THE region is mourning one of its foremost academics and statesmen. Former vice chancellor of the University of the West Indies (UWI), Sir Alister McIntyre, 87, passed away in Jamaica…
Charles and Camilla are the latest to arrive and help whitewash the injustices of slavery and empire. By Nalini Mohabir, The Guardian — Once upon a time monarchs ruled by divine right, then later with charismatic authority. The future king Prince Charles (#NotMyPrince) has neither. Yet Caribbean governments are paying for Prince Charles and Camilla’s royal tour of the Caribbean which began on Sunday and continues for 12 days, to…
By Hua Hsu, The New Yorker — In June, 1948, the H.M.T. Empire Windrush docked in the Port of Tilbury, near London. Among its passengers were approximately eight hundred West Indian workers, mostly from Jamaica, who had come in response to England’s postwar labor shortage. Some planned to earn money and return home; others wondered what it would be like to stay. There was a lot of work to be…
Toussaint Louverture led a slave rebellion that eventually overthrew French colonization in what was then Saint-Domingue and what became the independent nation of Haiti. The revolution had a profound effect…
Statement by the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM on the Latest Developments in the Situation in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. By CARICOM — The following Heads of…
By David Comissiong Barbados Ambassador to Caricom — ARTICLE 6 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas commits the 15 Member States of our Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to “enhanced coordination of…
The politician and freedom fighter said reggae music has helped to influence him to fight against colonial afflictions while growing up in the ghettos of Uganda. By teleSur — Member of parliament, freedom fighter and artist Bobi Wine traveled 36 hours to Jamaica, the politician says, to be able to spread his musical message to his fellow Ugandans and the rest of the world. Bobi Wine made the remark while…
Reggae was often championed as a music of the oppressed, with lyrics addressing sociopolitical issues, imprisonment and inequality. By TeleSUR — Reggae music – whose calm, lilting grooves found international fame thanks to artists like Bob Marley – has won a coveted spot on the United Nations’ list of global cultural treasures. UNESCO, the world body’s cultural and scientific agency, added the genre that originated in Jamaica to its collection of “intangible…
The Jamaica Gleaner — Vice Chancellor of The University of the West Indies (UWI) Sir Hilary Beckles has reported that The University of Glasgow in the United Kingdom (UK) is planning to pay reparations for £200 million (approximately J$34 billion) taken from the Caribbean. According to Beckles, who recently returned from the UK, “The University of Glasgow has recognised that Jamaican slave owners had adopted the University of Glasgow as…
By Christer Petley, Edited by Nigel Warburton, Aeona — It is no surprise that the whip is synonymous with New World slavery: its continual crack remained an audible threat to enslaved workers to keep at their work, reminding them that their lives and bodies were not their own, and that they should maintain (outwardly at least) a demeanour of dutiful subordination to their overlords. The whip was a cruel and effective instrument…
(CMC) – The St Vincent and the Grenadines Reparations Committee (SVGRC) is calling on the government to re-name the Victoria Park “with a name more befitting and independence country” as the nation celebrates its 39th year of political independence from Britain on Saturday. “Our history is replete with outstanding statesmen, women and symbols from which we can choose,” the Committee said, noting that it is mindful of the fact that ever…