Saint Lucia Celebrates its 37th

NY – Many churches with sizable Caribbean and Saint Lucian congregation in New York City and the Maryland and Washington, DC areas recognized the 37th anniversary of Saint Lucia’s independence during Sunday services. In some cases the congregation sang the young nation national anthem and displayed its flag and national colors.

Saint Lucia celebrates Independence Day tomorrow, February 22nd.

Heads of government and heads of state, including President Barack Obama, have sent congratulatory messages to the people of Saint Lucia.

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, also extended his greetings and felicitations to the Government and people of St. Lucia on the eve of their Independence Day (February 22, 2016).

In a message to Her Excellency Dame Pearlette Louisy, the Governor General of St. Lucia, the President has said, “On behalf of the Government, the people of India and on my own behalf, it gives me great pleasure to extend warm greetings and felicitations to you and to the people of St. Lucia on the occasion of your Independence Day.

Ties between our two countries have been traditionally warm and friendly. The meeting of the Prime Ministers of India and St. Lucia on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York in September 2015 has been useful in enhancing our friendship and mutual understanding. I am confident that our friendly ties will be further strengthened in the years to come.

I avail this opportunity to convey, to Your Excellency, my best wishes for your good health and for the continued progress and prosperity of the friendly people of St. Lucia,” President Shri Pranab Mukherjee of India said.

INDEPENDENCE DAY, GRENADA

NY: Sunday, February 7 is Grenada’s 42nd birthday as a nation. Since the nation’s 42nd anniversary of independence fell on Sunday, at 12:01 Sunday morning Grenadians celebrating independence events at home and abroad interrupted their respective programs to usher-in the 42nd year of independence by either singing the Grenada national anthem or vintage Grenada calypsos such as the 1960s hit, “We are Grenadians, Who Are You?”

In New York City the two highest ranking Grenadian-Americans in the City’s government Councilman Jumaane Williams and New York City Department of Small Businesses Services Commissioner Gregg Bishop attended the Independence Ball.

The late Eric Gairy who led Grenada into independence on Feb. 7, 1974, his birthday.

Now 42, Grenada has matured as a nation. Its bitter past such as independence in 1974 when labor went on strike on Independence Day and most nations boycotted independence ceremonies due to the internal strife, the overthrow of the Gairy Government in 1979, the assassination of Prime Minister Maurice Bishop in 1983 and the U.S. invasion or military intervention a few days later are mere and solemn events in its history. Grenada is now developing rapidly and nationals are optimistic about the nation’s future.

Click Black History on Featured Slider with the Grenada flag for a feature on Statehood Day, 1967

A new book on Grenada’s history to coincide with the 42nd anniversary of independence will be released in a few days:

BELVIDERE ESTATE – FEDON’S HOUSE

VOICES FROM THE PAST

By Herman G. Hall

Carnival, Independence and Super Bowl

NY- Feb 5, 2016:

What a weekend!

Bob Marley’s 71st Birthday

Fans worldwide are recognizing the icon birthday.

February 6 is Bob Marley’s Birthday. He would have been 71. In 1981, when he passed, Rolling Stone Magazine and EVERYBODY’S Magazine were the only two publications that dedicated an entire issue on Marley’s untimely passing.

EVERYBODY’S sent a 4-person team to cover Bob’s funeral. This is EVERYBODY’S June/July, 1981 cover on the passing of Marley.

Sometime in 2016, EVERYBODY’S will donate to the Bob Marley Museum all its editions and tapes of interviews Basil Wilson and Herman Hall did with Bob between 1978 and 1980.

Carnival and Mardi Gras

Trinidad & Tobago, Dominica and Haiti carnivals. Who will win the Soca Monarch, the Calypso Monarch, Panorama and other titles in Trinidad & Tobago carnival? Competitions have started. Saturday is Panorama and Monday and Tuesday, the Road March title will be decided.

Grenada’s Independence

On Sunday, Grenada celebrates its 42nd anniversary of independence and Grenadians around the world are commemorating the milestone.

A new book on a significant era in Grenada’s history is released in ePublishing format this weekend via Barnes and Noble Nook ePublishing: www.nookpress.com

Expect the printed version in hardcover in three weeks.

Super Bowl on Sunday

It is the super bowl. Most Caribbean fans in the US do not order the popular super bowl meals – pizza, chips and chicken wings. They consume Curried goat and chicken, rice and peas, roti and imported beers.

First weekend of Black History Month

100,000 WEST INDIANS BUILT THE PANAMA CANAL

More than 100,000 West Indians provided the manual labor between 1903-1914 to construct the Panama Canal. Click view slider with magazine cover for more information.

STEELPAN ON AMERICAN PUBLIC TV TONIGHT

If you will be in Trinidad & Tobago in the coming two weeks – you will realize that one of the premier events of Carnival (Feb 5-9) is panorama or steelpan competitions. This evening, Jan. 25, a documentary: “Steel Drum and PAN! Our Music Odyssey,” will be broadcast on many American Public Television and World Channel stations across the U.S. (8pm, EST; 5pm PT.)

“Steel Drum and PAN! Our Music Odyssey” is part of this season’s TV series presented by AfroPoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange—the nation’s only documentary series on contemporary art, life and culture across the African Diaspora.

Pan! Our Music Odyssey is written by Kim Johnson. It is a tale of how the steel drum came to be—and how it came to be so big! AfroPoP is hosted by Jussie Smollett, star of the hit FOX TV show Empire, produced by National Black Programming Consortium (NBPC) and co-presented by American Public Television (APT).

Through docudrama, competition footage and interviews, Pan! Our Music Odyssey explores the development of the steel drum in Trinidad & Tobago to its place as a musical force around the world. While, initially, urban youth would form bands that became bitter and often bloody rivalries, soon their fierce loyalties played out in competitions. The film captures the excitement as musicians show up with their “A” game at Panorama, the ultimate international steel band competition.

BLIZZARD OF 2016 & PHOTO LIBRARY

The Blizzard and Nor’easter of 2016

Continue reading →

2016 Global Caribbean Calendar

The 2016 EVERYBODY’S Magazine Global-Caribbean Calendar, formerly known as the Caribbean-American calendar, is available in print and digital formats. Most major Caribbean events around the world in 2016 are listed including the dates of carnivals and other festivals.

To order it visit: www.everybodysmag.com

The print version is $5.50. The price includes mailing. If you are sending it to friends and family outside the US, USVI and Puerto Rico or if ordering it from another country add an extra US$5 for international mailing.

The digital format is US$2.00.

For consumers who prefer to send a check mail to:

Herman Hall Communications

1630 Nostrand Ave.

Brooklyn, NY 11226

Price offer is applicable to consumers residing in the US. If you are ordering from another country add US$5 extra to cover international mailing cost.

Buy here

SUBWAY STRIKE ANNIVERSARY

A public event will be held this Saturday, December 19 at Medgar Evers College, 1650 Bedford Ave., Brooklyn, NY to commemorative the 10th anniversary of the New York City transit strike. The program begins at 2pm.

flyer(2) On December 20, 2005, New York City was shutdown when the Transit Workers Union led by President Roger Toussaint went on strike stopping mass transit – the Big Apple famous subway system and buses in all five boroughs.

The strike lasted for three days; Toussaint was arrested for violating New York State law.

A cross section of New Yorkers, from journalists who covered the strike, politicians, academicians to legal experts and rank and file members of the Transit Workers Union, will participate in Saturday’s program. The former TWU boss Toussaint will be one of the keynote speakers.

The event is free and the public will see see films, documentaries and photo exhibits of the 3-day strike.

The 2, 3, 4, 5 and D train stops are within walking distance to 1650 Bedford Ave. The 2 and 5, Sterling Station; 3 and 4, Franklin Ave. and D, Prospect Park.

“Gypsy in the Moonlight” book Launch

The launching of the much talked about book, Gypsy in the Moonlight, by Lawrence Waldron, will be Tuesday, December 15 beginning 6pm at the Brooklyn Public Library, 22 Linden Blvd., Brooklyn, NY. Gypsy in the Moonlight is a historical novel based on calypso music of the 1940s in Trinidad & Tobago when American sailors and soldiers were stationed on the island.

During World War II, the U.S. had a base in Trinidad. The base remained there until after independence in 1962 when Prime Minister Eric Williams negotiated with the U.S. to end the 99-year agreement agreed upon by the U.S. and England.

The presence of American soldiers and sailors in then colonial Trinidad & Tobago has been a topic of social commentary by calypsonians and writers.

Lawrence Waldron who teaches at City College of the City University of New York is the latest person to present the story of the American military in Trinidad.

Tuesday, December 15, 6pm

Brooklyn Public Library

22 Linden Blvd.

Brooklyn, NY

Your Suggestion for “Person of the Year”

YOUR SUGGESTION COUNTS

Kindly suggest who should be EVERYBODY’S Magazine “Person of the Year” for 2015.

Since 1978, the 2nd year of this magazine, we have been presenting “The Caribbean Person of the Year.” The person must be of Caribbean heritage; may have been born in the region or outside such as U.S., Canada and England.
Email name of person no later than December 10 to:

[email protected]

Recipients over the years included:

West Indies Cricket Captain, Clive Lloyd of Guyana

Nobel Laureate Sir Arthur Lewis of Saint Lucia

Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm of US

Prime Minister Mary Eugenia Charles of Dominica

Olympian Usain Bolt of Jamaica

Mighty Sparrow (2014 Person of the Year)

Carnival Documentary at Medgar Evers College

Trinidad Carnival Documentary

Early Carnival in Trinidad & Tobago

Come to Medgar Evers College

“Our Soul Turned Inside Out!”

“Our Soul Turned Inside Out,” a documentary film that examines traditional Carnival characters created in the 19th century crucible of slavery and emancipation and the psychic impulses behind them, will have its New York premiere on Friday, October 30, 7 pm at Medgar Evers College auditorium, 1650 Bedford Av. Brooklyn.

The film, which runs approximately one hour, focuses on traditional carnival characters – the Pierrot Granade, blue devils, stick-fighters and jab jabs – highlighting the depth of conflict, physical and verbal aggression, inherent in these contested cultural forms. The film connects Trinidad and Tobago’s mas to the J’ouvert traditions of Haiti and Grenada and explains the changes over time in the psychic imagination of mas and why these practices persist.

The film, produced by the Carnival Institute of Trinidad and Tobago (CITT), directed by Mary-Ann Brailey, written by noted filmmaker Dr. Kim Johnson, was well-received at the September 2015 T&T Film Festival. This special screening is being presented by the Caribbean Awareness Committee in conjunction with the Medgar Evers College Film & Culture Series and theCITT.

Roger Toussaint, former president of the Transport Workers Union Local 100 and a member of the Caribbean Awareness Committee, said: “At a time when there is a kind of degeneration of some of our of deep-seated cultural traditions, it’s comforting to know that the CITT and the filmmaker are focused on recapturing and unsilencing the true spirit of carnival…. This film goes a long way in documenting and celebrating cultural retention and the sometimes hidden connections between working class communities exhibited in traditional mas.”

The film’s screening comes at a very critical moment as the J’ouvert celebrations and the Brooklyn Carnival are under severe attack by hostile forces committed to silencing and marginalizing the Caribbean community which has been a mainstay of Brooklyn’s cultural landscape for the last forty-six-plus years.

The Medgar Evers screening will be followed by a Q & A session around the survivability of traditional carnival in the Caribbean and NY with a panel comprising Dr. Kim Johnson, Director of the Carnival Institute of T&T and Roland Guy, ole mas player in the Brooklyn Carnival since its inception and winner of WIADCA Ole Mas and J’ouvert International Competitions, with Toussaint moderating. Admission to this screening is free and open to the general public.

The film’s trailer may be accessed at: https://vimeo.com/137292175
For further information contact Caribbean Awareness Committee at:[email protected] or call 718-532-6347

Everybody's

Author: EVERYBODY'S "Caribbean" Magazine