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Reading Time 1 minsJune 17, 2021 (Update) “Every heart, every soul, is a drum… here’s your sanctuary.” David Rudder, Song of the Earth Kim Johnson’s The Illustrated Story of Pan captures and reveals so much of the Caribbean‘s essence by prompting our dangerous memory, its activation, and reclamation. By fashioning a haven for deep meditation on “the transformation of a drum into a melody maker,” the book compels cultural retrieval, not just in Trinidad and Tobago, pan’s birthplace, but in pan communities throughout the world. Against the backdrop of panjumbies adding to Johnson’s story, in this post, “Iron Band-Steel Pan Wadadli Style,” Iyaba Mandingo initiates a discussion on the Antiguan… Read More »Recapturing The (True) Spirit Of The ‘Pan Pioneers’*

Reading Time 9 minsJune 16, 2021 BDN is pleased to share Dr. Laurie Lambert’s talk, “Comrade Sister: Caribbean Feminist Revisions of the Grenada Revolution,” which she presented at the 2021 virtual African Liberation Day Celebrations hosted by the Grenada African Liberation Day Organizing Committee (GALDOC), May 25, 2021. The presentation was primarily excerpted from her acclaimed book of the same name.  Read the post and join the conversation. BDN Editors Thank you to the organizers for the invitation to present. I am going to read a section from my book, Comrade Sister: Caribbean Feminist Revisions of the Grenada Revolution. It’s a book of literary… Read More »Comrade Sister: Caribbean Feminist Revisions of the Grenada Revolution–Dr. Laurie R. Lambert

Reading Time 6 minsJune is here again. Mid-year. National Caribbean American Heritage Month gives the Caribbean its deserved center stage in the nation’s consciousness! So it is in geography as it is in history and current affairs; the Caribbean is middle America. As it is annually, June 1 began month-long activities officially designated as National Caribbean American Heritage Month by Presidential Proclamation in the United States of America since 2006. The proclamation was enacted under the George Bush administration in recognition of the extraordinary contributions Caribbean Americans have historically made to the development of the United States. Millions of people… Read More »Caribbean American Heritage Month: Recognizing a Key Ingredient of the American Mosiac – Martin P. Felix

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Reading Time 5 minsThe month of May is especially significant to Caribbean Indians as it is ‘Arrival Month’ to recognize the coming of Indian Indentured labourers to the region. The following Caricom countries celebrate Indian Arrival day: Ashook Ramsaran, the Guyanese born, New-York-based President of the Indian Diaspora Council International, observed that staples of Indian heritage which sustain us in the Caribbean as much as elsewhere in the Diaspora are; “mantra, music, masala, memories, mentoring, Mata-ji and the value of money, thrift and hard work.”  Ms. Ornella Boodoo is an entrepreneur who unintentionally exemplifies these legacies of Indian culture. Indian… Read More »Celebrating East Indian Contributions to the Caribbean: Achaar and Chutney-Shalima Mohammed

Reading Time 1 minsWith its rich terrain of diverse musical styles, Caribbean popular culture has done an extraordinary job of keeping us in tune with world developments, especially during times of Uprising. It is not by accident that kompas, reggae, calypso, salsa, etc., are regarded as ‘the people’s journalism.’ And the modern David vs. Goliath succession of liberation struggles across the continent culminating in the independence of Southern African countries were heralded with psalms from Brother Valentino, Peter Tosh, Ziggy Marley, Sparrow, and others. As we celebrate African Liberation Day today, May 25, which commemorates the founding of the Organization of African Unity, now African… Read More »ON AFRICAN LIBERATION DAY…

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Reading Time 8 minsMay 25, 2021 _________________________________________________________________________ Indeed, Kevin Pope was a boss lyricist who, by the sheer power of crisp and deft word choice and masterly rhyme scheme, brought his audiences into his scenes and compositions as participants… He didn’t sing to an audience but with them. The bard served as a vehicle that gave Voice to those on the margins. By recording the lives of ordinary folks in song, he not only validated them but may well have re-fashioned and extended lives—social realism at its best! __________________________________________________________________________   “Mussolini, you too brass face and bold/ Ah mean to claim our… Read More »Calypso In The Service of African Liberation: Kelvin (‘Mighty Duke’) Pope’s Contribution– Winthrop R. Holder