Before the English arrived in 1655, Spanish Jamaica had eight geographical regions: Northside, Bluefields, Guanaoboa, Withywood, St Jago de la Vega, Liguanea, Yallahs and Morant. From 1655-1675, the English divided the island into parishes, a...
Dr Velma Earle Pollard’s death was sudden. She passed away on February 1 at home in St Andrew, just weeks from her 88th birthday on March 26. Her service of thanksgiving will take place in The University Chapel, Mona on February 21 at 10 a.m....
FROM February 16-21, the Language Section of the Department of Language, Linguistics and Philosophy (DLLP) in the Faculty of Humanities and Education (FHE) at the Mona campus of The University of the West Indies (The UWI) will be hosting a series...
BARNES IS not an uncommon surname in Jamaica, but not many Jamaicans know about Isaac Edmestone Barnes and his great achievements. The first child of William and Amelia Barnes was born at Highholborn Street in Kingston in 1857, yet all his...
On February 10, 1911, a few years before the start of World War I, Mallica Reynolds was born in Byndloss, St Catherine. At age 12, Reynolds had a religious experience and began going by the name ‘Kapo’, and that was what he was called the rest of...
REGGAE SINGER Marissa Lelogeais and her band, The Merry Rockers, returned to the stage on Thursday, February 6 for her second Bob Marley birthday concert at the Bob Marley Museum at 56 Hope Road in St Andrew. She is lead vocalist and band leader....
IN APRIL 1931, Marcus Mosiah Garvey established The Edelweis Park Amusement Company at 67 Slipe Road in Kingston. It was one of the vehicles that he used to promote his messages of black uplifting, race pride, African unity, and economic self-...
KNOWN THE world over as a race leader, black pride activist, and civil rights campaigner, Marcus Mosiah Garvey was an eloquent orator, whose booming, rapid-pace voice was greatly admired by his supporters and detractors alike. He was a politician...
At Professor Roy Augier’s 100th birthday last December, University of the West Indies (UWI) Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Hilary Beckles hailed him as “a true Caribbean Renaissance Man”. “What a magnificent ongoing innings – 100 not out!” Beckles...
THE EFFORTS to exonerate Marcus Garvey did not die after his death, however, as over the years, many people and groups have been pressing the US government to clear his name, but they were mainly unsuccessful. In 1987, under Congressman John...
Marcus Garvey lost his appeal against his mail fraud conviction, and was taken into custody on February 8, 1925. He began serving his five-year sentence at the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary in Georgia. But, prison walls could not contain his zeal to...
WHILE MARCUS GARVEY’S popularity and influence were growing in the USA, so was the suspicion with which he was held by US government officials. They had never seen the likes of him, and the fact that he was not an American made the suspicion even...
IN SEPTEMBER 1919, the Black Star Line (BSL) Corporation bought the SS Yarmouth, which was later unofficially renamed SS Frederick Douglass after the African-American abolitionist. Several weeks later, thousands of supporters lined the 135th Street...
“THE UWI has a moral duty to facilitate not just resilience, but the opportunity for the Jamaica Maroons to thrive, and that is exactly what we will do,” Professor Hilary Beckles, vice chancellor of The University of the West Indies (The UWI), told...
MARCUS GARVEY travelled to the United States in 1916 while World War 1 was raging in Europe. Upon arriving at the port in New York on March 24, he headed straight for Harlem. With limited funds, he moved in with a Jamaican family, and found work as...
Born in Jamaica in the seaside town of St Ann’s Bay on the north coast on August 17, 1887, Malcus Mosiah Garvey subsequently changed his first name to Marcus. He was born in a humble board house at 32 Market Street which was destroyed by a...
“AUTISM SPECTRUM disorder is a condition related to brain development that impacts how a person perceives and socialises with others, causing problems in social interaction and communication. The disorder also includes limited and repetitive...
The CARICOM Reparations Commission (CRC) will host a symposium on the Maroons of Jamaica at The University of the West Indies (The UWI) Regional Headquarters, along Mona Road in St Andrew, under the theme, ‘Maroons of Jamaica: Our Legacies –...
JEFFERY BURKE is all over social media. His videos are engaging, but therein he is not grandstanding and spewing vitriol. Instead of cussing, ‘tracing’, threatening, ego-massage, like what so many young Jamaican men are doing, he is promoting his...
It is that time again when New Year’s resolutions are made, and high on the list of what many people resolve to achieve is to lose weight and get fit, for whatever reasons. In the majority of cases, while the new year melts away, the fat and...
Jonkonnu masquerade celebrations were a major feature of slavery-day and post-slavery-day Christmas festivities. Co-existing with Jonkonnu bands were the Set Girls masquerades, a more flamboyant and elaborate type of street performance than...
The world knows him as Roy Augier, but he was born Fitzroy Richard Augier on December 17, 1924, in St Lucia. On Tuesday, the man widely known as ‘Mr Caribbean History’ and ‘Mr CXC’ celebrated his 100th year on Earth with a “mass of thanksgiving”...
VALERIE VEIRA is regarded in certain quarters as Jamaica’s ‘mother of the micro, small and medium-sized enterprises sector’ because of her indefatigable efforts in pushing for the development of the said sector. She retired recently from her chief...
IN MANY years gone by, there was a practice by some person’s enemy to call a funeral home to send a hearse to pick up that person’s body because that person was dead. It was the ultimate insult; you are nothing, you are dead. Sometimes, there was...
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15 to Sunday, November 17, the Asafu Yard in the Maroon village of Charles Town in Portland teemed with mourners, well-wishers, bereaved family members, relatives, friends and associates of Colonel Marcia ‘Kim’ Douglas, who passed...
