bigdrumnation

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

Reading Time 3 minsMay 25, 2021 In September 2015 the United Nations ratified the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 described by that body as a  “blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all” noting that they “address the global challenges we face, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace, and justice.” The Year 2020 has been designated by that said organization as the beginning of the decade of action aimed at ensuring that the world does achieve those goals that are rooted in the 5 p’s of people, planet, prosperity, peace, and security. The COVID 19 epidemic has highlighted the importance… Read More »African Liberation Day Message to the World During the Pandemic: Ubuntu — Dr. Thelma Phillip-Browne

Reading Time

Reading Time

Reading Time

Reading Time 1 minsApril 30, 2021 “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’s activation and reclamation. By fashioning a haven for deep meditation on “the transformation of a drum into a melody maker” and a movement, the book compels cultural retrieval. In this, the third commentary in our ongoing Writers’ Symposium/Lime, Kamau Odinga, in  “What This Pan Book Did For Me–The Ancestors Are Jumping,” reconnects with and deepens his early pan memories through a… Read More »Recapturing The (True) Spirit Of The ‘Pan Pioneers’*

Reading Time 2 mins April 30, 2021 The Ancestors Are Jumping! Kim Johnson’s The Illustrated Story of Pan took me away from my reading of Hubert Harrison’s “When Africa Awakes” and ushered me into a solid weekend (April 17-18) of Pan. Pan Memories, like Sunland, the Tunapuna Steelband with members like “Dalgo,” Silver,” “Joe Dog,” “Monkey,” and “Wolf-Man” were quickly recalled. Somewhere between eight and ten, some 63 years ago, I can see myself on the Eastern Main Road J’Ouvert Morning in Sunland, and I recall the heavy iron section. I was born in Tunapuna and lived the first 15 years of… Read More »What This Pan Book Did For Me –Kamau Odinga

Reading Time 6 minsApril 16, 2021 To those who think that pan arrive out of the blue: that pan has no soul, no identity; that pan has no place in society; that pan is just another thing that them ragamuffin used to do or started, so, it has no substance; it doesn’t belong; is nothing to be proud about – Well, you better read this book. This Illustrated Story of Pan is a classic. Johnson’s 304-page book is a pleasure to behold as it captures pan — its deep past and evolution. Kim Johnson went beyond himself.  You can see and… Read More »Pan In All Its Glory! — Monty Guy

Reading Time 1 mins Reflecting the urgency of the moment, BDN expands the conversation from our “International Women’s Day 2021” commemoration of March 8 and bookends this year’s Women’s History Month with three iterations celebrating grit, determination, strength, and grace of our ‘Women of Steel.’ We begin with Simone Dalton’s “Making Meaning From Memory,” a spirited and deft review of Kim Johnson’s The Illustrated Story of Pan, underscoring the ingenuity that spawned pan’s creation and the integral role women played in sustaining pan’s movements. Second, in “Kamala Harris: From Howard U. To Vice President,” Kanene Holder maps the course of the VP’s rise to the second-highest office in the… Read More »Celebrating Our “Women Of Steel” — BDN Introduction

Reading Time 5 minsMarch 31, 2021 “Lift every voice and sing, Till earth and heaven ring, Ring with the harmonies of Liberty; Let our rejoicing rise, High as the listening skies. Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.” “Lift Every Voice and Sing”— James Weldon Johnson “Old pirates, yes, they rob I Sold I to the merchant ships Minutes after they took I From the bottomless pit But my hand was made strong By the hand of the almighty We forward in this generation Triumphantly.” “Redemption Song”– Bob Marley There’s a lot to celebrate! Despite the gloom and doom brought… Read More »Kamala Harris: From Howard U. To Vice President* — Kanene A. Holder