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Reading Time 1 minsThis coming weekend marks a decade since the City of New York was brought to a standstill as a result of the first Citywide Transit Strike in 25 years. The strike started on Dec 20th, 2005 and lasted for 3 days. A program marking the 10th Anniversary of the Dec 2005 NYC Transit Strike is being held on Sat. Dec 19th from 2pm to 6pm. The program is free to the public and will be held in the ‘Founders Auditorium’ at Medgar Evers College, CUNY, located at 1650 Bedford Ave in Brooklyn (Between Crown St and Montgomery… Read More »Come Celebrate 10th Anniversary of NYC Transit Strike this Saturday at MEC

Reading Time

Reading Time 1 minsNovember 1 is All Saints’ Day. It is that day when we remember and honor our dead with prayers, candlelight, drink, sweets, and most of all, food. The All Saints’ culinary alphabet begins with the letter “C”- C standing for Corn [maize] a Mesoamerican crop that arguably is our keenest symbol of generosity. Every ear of corn is a call to unity and community-making. Of course, giving food is at the apex of the moral systems of agricultural societies: the kitchen sits the parliament of the agrarian community. Mesoamerica  is an area extending roughly from central Mexico to Honduras… Read More »All Saints Day This

Reading Time

Reading Time 1 minsDavid Mitchell “Play One” for Black Stalin First published September 24, 2015. Long before I was able to analyze the lyrics of Stalin, no Black Stalin, I had to deal with the image of the man. I had to see myself in him and not Michael Jackson. Long before I was strong enough to deal with the individuals in his stories, I had to deal with the blazing intellect inherent in the themes of the Kaiso. Born to two pan lovers on “Lavantie Hill”, I probably met Winston Spree Simon but was too young to understand his… Read More »David Mitchell “Play(s) One” for Black Stalin

Reading Time 7 minsBDN Interview Sunshine Founder Gil Figaro THE NOMINEES / INDUCTEES FOR THE SUNSHINE AWARDS Hall of Fame Frankie McIntosh – St. Vincent & the Grenadines Musician, Arranger, Producer and Teacher McIntosh, a national of St. Vincent and the Grenadines was introduced to music at the age of 3 by his father, saxophonist, Arthur McIntosh who founded the popular Melo Tones Orchestra Band in the 1950s in St. Vincent. By age 14, Frankie founded the Frankie McIntosh Orchestra which included some of his school mates. In 1968, Frankie migrated to the United States to pursue a degree in… Read More »List of Nominees/Inductees for Sunshine Awards Hall of Fame

Reading Time

Reading Time 3 mins BDN Ajamu Interview [an update] Update: In light of his capturing the Calypso Monarch for an historic 9th times, Big Drum Nation went back to the maestro for an update with the single question: What contributed to your remarkable success in the 2015 Grenada Calypso Monarch competition? Ajamu [August 12]: What I think contributed to my success in this competition was experience and the will to not disappoint those who put their trust in me that I can get the job done. But most of all was knowing that my kids were really looking at me to be the best… Read More »BDN Ajamu Interview [an update]