bigdrumnation

Reading Time 11 mins February 26, 2023 I. Prologue: ‘A Source of Authenticity’ “I think every poet of any modesty hopes to make just a small contribution to the sound of the world’s hum.”–Derek Walcott “Ah fraid he jail me like he jail Rex Lassalle.” –Chalkdust, “Ah ‘Fraid Karl“ “The Commonwealth Court Martial was my 3rd Court Martial… I never accepted the Colonial narrative that was its dominant feature and openly challenged it when… BS came up.” –Rex Lassalle, February 6, 2023 Who,  then, is this man Rex Lassalle? And from which source springs his hope? Though he says that he only started writing… Read More »In Conversation With Rex Lassalle On 1970 And Beyond*–Winthrop (troppy) Holder

Reading Time 5 minsFebruary 26, 2023 Last year, in the lead-up to the 60th Anniversary of TT’s Independence, many media discussions and promotions focused on the significance and achievements of the occasion and history and assessing the Independence and nation-building experience. Inevitably, the 1970 Revolution came up. Different views assessing significant development varied from describing it as a dark period to a negative in the Independence journey. Some even equated it with the July 27, 1990, attempted coup. One host, however, said that 1970 must be seen as a positive experience for our young independent country because it brought about several positive changes,… Read More »BEYOND 60 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE: 1970 IN PERSPECTIVE–Clyde Weatherhead

Reading Time 4 mins February 26, 2023 “[I]t was the soldering officers led by Rex Lassalle and Raffique Shah who impressed me the most and a source from which I later drew the courage to take on the powers that be in the fight for progress, justice, and equality.” The explosion of mass protests in T&T in Feb 1970 was precipitated by the violent arrest and expulsion of West Indians at Sir George Williams University in Canada, the Walter Rodney riots in Jamaica, the anti-colonial liberation struggles raging across Africa, Indo-China and Latin America, the Civil Rights Movement in the… Read More »Reintroducing Former Lieutenant Rex Lasalle–Roger Toussaint

Reading Time 3 minsFebruary 28, 2023   “A Trini have a funny, funny way of forgetting, Their History to them like don’t mean nothing.” –Brother Valentino, “The Roaring 70s. Fifty-three years after the February 1970 Revolution, it is still under contention, as it should be. Was it merely a change in consciousness that shook the pillars of society, or was it a fluttering shadow snuffed out by the government of the day, never to rise? Was it a transformative event that lit a flame in our continuing quest to be truly free? Can the trigger be reduced to a singular… Read More »Special Issue Marking The 53rd Anniversary Of The 1970 February Revolution in Trinidad & Tobago–BDN Editors

Reading Time 1 minsFebruary 21, 2023 From the launch of BIG DRUM NATION as a free-access Caribbean creative journal in 2005, we have also been reparation activists. In a book Symposium on Reparations last August 23, we called for a “country-specific focus on British plunder in the region.” In this issue, Martin P. Felix answers the call with “How Britons Underdeveloped Grenada,” which challenges the effrontery of a British aristocratic family’s determination to dictate the terms on which reparations should be accepted. Felix asks, in which jurisprudence is the criminal allowed to be judge, jury, and dispenser of the terms of… Read More »BRITONS ON TRIAL! GRENADA, Part Two–BDN Editors

Reading Time 2 minsFebruary 7, 2023 While we need gas, is it that that gas must be accessed by playing into a hegemonic power’s strategic and tactical geopolitical moves in its contest for global domination with the Russian and Chinese superpowers? Trinidad and Tobago has established a long and respected record of standing on the principles of respect for the sovereignty of other nations and their right to self-determination and against interference in their internal affairs by big powers. Are we now to squander that exemplary record for the sake of gas at any cost and objectively join with the US-NATO… Read More »GAS BY ANY MEANS – A DANGEROUS ROAD TO TRAVEL/Clyde Weatherhead

Reading Time 1 minsFebruary 7, 2023 “Some talk of legality  Constitutionality But only to export their hypocrisy. If you examine The state of affairs in their land You will find human rights violations, Total disregard for the constitution. Complex political persecution, And a wave of sanctioned violence With the blessing of legislative criminals.” King Short Shirt, “Viva Grenada.“   Anticipating continuity rather than discontinuity with President Biden simply following the saber-rattling characteristic of the Trump presidency regarding Cuba, Venezuela, and any nation which stood on principle against America’s impulse to dominate, we wondered if, based on a few positive signs… Read More »Same Old Story: Biden Consolidates Trump’s Legacy In Latin America & The Caribbean?/BDN Editorial

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Reading Time 1 minsFebruary 2, 2023   “[T]he dead only die when they are forgotten by the living.” –Gordon Rohlehr, Pathfinder: Black Awakening In The Arrivants of Edward Kamau Brathwaite Today we remember and celebrate the life and outsized contribution of a Caribbean Colossus and thought shaper who transitioned on January 29, 2023. Dr. Gordon Rohlehr’s illuminating and relaxed disposition shines a light that brightens our presence and futures. His work was both timely and timeless, making it sing through time as his praises will echo through the ages. Caribbean Civilization influenced Dr. Rohlehr as much as he transformed it by… Read More »CULTURAL AMBASSADORS’ SERIES: REMEMBERING Dr. GORDON ROHLEHR/BDN EDITORS

Reading Time 4 minsFebruary 2, 2023 “Throughout his life, Gordon Rohlehr has been overflowing with creativity… that flowed from his soul, mind, and pen as majestically and powerfully as the waters of Kaieteur Falls and as beautifully and far-reaching as the Ortoire River.” The path of verbal virtuosity traveled by Gordon Rohlehr during his lifetime was never before traversed. Footsteps that followed a cosmic calling and creative compass guided by a mix of parental influences and fueled by passionate perseverance. His father was the superintendent of a boys’ reform school, and his mother was the principal of an Anglican primary school. Though she won… Read More »GORDON ROHLEHR: THE GUYA-DADIAN GIANT!/JOSH TYSON-FERMIN