bigdrumnation

Independence and Nation-Making – Caldwell Taylor

Reading Time 1 mins    Independence and Nation-Making  by Caldwell Taylor A Nation is the ecstatic electricity that inhabits May Fortune’s* voice A Nation is the healing thunder of Sugar Adams’ * drum A Nation is a concert of comforting conceits A Nation is  the repository of our dreams And a Nation is the insurgent sea that lifts our boats our nets  our hopes  our heroes  our sheroes.   A Nation is a site and sight of struggle, a thing calypsonian “Black Wizard” noted: “If you want to get rid of Babylon and build a just Nation You’ve got to struggle… Read More »Independence and Nation-Making – Caldwell Taylor

Happy Earthday to Brother Bob Marley, the Trench Town Messiah – Martin P. Felix

Reading Time 2 mins2017-02-06 Martin P. Felix “Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?‘ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see‘.“ — John 1:46. Like his biblical counterpart, Bob Marley took a socratic approach to unpack that recurring question loaded with upper class prejudice: “Can anything good come out of Trench Town?” and, with Philipian confidence, answered in the affirmative “…everyone see what’s taking place… / Another page in history.” And indeed it is. Bob Marley was born on this day, February 6, 72 years ago in rural Nine Miles, Saint Ann, Jamaica but later moved to Trench Town where he spent his formative… Read More »Happy Earthday to Brother Bob Marley, the Trench Town Messiah – Martin P. Felix

Sir Alister McIntyre, “The Caribbean Man” – Winthrop R. Holder [3 of 3]

Reading Time 8 mins2017/01/28 Preparing UWI for the Challenges of the 21st Century: An Interview with Vice Chancellor Sir Alister McIntyre [**Reprint**] Link to part 1 Link to part  2 “If we don’t know from where we comin’ / Then we cyah plan where we goin”. – Black Stalin, Caribbean Unity (1979) Born in St. Georges, Grenada, Sir Meredith Alister McIntyre is considered one of the Caribbean’s eminent thought shapers and academicians. This highly celebrated Caribbean integrationist and internationalist has served the Caribbean in various capacities, representing the region in many international forums. The December 12, 2016, launch of Sir McIntyre’s book, The Caribbean And The… Read More »Sir Alister McIntyre, “The Caribbean Man” – Winthrop R. Holder [3 of 3]

Sir Alister McIntyre, “The Caribbean Man” – Winthrop R. Holder [2 of 3]

Reading Time 6 mins2017-01-25 Preparing UWI for the Challenges of the 21st Century: An Interview with Vice Chancellor Sir Alister McIntyre [**Reprint**] Link to part 1 “If we don’t know from where we comin’ / Then we cyah plan where we goin”. – Black Stalin, Caribbean Unity (1979) Born in St. Georges, Grenada, Sir Meredith Alister McIntyre is considered one of the Caribbean’s eminent thought shapers and academicians. This highly celebrated Caribbean integrationist and internationalist has served the Caribbean in various capacities, representing the region in many international forums. The December 12, 2016, launch of Sir McIntyre’s book, The Caribbean And The Wider World: Commentaries on… Read More »Sir Alister McIntyre, “The Caribbean Man” – Winthrop R. Holder [2 of 3]

Sir Alister McIntyre, “The Caribbean Man” – Winthrop R. Holder [1 of 3]

Reading Time 5 mins2017-01-22 Preparing UWI for the Challenges of the 21st Century [**Reprint**] “If we don’t know from where we comin’ / Then we cyah plan where we goin”. – Black Stalin, Caribbean Unity (1979) Born in St. Georges, Grenada, Sir Meredith Alister McIntyre is considered one of the Caribbean’s eminent thought shapers and academicians. This highly celebrated Caribbean integrationist and internationalist has served the Caribbean in various capacities, representing the region in many international forums. The December 12, 2016, launch of Sir McIntyre’s book, The Caribbean And The Wider World: Commentaries on My Life and Career, has come with great anticipation because of… Read More »Sir Alister McIntyre, “The Caribbean Man” – Winthrop R. Holder [1 of 3]

A TRIBUTE TO E.R., AND ALSO TO THE GREAT TEACHERS OF THE WORLD

Reading Time 1 minsSidney, Mr Fox, and the Paid Servant, was the title of E.R. Braithwaite’s novel published in 1962. In his The Measure of A Man , a spiritual autobiography, Sidney [Poitier] writes: “When I was a boy there was a schoolhouse, and it was one room. Sometimes we went and sometimes we didn’t, because we were in the fields most of the time . “I got to Nassau at ten and a half, and I quit school at twelve, so what I picked up between Cat [Cat island] and Nassau was just  just enough to read the basics.   “But I had… Read More »A TRIBUTE TO E.R., AND ALSO TO THE GREAT TEACHERS OF THE WORLD

19th October, 1983: As the crows fly above…

Reading Time 3 minsAL ROUGIER on OCTOBER 15, 2016 As the crows fly above, the sun re-emerges after the light drizzle that moistened the bodies of the protesting crowd. Their bodies glistening with the mixture of sweat and raindrops, and pure adrenaline. At this point, Maurice is surrounded by his comrades, in the Operations Room where major decisions are being made. There is a mixture of adults and youths, young and old alike, male and female, supporters and new supporters. With this deadly cocktail of people where values and ethics differ, comes the deadly decision made by his populace who… Read More »19th October, 1983: As the crows fly above…

We Move Tonight: The Making of the Grenada Revolution

Reading Time 4 minsWe Move Tonight: The Making of the Grenada Revolution A Review Fadhilika Atiba-Weza Brunswick, New York We Move Tonight: The Making of the Grenada Revolution by Joseph Ewart Layne St. George’s, Grenada: Grenada Revolution Memorial Foundation, 2014, 203 pages. During the colonial period, the British placed tremendous significance on Grenada and made it the administrative headquarters of the group of Caribbean islands which are collectively called the Windward Islands. Independence brought its benefits and challenges, and the Spice Isle, as Grenada is fondly called had its share — foremost among its challenges was the rule of Gairy,… Read More »We Move Tonight: The Making of the Grenada Revolution

IN CARRIACOU: THE LONG-AWAITED MOTHER AND CHILD RE-MEETING, SEPTEMBER 27-30, 2016

Reading Time 4 mins         (part 2 of 2) Caldwell Taylor   Home is the place where , when you have to go there, they have to take you in. -Robert Frost Our drum is the shortest route to Africa, and the Big Drum ritual signifies the unity of Carriacou’s nine African nations. In order of precedence the nations are: Arada (Rada), Cromati, Igbo, Manding, Temne, Kongo, Chamba, Moko, Banda. The Temne, Number Five in the Big Drum circle,will celebrate a historic reunion in Carriacou, September 27 to 30. The occasion promises to overcome the pain of… Read More »IN CARRIACOU: THE LONG-AWAITED MOTHER AND CHILD RE-MEETING, SEPTEMBER 27-30, 2016

BAI BUREH’S PEOPLE COME HOME TO CARRIACOU: “FOR TRUE, TIME IS REALLY LONGER THAN ROPE”

Reading Time 2 mins[Part 1 or 2] By Caldwell Taylor Bai Bureh (1840-1908) was the fearless Temne fighter who led the 1898 war against British colonialism in Northern Sierra Leone, and, no joke, in the course of his fight he offered a one thousand pound reward for the capture of the British Governor of the territory! The offer was proclaimed in response to the Governor’s call for Bureh’s capture; this call came with a one hundred pound sterling bounty to anyone who provided information that led to the capture of the rebel leader. Bureh was finally taken and was exiled.… Read More »BAI BUREH’S PEOPLE COME HOME TO CARRIACOU: “FOR TRUE, TIME IS REALLY LONGER THAN ROPE”