love for Chinese people".

To help make a good first impression, Thompson opened the restaurant with one of the top caterers in Georgia, Carmen Allen of the award winning Carmen Catering. Ms Allen was delighted for the opportunity and according to her the restaurant was big news in China and it was received positively in the city of 6 million people. When asked about keeping the authenticity of the food, Thompson said that "we do our best to keep it authentic, however the taste of the Chinese is different than ours. As the Chinese adjust to our taste when they bring their restaurants here I had to adjust to their taste. So it will be a little different taste. The important thing is that now they know our music and a taste of our food. Most of the ingredients are local, again a business decision. We will improve as time goes on."

In terms of how the residents responded to the food Thompson explained that "we had a month of taste testing and found out that the hottest of our food did not go over well in this part of China, we had to adjust to stay in business." Culturally though Thompson demonstrated that "we (Jamaicans and Chinese) have many things in common, especially the old time Jamaica where people looked after each other. Friendships are extremely important and I am fortunate enough to have many close Chinese friends."

On the status of the business he said that, "so far we are doing better than the other restaurants around in our area, but it will take some time to build up the clientele." He illustrates his ambitions as he expresses "I have learned a lot and hope to open more in other cities. You really have to have a deep love for the Chinese to succeed here. They see through phonies very quickly."

The opening was attended by The Ambassador from Jamaica, Wayne McCook, officials from the city of Hang Zhou, owner Glendon Thompson, Chef Carmen Allen and partners Zhang Bingyang and Qiao Jing. The Red Army's military band provided the fanfare music. Reggae was played by violins.

Glen Thompson lives in Atlanta and is married to Claire McLeveighn, director of external affairs and international relations for the City of Atlanta and two sons. Carmen Allen, in addition to running her own catering firm, has events every Sunday at a Jamaican venue called Kozy Cove. Carmen is also a member of the Kingston Technical Alumni Association and a hard working community activist.

Story taken in part from Caribbean Life Central

Bonita Jamaica
Beautiful Place. Amazing People.

See you in Jamaica.

Jamaica Dominates 2007 World Tourism Awards

And the Oscar goes to Jamaica…Jamaica…Jamaica. Big up all the players in Jamaica’s tourism industry. Congratulations to you all and keep up the excellent work. Bim!

At the prestigious 2007 World Travel Awards (‘the tourism Oscars’), Jamaica ruled.

Jamaica, on the heels of recording exceptional stopover visitor numbers for 2007, dominated this year's awards, which were held on December 12, 2007 at the Beaches Turks and Caicos Resort and Spa in Providenciales, Turks and Caicos.

Jamaica was judged the leading Caribbean destination and leading cruise destination. In addition, Air Jamaica was judged the region's leading airline, and also garnered the best business class and best airline Web site awards.

Not surprisingly, the Jamaica Tourist Board took home the leading tourist and conventions bureau title. In addition, the Sandals Resorts all-inclusive resort chain alone won a mammoth 16 trophies, including, The Bahamas' leading resort, and leading spa resort awards (won by Sandals Royal Bahamian Resort). It also won the world's best all-inclusive award, and the Caribbean's leading hotel brand award (for the 14th year in a row). Jamaican companies Chukka Caribbean Adventures and Trafalgar Travel were named the Caribbean's leading nature adventure excursion and leading travel agency respectively. Winners of the awards were decided by 167,000 travel professionals in over 2,000 countries.

Jamaica’s Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett said Jamaica is expecting a record 1.8 million visitors for the 2007/2008 winter season.

See you in Jamaica.

Story taken in part from The Nassau Guardian

Bonita Jamaica
Beautiful Place. Amazing People.

See you in Jamaica.

US Library of Congress Selects 'Burnin'

Published on Friday December 7, 2007 in the Jamaica Gleaner

Story by Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer

'Burnin' smokes in US Library of Congress

Burnin', the 1973 Island Records album which was the swansong for the core Wailers unit of Bob Marley, Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh, has been chosen for perpetual preservation in the United States Library of Congress.

A release from Tuff Gong International Ltd. said "Each year the United States Library of Congress selects a small number of audio recordings to preserve for all time in the National Recording Registry, based on their historical, artistic or cultural importance … "

In an interview with Ben Manilla, recorded at Tuff Gong Recording Studio for the National Public Radio programme 'All Things Considered' that will itself be preserved by the Library of Congress, Mrs. Rita Marley said that "The album Burnin' was the work of prophets."

Shared lead vocals

Burnin' begins with Get Up, Stand Up, Marley and Tosh sharing lead vocals, and ends with the arrangement by all three of the traditional Rastaman Chant. In between are lead vocal cuts from Bunny Wailer - Halleluijah Time, and Tosh - One Foundation, with Marley singing lead on all the other songs, which include I Shot The Sheriff, Burnin' and Lootin' and Small Axe.

Burnin' went to a high of number 151 on the Billboard Pop Albums charts and 41 on the Black Albums listing.

The National Recording Registry was created by the National Recording Preservation Act in 2000 "to maintain and preserve sound recordings and collections of sound recordings that are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Recordings nominated

A recording has to be over 10 years old to be considered for inclusion and the public can nominate recordings for consideration.

Among the songs already in the registry are Fats Domino's Blueberry Hill, Nat 'King' Cole's Straighten Up and Fly Right, One o'clock Jump by Count Bassie and his orchestra, What's Going On by Marvin Gaye, and The Message by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Speeches include Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream'.

Bonita Jamaica
Beautiful Place. Amazing People.

See you in Jamaica.

A Gift From Alison Hinds

Dear Jamaica and Jamaicans worldwide,

Soca Queen, Alison Hinds, wanted you to have this autographed photograph. Her first album, entitled Soca Queen, was released on Tuesday November 6, 2007. Please continue to give her your love and support. She is not Jamaican but the world must know that Jamaica and every Jamaican live well with our neighbors. Big up Barbados.

Bim!

Bonita Jamaica
Beautiful Place. Amazing People.

See you in Jamaica.

Sergeant Jacob Thompson is the Recipient of the International Rugby Board Development Award (2007)

Congratulations Sergeant Jacob Thompson. Please keep up the great work you are doing. Bim!

Local Rugby Boss Cops International Award (Source - The Jamaica Observer)



Jacob Thompson wins this year's IRB Development Award on October 21 in Paris, France.

Chairman of the Jamaica Rugby Union (JRU), Sgt Jacob Thompson, is this year's recipient of the International Rugby Board (IRB) Development Award due to the steady growth of the sport on the island.

The ex-army veteran was given the prestigious award during the presentation ceremony after South Africa dethroned England for the world title at the recent Rugby World Cup Finals in France.

In front of a packed gala, Thompson was 'speechless' upon seeing a clip outlining his achievement in the sport on the island of 2.7 million inhabitants, as he was announced as the 2007 winner.

Thompson, who came home to Jamaica from England in 1969 and started a mission to bring rugby to the island, arrived home on Monday after the IRB invited him as a special guest for the semi-finals and finals.

"I didn't have the slightest idea that I was going to be given this award, Thompson told the Sunday Observer.
"I was speechless. I just couldn't believe it because over the years my contribution to rugby... is because I loved it. And I accept this award on behalf of all the rugby players of Jamaica and the Caribbean."

The recognition is a huge "shot in the arm" for the sport regionally, particularly here in Jamaica, where the popularity of the game is gathering steady momentum, but is still some distance behind several sporting disciplines nonetheless.

But thanks to Thompson, Jamaica now at least, counts the sport in its social calendar. Rugby has been adopted and is presently played by 40 schools in Jamaica. That number is expected to be surpassed soon, as every year, based on recent trends, a new school joins the "growing" list.
It is something that Thompson, who has been the chairman of Jamaica Rugby Union (JRU) since 1999, believes has "put Jamaica on the global map".

"Getting this International Rugby Board award, they (the IRB) know that rugby is moving in Jamaica," he added.

For his outstanding effort in developing the game in his native country, the IRB has decided to increase its annual grant to Jamaica, according to Thompson, who played for Jamaica, coached a number of local teams and has been the chief organiser for schoolboy rugby to this present date.
The IRB's current grant to Jamaica stands at £37,000.
In the midst of global recognition, Thompson continues to pilot the JRU with limited resources and assistance from the government and corporate Jamaica. And that's a challenge that he needs to ultimately overcome.

This year, the country's Under-19 team created history, becoming the first country from the English-speaking Caribbean to qualify for next year's IRB Under-19 World Championships during April in Chile, but this has failed to grab the attention of the nation.

The JRU used the success of their youth team as a drawingcard, wooing sponsors to support the team. However, corporate entities have been motionless towards their plea, despite a large portion of the team's expenses already covered by the world governing body.

In addition, the JRU is in need of J$500,000 to send both its male and female teams to the North America West Indies Rugby Association (NAWIRA) Sevens Tournament from November 17-18 in Nassau, Bahamas.

But Thompson, who was selected as an executive committee member of the West Indies Rugby Union (WIRU), is soldiering ahead with the hope of turning the sport into a successful business, despite being booted off their once home ground and their financial crisis.

In making one of his perennial appeals for assistance Thompson said: "We're just appealing to the private sector to come and help us."

After all, Jamaica currently holds three of four Caribbean titles and for a country that is ranked at 77 on the latest IRB world ranking list, the chairman and his group of mostly inner-city youth, are obviously doing something right.

Bonita Jamaica
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Patrick Ewing - Basketball Player

Patrick Ewing was born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1962. His father, Carl, was a mechanic at the time, and his mother, Dorothy, was a homemaker. Dorothy conceived of a better life for her children in the United States, and she moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1971 to pave the way for a family move there. She took a job as a kitchen worker in a hospital, and brought her family over one by one. In 1975, at twelve years of age, Patrick Ewing joined his mother and four of his siblings who had immigrated before him. His father eventually found work in a rubber hose factory.

Ewing had never even seen a basketball before his arrival in the United States, much less played the game that was later to make him famous. Soccer is the sport most played in Jamaica, and that was the game he played as a youngster. But he became fascinated by basketball only weeks into his new life as an American. Walking past a playground where other children played basketball, he would often stop and watch. One day, he was asked by the other kids if he wanted to join a game, and he began what was to become a career. Playing basketball did not come easily for the future superstar. "I knew that it was something I'd have to work at," he later told Roy S. Johnson in the New York Times.

More on Patrick Ewing: Here & Here

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Joel Augustus Rogers - Humanist

Joel Augustus Rogers (September 6, 1880 (some sources say 1883) — March 26, 1966) author, journalist, historian was born in Negril, Jamaica. Although Rogers was the son of a minister and a school teacher, his parents were not able to afford to give Rogers, or his ten siblings, more than a rudimentary education. Rogers immigrated to the United States in 1906. Rogers lived most of his life in Harlem, but also lived in Chicago for some time. While Rogers was in Chicago he worked as a Pullman porter. The job of Pullman Porter allowed Rogers to travel and observe people. Through this travel Rogers was able to increase his appetite for knowledge, utilizing various libraries in the cities that he visited. This appetite for knowledge would eventually be expressed in Rogers' numerous self-published writings.

Rogers' first book, From "Superman" to Man, self-published in (1917), attacked notions of African inferiority. From Superman to Man is a polemic against the ignorance that fuels racism. Its very title is an ironic twist on both George Bernard Shaw’s Man and Superman and Nietzsche’s idea of the “Superman.” The central plot revolves around a debate between a Pullman porter and a white racist, Southern politician. In essence, the porter is Roger’s (who worked as a Pullman porter while he lived in Chicago) alter ego. Rogers used this debate to air many of his personal philosophies and to debunk the heinous stereotypes about black people and white racial superiority. The porter’s arguments and theories are pulled from a plethora of sources, classical and contemporary, and run the gamut from history, anthropology to biology. Like the novel’s protagonist, Rogers would devote his professional life to such interdisciplinary research. Many of the ideas that permeated Rogers’ later work can be seen germinating in From Superman to Man. Rogers addresses issues such as: the lack of scientific support for the idea of race, black historical vindicationism, and the proliferation of miscegenation throughout history. All of these ideas became focal points for his later writing.

In the 1920's he worked as a journalist on the Pittsburgh Courier, the Chicago Enterprise and was a sub-editor of Marcus Garvey's short-lived Daily Negro Times. He was a newspaper correspondent covering such notable events as the coronation of Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia (for the New York Amsterdam News); he wrote for various black newspapers (Crisis, American Mercury, The Messenger, the Negro World and Survey Graphic) and served as the only black war correspondent during World War II. Thus, the diversity of his positions proved advantageous for him as he sought to highlight African participation in a global context.

Rogers was a meticulous researcher, astute scholar and very concise writer. He traveled tirelessly on his quest for knowledge which often took him directly to the source for information for his books. While traveling in Europe he frequented libraries, museums, castles and many places of interest that would help to prove Africans had an ancestry and history that the world could and should be proud of. He challenged the biased viewpoint of Eurocentric historians and anthropologists. Rogers spent a lifetime gathering what he called “the bran of history”. The bran of history was the uncollected, unexamined history of the world and for him it was the history of black people. Rogers intended that these neglected parts of history would one day be added to the mainstream body of Western history. He saw black inclusion in white historical discourses as helping to bridge racial divides. The scholarship that Rogers produced was meant to shed light on hitherto unexamined areas of Africana history. This historical goal made Rogers a vindicationist scholar. Vindicationist history attempted to combat the stereotypes of inferiority that often surround black people in history.

Rogers proved that color of skin is not what determines intellectual genius and that Africans have contributed much more to the world than what was previously stated. As a scholar, Rogers was a proponent of the fact that great, black civilizations had flourished in Africa during antiquity. He devoted his scholarship to vindicating historically a place for Africana people within Western history. According to Rogers, many ancient African civilizations had been primal molders of Western civilization and culture. Rogers’ work was also concerned with "the Great Black Man" theory of history. The “Great Black Man” theory shows history, specifically black history, as a mural of achievements by prominent black people throughout history. Rogers devoted a significant amount of his professional life to unearthing facts about people of African ancestry. He intended these facts to be a refutation of contemporary racist beliefs about the inferiority of blacks. Books such as 100 Amazing Facts about the Negro, Sex and Race, and The World’s Great Men of Color all describe remarkable black people throughout the ages and cite significant achievements of the black genius.

Rogers’ theories about race, sex and color can be found in the books Nature Knows No Color-Line, World’s Great Men of Color and the pamphlet Five Negro Presidents all of which deal with the ideas of race, sex and color. Within these works, Rogers questions the concept of race, the origins of racial differentiation and the root of the “color problem.” Rogers felt that the “color problem” was that color [race] was used as social, political and economic determining factors. Rogers astutely surmised that a large percentage of ethnic differences were the result of sociological factors. However, in Rogers’ opinion, often the differences between groups were attributed primarily to physical differences, i.e. color [race]. Rogers deals with the themes of race and sex in the eponymous Race and Sex and also in Nature Knows No Color-Line. Rogers’ research in these tomes is dedicated to examining miscegenation and how that has left a black “strain” in Europe and the Americas since the dawn of time. In Nature Knows No Color-Line, Rogers examines the origins of racial hierarchy and the color problem. Rogers states that the origins of the race problem had never been adequately examined or discussed. Rogers believed that color prejudice generally evolved from issues of domination and power between two physiologically different groups. According to Rogers, color prejudice was a rationale for domination, subjugation and warfare. Societies evolved these mythologies and prejudices in order to pursue their own interests at the expense of other groups. Rogers was trying to show that there is nothing innate about color prejudice. There is no natural distaste for darker skin by lighter-skinned people. Likewise, there is no natural aversion for lighter skin by darker-skinned people.

With these assertions, Rogers was attempting to point out the absurdity of racial divisions. Rogers' belief in one race, humanity, precluded the idea of several different ethnic races. In this, Rogers was a humanist. Rogers used vindicationist history as a tool to bolster his ideas about humanism. Rogers used his scholarship to prove his underlying humanistic thesis: that people were one large family without racial boundaries.

Rogers was self-financed, self educated, self-published. While it is easy to look at Rogers' lack of a formal education as a hindrance to producing scholarly work, it is also quite probable that Rogers' self-taught knowledge freed him from many academic and methodological restrictions thereby allowing him to tackle the difficult racial issues with which he dealt. Rogers’ autodidactism allowed his research to branch organically into various disciplines that other more formally educated scholars might have been loath to attempt. Thus, Rogers’ scholarship incorporates elements of history, anthropology, art history, sociology and archaeology. His works are complete with detailed references. He documenting of his work to encourage scrutiny of his facts are a testament to his due diligence, work ethic and commitment to not only African people, but the world, its history and culture.

Rogers was responsible for bringing many facets of contributionist black history to light, such as the black heritage of figures like Aleksandr Pushkin or the three generations of Dumas (Alexandre Dumas, Père, Alexandre Dumas, Fils and Thomas-Alexandre Dumas) . More importantly, Rogers clearly articulated his ideas about race that were informed by anthropology and biology, rather than social convention. However, Rogers’ most important contribution to black history was not in his vindicationism. Rogers’ most important contribution to black history was his use of vindicationism as a tool to underscore his overlying humanist beliefs. Rogers used the One-drop theory and vindicationism to illustrate the unity of humanity as a people. He discarded the non-scientific definition of race and pursued his own ideas about humanity’s interconnectedness. Although Rogers' work has often been relegated to the ranks of Afrocentric history, his true contributions to Africana scholarship were his nuanced analysis of race and the humanism that permeated his writings.

Rogers was one of the first to detail the lineage of the Queen of England linking her to the Queen Charlotte Sophia Consort of King George III.

Rogers interviewed Marcus Garvey in prison (New York Amsterdam News, 17 November 1926).

Joel Augustus Rogers died on March 26, 1966 in New York City.

Source: Wikipedia

More on Rogers: Here

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Congratulations Dr. Zeromeh Campbell

Story from The Jamaica Gleaner

Dr. Zeromeh Campbell is now doing a paediatric residency programme at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas.
Zeromeh Campbell's happiness and joy at realising her dream is infectious and heart-warming. After several years of hard work and sacrifice, the young Jamaican woman graduated as a medical doctor in May 2007 from Howard University College of Medicine in Washington, D.C. She is now doing a paediatric residency programme at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas.

"The happiest moment in my entire life was on graduation day. I was first in my class and I was really bawling when I realised I was finally graduating. I was so happy! I was overwhelmed!" she said.

What was really awesome was the fact that she won not one, not two, but 10 awards on graduation day. Among the awards were:

The Bertran F. Cooper M.D. Class of 1978 Memorial Award, for students who have outstanding achievement in paediatrics;

The Merck Manual Award '07, to students who have achieved the highest scholastic records during their years of medical study;

The Grafton Rayner and Edna Spriggs Browne Award, given to the student with the highest cumulative average in her class;

The HUMAA (Howard University Medical Alumni Association) award, to the student who has attained the highest scholastic average in her class.

Wanted to be a doctor

She is one of those people who knew early on in life exactly what they want to do with their life. She always wanted to be a doctor. So throughout the years at Holy Childhood Preparatory School and Immaculate Conception High School, she kept the dream alive. Moreover, she "loved her own paediatrician in Jamaica, Dr. Heather White," and that helped her to focus on what her life's work would be.

Zeromeh was so focused on becoming a doctor and specialising as a paediatrician that even while at school she did some volunteering at the Bustamante Children's Basic School in 1995. "I would spend time playing with the children and feeding some of those who could not feed themselves," she said.

Her deep interest was in studying the sciences and it paid off in her results at high school. After overcoming that first hurdle, she moved up to the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Florida, where she studied for the B.Sc. in pre-professional biology.

At Florida Tech, she was a member and then vice-president of the Caribbean Students Association (CSA) and a member of the Phi Eta Sigma Honour Society there.

She graduated with highest honours in 2002, and then she took one year off to work.

In 2003 Zeromeh entered Howard University in Washington, D.C. to study medicine. Howard University College of Medicine (HUCM) opened as a medical department in 1868, just three years after the end of the Civil War in the United States.

What was it like for the young Jamaican to study at the historically black Howard University College of Medicine?

"I loved it," she responded enthusiastically to my question.

After many years spent in training there she looked back in 2007 and said, "I needed to be at Howard University. There were many people there who I could emulate."

Zeromeh lived in nearby Alexandria in Virginia with two friends who had also gone to Immaculate Conception High School while she studied at Howard University. She either drove or took the train to school.

Between 2004 and 2005, Zeromeh, was a MedStars tutor at Howard. She supported and tutored freshmen in medical school, held weekly sessions with them to go over challenging topics in the curriculum and shared useful study strategies.

She also became a member of the American Medical Student Association (AMSA); the Student National Medical Association (SNMA); Alpha Omega Alpha National Medical Honour Society Gamma Chapter at Howard University College of Medicine (HUMC); and treasurer for Physicians for Human Rights. In her capacity as treasurer she helped to co-ordinate the first Annual Health Disparities Conference of the HUMC.

Zeromeh has also given volunteer service. Most recently she assisted with the Good Shepherd After-School care programme and from April 2006 to May 2007 attended group therapy with the Paediatric AIDS/HIV Care programme that offers basic interaction and support for 13 to 15 year-old boys and girls affected directly or indirectly by the disease.

In 2006 "we (medical students) had to decide what we wanted to do," she said. Most of the hospitals where she wanted to continue her training to become a paediatrician were located either in the southern United States or on the West Coast.

"I was so glad when I found out in March that I got my second choice - to go to Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas."

She is now doing a three-year paediatric residency programme at Baylor College, with training done mainly at the Texas Children's Hospital. That hospital is affiliated with Baylor. Texas Children's Hospital is the largest children's hospital in the United States and an internationally recognised paediatric hospital. It is located in the Texas Medical Centre in Houston.

"I 'm comfortable in Houston," she said when I asked her how she likes her new surroundings.

It will be another long period of training before she becomes a Paediatrician but having come thus far she is determined to reach her goal. "I am happy how everything has worked out. My mother is very proud of the fact that I was one of the students who scored the highest possible marks in the National Board Exams.

"I made a lot of sacrifices and had many sleepless nights, but I believe when you have a dream you should go for it and always seek after learning," she said.

Another dream she has yet to fulfil is to return to Jamaica to what she considers "her dream job - working at the Bustamante Hospital for Children."

Bonita Jamaica
Beautiful Place. Amazing People.

See you in Jamaica.

Jamaican Heads NASA Team On Space Station Expansion Project

When the “Discovery” space shuttle heads into space this month it will carry a special package ‘gift-wrapped’ by a Jamaican-born engineer and his team at National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the United States.

Glenn Chin is NASA mission manager charged with delivering a Node 2 module called “Harmony” that will expand the docking area at the International Space Station to accommodate other space programs. Chin heads a multi-disciplined team of 30 to 40 engineers and technicians at NASA which is involved in the testing, integration and assembly processes that will make “Harmony” ready for launch inside “Discovery’s” cargo bay on the morning of Oct. 23. Once installed at the space station, “Harmony” will serve as a port for space programs from China and a combined 13 European countries.

“Harmony is a module with six docking ports where modules can dock to make the station bigger,” explained the 43-year-old Chin, who attended high schools in Jamaica and the U.S. and college at the University of Miami, where he earned a degree in mechanical engineering.

“It’s like a six entrance hallway that you can add rooms to…It’s actually the gateway to the international partners.”

That “hallway” or central building block is 24 feet long and 15 feet wide. It weighs 31,500 pounds.

SIMPLE TASK It was built in Italy, with fine-tuning at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where Chin and his team are based. He was involved in the early design and construction of “Harmony” as part of a special team, which offered NASA insight into the project’s progress. That required him to travel to Torino between 1998 and 2000. Other work assignments temporarily took Chin away from the “Harmony” project, but he would later return as mission manager. His task is simple: get “Harmony” ready for launch and make sure it works once it gets into space.

But Chin is confident it will. Discovery’s transportation of “Harmony” this month, also called “STS-120”, is not the only mission Chin has been involved with at NASA. He has been in charge of 16, four of which he has seen through to their launch. However, despite acknowledging a familiarity with the procedures required for the task, Chin said the different types of “payload” he is required to deliver in proper working order keeps the challenge interesting.

“It’s pretty routine,” he said. “The processes are pretty much the same. But the differences in hardware for each mission is unique. Each hardware is unique.”

So is his background. Chin is one of a handful of Caribbean nationals working at the Kennedy Space Center, which employs some 18,000 workers. He is proud of his heritage and credits his background for much of his success in the U.S.

“That’s huge for me,” he said. “As a Jamaican I’ve always been a hard worker, persistent. When I came to the States I realized the opportunities here and went after it. “I have enough savvy to know you can reach for your dreams in this country.” For the married father of a son, his dreams extend to outer space.

Glenn Chin's Bio

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Alia Wedderburn Wins At the International Bronner Brothers Hair Show and Convention (Georgia, USA)

Congratulations Alia Wedderburn and HEART/NTA. Please keep up the great work.

September 04, 2007

Another Jamaican has brought home gold, this time from Georgia (USA). Alia Wedderburn won the Student Competition at the international Bronner Brothers Hair Show and Convention at the Georgia World Congress Centre August 20. Wedderburn is one of two WorldSkills Jamaica competitors vying for the opportunity to represent their country in the WorldSkills International competition in ladies and men’s hairdressing.

Wedderburn beat six competitors and was the only non-American participant. Competitors were required to prepare an Elegant Evening Wear style. Eight judges picked Wedderburn’s two-color, upsweep “do” that was molded with swirls at the centre and back of the head and accessorized with silver ornaments. The hair was complimented with make-up and dress in keeping with elegant eveningwear.

She won an impressive trophy, a gold medallion, cash, and US$400 worth of Bronner Brothers products.

The trophy is expected to improve her chances of selection to represent Jamaica at the WorldSkills International competition in Shizuoka, Japan in November 2007. Jamaica’s involvement in WorldSkills through HEART/NTA is intended to raise standards to world-class levels in the industrial trades and service sectors.

Wedderburn is also in the final phase of study as a cosmetology instructor at the HEART/NTA Vocational Training and Development Institute.

The small contingent of Jamaicans who went to Georgia to support Alia, included her WorldSkills training expert Claudette Jennings, Career Development Officer of the HEART School of Cosmetology. Coach Jennings said she always expected Wedderburn to win.

Read it for yourself here: Click

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