bigdrumnation

Reading Time 2 mins April 7, 2022 A while back, someone posted online that to his chagrin, he realized that the singer Frankie Beverly wasn’t known throughout the United States and was merely relegated to superstar status in the Black community. People in the comments section took umbrage at this slight. Many drew similarities to unseasoned food and no knowledge of ‘the (cocoa and shea) butters. However, folks rallied, seemingly bereft of the millions who were denied decades of the artist’s music. In my mind, this was another example of the uniqueness of Black culture, where at cookouts and parties “Before I Let… Read More »If You Don’t Know Beres Hammond, Your Life Is Poorer For It! – Margaret Prescod

Reading Time

Reading Time

Reading Time

Reading Time 6 minsMarch 7, 2022 Potier… did for the Caribbean and me more than a posthumous eulogy could narrate. If you never believed in the miracle of self-reconstruction, you should check out Sidney Poitier’s life. It will alter your belief. Nothing in the stars destined him for stardom, certainly not in the pure white enclave of a racist Hollywood in mid-20th century America. But he did become a Hollywood superstar, paving the way for Denzel Washington and others like Guyanese-born actress Letitia Wright of Black Panther fame and Dominique Thorne, a New Yorker of Caribbean parentage, who will debut… Read More »I WANT TO BE LIKE SIDNEY–Sidney Zoe

Reading Time 6 minsMarch 4, 2022 This slightly edited article was first published on January 30, 2012, celebrating Bomber’s 84th birthday anniversary. INTRODUCTION: This effort highlights the Grenadian Calypsonian’s role in developing the art form of calypso in Trinidad & Tobago and other parts of the world. In the 1960s and 70s, Lord Blakie and others attacked the image of the Grenadian in Trinidad with stunning and demeaning lyrics such as: “Move leh me geh me share, they beating Grenadians down in the square… Ah fuss them Grenadians stupid, hear what happen to one who name Cupid Ah job this man… Read More »Caldwell Taylor’s Bomber [Part I of II]

Reading Time 3 minsMarch 4, 2022 We celebrated Black History Month against the backdrop of a trail of tears: bomb threats to Historically Black Colleges and Universities, the constant litany of school district boards in Kentucky, Florida, and other states banning books by authors of color. And some states even enacted legislation against the teaching and discussion of institutional racism and the 1619 Project in schools.  Interestingly, the enemies of social justice and progress are acting on deep-seated prejudice as part of an eternal desire to further marginalize our contribution as part of the American mosaic and erase our presence,… Read More »Reflections on Ghana On My Mind: Journeying To The Motherland–Lennel George

Reading Time 1 minsFebruary 8, 2022 Happy New Year to our Readers! On January 11, we launched our Cultural Ambassadors Series commemorating Caribbean stalwarts who transitioned recently at home and in the diaspora. We began with a feature on The Mighty Bomber by Caldwell Taylor, “AH BLASTED GRENADIAN TOO! (Celebrating Bomber’s 84th Birthday Anniversary,”) first published on these pages, January 30, 2012. And on January 15, we continued with Ken Jaikaransingh’s feature, “A Measure of the Man: Sir Sidney Poitier, 1927-2022.” Today we continue with “Remembering Clifton Ryan: The Mighty Bomber,” by Dr. David Brizan Over the upcoming weeks, writers reflect on… Read More »Launch of Cultural Ambassadors Series–BDN Editors

Reading Time 5 minsFebruary 8, 2022 Insofar as a philosopher questions our everyday assumptions about life, Bomber was a philosopher … He was pure calypso, in the vintage sense that Pretender was. He won the Trinidad and Tobago Calypso Monarch in 1964 with the most incontrovertible double entendre composition. His smooth, melodic delivery glossed over the covert/overt sexuality of the story and enchanted us in a lyrically poetic gem of storytelling. “James and Joan” was a composition of marvelous, metaphoric manipulation, a gem of lyrical navigation. It was a composition extraordinaire. Like the Mighty Sparrow (Slinger Francisco), the Bomber came… Read More »REMEMBERING CLIFTON RYAN, THE MIGHTY BOMBER — Dr. David Brizan

Reading Time 5 mins February 6, 2022 Ira Simmonds’s biography of his high school teacher is the story of an extraordinary teacher-Madame Katzen– told primarily through the personal correspondence between her and a very close friend and overseas education benefactor. From Siberia to St.Kitts: A Teacher’s Journey draws on over ten years of deep research crisscrossing several continents. The author presents a compelling and captivating narrative of his former teacher, who spent more than twenty years as a “teacher, foreign language supervisor, official government language interpreter of Spanish and French in St Kitts, Nevis, and Anguilla.” Simmonds was so enamored and… Read More »A Teacher’s Roots–Lennel George