August 31, 2012

Poetry Friday: Cynthia James


Cosmic Molasses
for Stokley 


Horn chile, 
the limer on the corner blew on the furl, 
crushing mica on the pavement, tapping 
PRO-Keds, a mere mockery of a b-boy move.
The young woman walked on without a misstep. 
The baby, faced behind on the mother’s shoulder, 
bobbing, sloe-eyed, the four youth on the low culvert, 
the first interesting things her eyes had lighted on 
since the walk, stared; the curl of honey-spittle dripping 
from her bottom lip, clipped off like an elastic band.

This house lizard need some sunning;
here, take this flannel ball and go play hopscotch 
on the front walk, but stay within my eyesight.
Disingenuous to pretend today I didn’t understand; 
after all, it was the time of Snick and Medgar Evers, 
To Kill a Mocking Bird cliff hangers stoked 
one after another on the Civil Rights timeline;  
sepia-toned, wedge-wood medallion, great-grand-daughter 
of a stolen princess and a drunk madman with marble eyes, 
(so the nansi story goes), is to play with inside ghosts outside;
puzzles forever breaking on the rainbow of conception, 
these goddamn particles, however much you think you know, 
the sex, the weight, the curve beyond the pulsing ultra 
sound, the known unknown, continuing to mesmerize.  

***




Cynthia James is a Trinidadian, living for the past 3 years in Toronto. She writes poetry and fiction and her work can be found in publications such as Callaloo,Caribbean Writer and The Oxford Book of Caribbean Verse.


***


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Geoffrey Philp’s Blog Spot receives a percentage of the purchase price on anything you buy through links to Amazon, Shambala Books, Hay House, or any of the Google ads or Google Custom Search.


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Disclaimer of Endorsement


The documents posted on this Web site may contain hypertext links or pointers to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. These links and pointers are provided for visitors' convenience. I do not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of any linked information. Further, the inclusion of links or pointers to other Web sites or agencies is not intended to assign importance to those sites and the information contained therein, nor is it intended to endorse, recommend, or favor any views expressed, or commercial products or services offered on these outside sites, or the organizations sponsoring the sites, by trade name, trademark, manufacture, or otherwise.

Reference in this Web site to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the site's visitors, and does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by this blog.

August 29, 2012

Fear of a Black Panama?

Melva Lowe Goodin (center)


Over the years, the Panamanian writer Melva Lowe Goodin has been dedicated to research and strengthen awareness about the African presence in Panama. She spoke with Facets about her invaluable work. 

The interview and commentary are  in Spanish:

http://www.laestrella.com.pa/online/impreso/2012/08/12/afropanamenos-huellas-invisibles.asp

http://www.laestrella.com.pa/online/impreso/2012/08/12/reconocimiento-de-la-propia-historia.asp


***

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Geoffrey Philp’s Blog Spot receives a percentage of the purchase price on anything you buy through links to Amazon, Shambala Books, Hay House, or any of the Google ads or Google Custom Search.



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Disclaimer of Endorsement


The documents posted on this Web site may contain hypertext links or pointers to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. These links and pointers are provided for visitors' convenience. I do not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of any linked information. Further, the inclusion of links or pointers to other Web sites or agencies is not intended to assign importance to those sites and the information contained therein, nor is it intended to endorse, recommend, or favor any views expressed, or commercial products or services offered on these outside sites, or the organizations sponsoring the sites, by trade name, trademark, manufacture, or otherwise.


Reference in this Web site to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the site's visitors, and does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by this blog.

August 28, 2012

"This Little Light of Mine" by Christina Philp



"This Little Light of Mine" by Christina Philp


Another hurricane. My younger daughter draws a picture.

***


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The documents posted on this Web site may contain hypertext links or pointers to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. These links and pointers are provided for visitors' convenience. I do not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of any linked information. Further, the inclusion of links or pointers to other Web sites or agencies is not intended to assign importance to those sites and the information contained therein, nor is it intended to endorse, recommend, or favor any views expressed, or commercial products or services offered on these outside sites, or the organizations sponsoring the sites, by trade name, trademark, manufacture, or otherwise.


Reference in this Web site to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the site's visitors, and does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by this blog.

August 24, 2012

Marcus Garvey: "If we as a people,,,"



We are petitioning President Barack Obama to exonerate the Right Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey.

http://signon.org/sign/exonerate-marcus-garvey?source=c.url&r_by=4631897
***

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Geoffrey Philp’s Blog Spot receives a percentage of the purchase price on anything you buy through links to Amazon, Shambala Books, Hay House, or any of the Google ads or Google Custom Search.


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Disclaimer of Endorsement


The documents posted on this Web site may contain hypertext links or pointers to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. These links and pointers are provided for visitors' convenience. I do not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of any linked information. Further, the inclusion of links or pointers to other Web sites or agencies is not intended to assign importance to those sites and the information contained therein, nor is it intended to endorse, recommend, or favor any views expressed, or commercial products or services offered on these outside sites, or the organizations sponsoring the sites, by trade name, trademark, manufacture, or otherwise.

Reference in this Web site to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the site's visitors, and does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by this blog.

August 22, 2012

Slave Trade History Remembered in Key West


The Dos Amigos/Fair Rosamond Slave Ship Replica Project
Southern Office: 80 NW 51 Street, Miami, FL 33127-2114, U.S.A.
T: 305-904-7620 E: dinizulu7[at] gmail.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 20, 2012
Contact: Dinizulu Gene Tinnie, 305-004-7620, dinizulu7[at] gmail.com

SLAVE TRADE’ HISTORY REMEMBERED IN KEY WEST

A recently established but highly significant Key West tradition will continue in Sunday, August, 26, at 5:00 p.m. with the official Annual Observance of the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition (officially August 23), at the 1860 Key West African Cemetery monument on Atlantic Boulevard, just west of the White Street Pier and adjacent to the West Martello Tower fort.


The Cemetery is the burial site of 295 Africans, mostly children and youth, who were among a group of 1,432 persons rescued from three American-owned slave ships bound for Cuba which were captured by the U.S. Navy steamships as the nation edged ever closer to Civil War. The deceased succumbed to the illnesses and unspeakable conditions they had suffered during the ocean crossing as the survivors were detained in Key West for twelve weeks, awaiting their return to Africa.

The captives’ detention in Key West garnered generous support from the local community as well as national attention, adding much to the political drama of the time.

The August 23 date was chosen by the United Nations for the International Day of Remembrance as a commemoration of the beginning of the Haitian Revolution, the most successful revolt against slavery, which led to the establishment of the second independent republic in the hemisphere (after the United States), and not only became a beacon of hope for other enslaved populations, but also offered vital assistance to Simon Bolívar and his struggle for independence in South America.

The August 26 date of the Remembrance has special significance for the Key West African Cemetery, as this was the date when the first of the surviving rescued Africans arrived in the West African nation of Liberia.

The Remembrance also includes a special recognition of several ongoing projects and achievements, including July’s expedition by the National Association of Black Scuba Divers (NABS) to locate the 1827 wreck of the Spanish slave ship Guerrero, and the recent discovery of the 1860 slaver Peter Mowell in the Bahamas, in addition to the official designation of the Cemetery as Listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In all of these developments, the Key West-based Mel Fisher Maritime Museum has played a leading role.

The Cemetery’s importance is also about to be heightened by the addition of further structural components to the memorial monument, and by a forthcoming redevelopment of the Higgs Memorial Beach area, which includes a rerouting of Atlantic Boulevard around the boundaries of the burial site, thus restoring much of the site’s original integrity.

Moreover, the Observance of the International Day also embodies a number of national and global connections, including similar ceremonies in such other cities as Baltimore, and similar cemeteries, like the recently uncovered burial site of a number of Africans liberated from captured slave ships on remote St. Helena Island in the South Atlantic

Sunday’s informal gathering welcomes community participation, including the placement of flowers at the African Cemetery memorial monument. For further information, call 305-904-7620.


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August 21, 2012

History as a Guidepost: Marcus Garvey


We are petitioning President Barack Obama to exonerate the Right Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey.

http://signon.org/sign/exonerate-marcus-garvey?source=c.url&r_by=4631897

***

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Geoffrey Philp’s Blog Spot receives a percentage of the purchase price on anything you buy through links to Amazon, Shambala Books, Hay House, or any of the Google ads or Google Custom Search.

***

Disclaimer of Endorsement


The documents posted on this Web site may contain hypertext links or pointers to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. These links and pointers are provided for visitors' convenience. I do not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of any linked information. Further, the inclusion of links or pointers to other Web sites or agencies is not intended to assign importance to those sites and the information contained therein, nor is it intended to endorse, recommend, or favor any views expressed, or commercial products or services offered on these outside sites, or the organizations sponsoring the sites, by trade name, trademark, manufacture, or otherwise.

Reference in this Web site to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the site's visitors, and does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by this blog.

August 20, 2012

Milan Kundera: "Against Forgetting."


"No one remember old Marcus Garvey"~ Burning Spear

We are petitioning President Barack Obama to exonerate the Right Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey.

http://signon.org/sign/exonerate-marcus-garvey?source=c.url&r_by=4631897


***

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Geoffrey Philp’s Blog Spot receives a percentage of the purchase price on anything you buy through links to Amazon, Shambala Books, Hay House, or any of the Google ads or Google Custom Search.


***

Disclaimer of Endorsement


The documents posted on this Web site may contain hypertext links or pointers to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. These links and pointers are provided for visitors' convenience. I do not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of any linked information. Further, the inclusion of links or pointers to other Web sites or agencies is not intended to assign importance to those sites and the information contained therein, nor is it intended to endorse, recommend, or favor any views expressed, or commercial products or services offered on these outside sites, or the organizations sponsoring the sites, by trade name, trademark, manufacture, or otherwise.

Reference in this Web site to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the site's visitors, and does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by this blog.

August 19, 2012

Geoffrey Philp: "The Poet" @ The Miami Herald




“What the hurricane asks you is, ‘What are the most important things in your life?’’’ he said. “I knew I was with all the people I loved and I had my mother’s radio.’’
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/08/18/2957977/the-poet.html

Blog Disclosure Policy


Geoffrey Philp’s Blog Spot receives a percentage of the purchase price on anything you buy through links to Amazon, Shambala Books, Hay House, or any of the Google ads or Google Custom Search.


***

Disclaimer of Endorsement


The documents posted on this Web site may contain hypertext links or pointers to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. These links and pointers are provided for visitors' convenience. I do not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of any linked information. Further, the inclusion of links or pointers to other Web sites or agencies is not intended to assign importance to those sites and the information contained therein, nor is it intended to endorse, recommend, or favor any views expressed, or commercial products or services offered on these outside sites, or the organizations sponsoring the sites, by trade name, trademark, manufacture, or otherwise.

Reference in this Web site to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the site's visitors, and does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by this blog.

August 17, 2012

Marcus Garvey's Words; "Redemption Song."


The history of Jamaica in the popular imagination does not begin with Christopher Columbus planting the standard of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand in the wet sand of Discovery Bay while the indigenous Taino peer through thick, leathery leaves of sea grapes. Rather the story begins in overcrowded barracoons surrounded by human filth and waste, and this memory has always been an insult. 

The challenge for many Jamaican leaders such as Marcus Garvey whose movement began in Jamaica and eventually spread to Harlem, New York, has been to devise methods to overcome the trauma of slavery and colonialism. At the height of his popularity, Garvey’s admonitions, “Always think yourself a perfect being,” raised the consciousness of blacks in the Americas, but after his imprisonment on trumped up charges, the movement lost its impetus until Rastafari, spiritual heirs of Garvey, took up the mantle of black liberation.

The central tenet of Rastafari is the inviolability of the personal, indwelling God—the true “I” which is connected to the “I” of the universe or I-niverse. This mystic connection is expressed in the Rastafari concept of InI. (I have to do a little Rasta Speak here.) For Rastafari, the individual, “I” is at the center of all experiences. Therefore, if everything flows out of the individual I-consciousness, then “I” should not fear any experience, nor should “I” think of “I” as a victim because the individual, “I” working with the universal “I” consciously, unconsciously or by acceptance of the default agreement of whatever name we have given ourselves or others, I-rated “I” I-niverse.

In other words, one way or another we are creating our stories and we can either tell it as victims or victors. With this act of renaming, Rastafari created its own vocabulary and by relying on Old Testament narratives, changed the way that many of its adherents viewed history, I-story, and Bob Marley, one of the primary proselytizers of Rastafari, illustrates the complex mythology in Redemption Song”:

Old pirates, yes they rob I
sold I to the merchant ships
Minutes after they took I
from the bottomless pit.

From the first lines of the song, Bob not only recounts the memory of slavery, but he also inserts his story into the historical narrative. The double entendre of “old pirates,” refers not only to the slavers, but also to the recording merchants who “pirated” Bob’s songs throughout his career and drove him from Jamaica to abandon his musical career and work in a Chrysler plant in Wilmington, Delaware (Catch a Fire: The Life of Bob Marley). 

The "bottomless pit" may refer to Bob's appellation as a member of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, Joseph, the dreamer, who was sold by his brothers into slavery in Egypt. Or it may also refer to the despair of living in Trench Town’s “Concrete Jungle”: “No sun will shine in my day today; / the high yellow moon won't come out to play:/I said darkness has covered my light, / and has changed my day into night.” In the early days of his career, Bob was facing downpression everywhere, as he explains in “Duppy Conqueror,” which describes a brief time spent in jail:

The bars could not hold me;
Force could not control me now.
They try to keep me down, yeah!
But Jah put I around. Yeah!

Yes, I've been accused many a times
and wrongly abused, now.
Oh, but through the powers of the Most-I,
They've got to turn me loose.

Nothing could hold him back. The "I" and the “Most I” had I-rated the situation, so one way or another, it could be overcome. But the “I” must be strong as he proclaims in “Jammin'":

Ain’t no rules, ain’t no vow,
we can do it anyhow:
InI will see you through…
No bullet can stop us now,
we neither beg nor we won’t bow…
We jammin’ till the jam is through.

In the next few lines, Bob locates the source of his strength, “But my hand was made strong/ by the hand of the Almighty/ We forward in this generation triumphantly.” The ability to overcome the bottomless pit is credited to the hand of the Almighty and Bob’s identification with Haile Selassie, Ras-Tafari, almost childlike at times, “My father is the richest man on the earth,” (Talking Blues), yielded powerful results.

Also as a member of the Twelve Tribes of Israel and belonging to the tribe of Joseph, Bob felt a strong affinity with this Biblical character, who was also placed in a bottomless pit by his jealous brothers.

In the next stanza, Bob repeats Marcus Garvey’s words, “Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery/ none but ourselves can free our minds,” and he links his calling to the larger message of black liberation. In the philosophy of Garvey, which Marley adopted, the key to freedom lies in our minds, individually and collectively.

But fear keeps us from achieving freedom. Bob admonishes, “Have no fear for atomic energy.” Not even the bleakest fear of atomic annihilation should be contemplated, “for not one of them can stop the time.” This is not a fatalistic view about the end-of-times, but is in accordance with the tone of Ecclesiastes, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” But then Bob displays one of the hallmarks of his songwriting career: he balances received beliefs against his own experience, so we have the very human cry, “How long shall they kill our prophets/ while we stand aside and look.”

Nearly every biography of Marley describes his daily habit of reading the Bible, but another habit becomes clear. Unlike many literalists who would accept a fatalistic point of view based on received beliefs, Bob never accepts anything on blind faith. It is these literalists who use the Bible to endorse nihilism, ethnic and deistic tribalism, and acceptance of the status quo, that he derides in the next line, “Some say it’s just a part of it/ we’ve got to fulfill the book.” Bob’s use of the word “some," is the equivalent to “they”--another of his favorite words when he chooses to distance himself from beliefs derived from “folk wisdom.”

Throughout his career of bringing “new wine,” Bob was often at odds with the commonly held beliefs of Jamaicans--“they,” who were chained to the beliefs of the plantation, “Today they say that we are free,/ Only to be chained in poverty” (“Slave Driver”). Although his songs are punctuated with folk sayings, “Every day the bucket a go a well/ One day the bottom a go drop out” (“I Shot the Sheriff”), Bob explores the tension between what we think to be real and what really is.

For if there is an inevitability to certain actions, then it is fruitless to complain. Change the situation. Like many Rastafari who are engaged in discovering the difference between the eternal and the ephemeral, Bob questioned the validity of commonly accepted beliefs, which are dependent on changing perceptions, against “knowledge” which is unchangeable.

Many of Bob’s songs wrestle with folk beliefs and the interpretation of collective memory. And as Bob demonstrated in the first stanza by his own life story, even the most debilitating memory and experience can be overcome. He repeats this idea in the line, “So won’t you help to sing/ these songs of freedom/ cause all I ever had redemption songs”

At the heart of the liberation theology of Rastafari is the knowledge that the individual, I-man, shapes and controls his destiny. By integrating his story and the Biblical narratives that have become part of the personal and collective story of Jamaicans, Bob demonstrated that the temptation to accept failure can be overcome by emancipating ourselves from the mental slavery of fear and fatalism.

Bob’s life, like the life of all heroes who convince us to live for purposes larger than our individual lives, showed that change is possible, but we have to change how we view these experiences. Rastafari teaches that we are equal to any experience, and no matter how horrific it may seem to be—it must be overcome. Only by giving up negative beliefs, will we be able to “forward in this generation, triumphantly.” It is an invitation to freedom.


***
We are petitioning President Barack Obama to exonerate the Right Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey.

http://signon.org/sign/exonerate-marcus-garvey?source=c.url&r_by=4631897
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2012 Marcus Garvey Rootz Extravaganza

 


August 2012 marks the 125th anniversary of the birth of Pan-African and Pan-American Hero Marcus Mosiah Garvey. To mark this milestone anniversary, the Rootz Foundation Inc. has invited celebrated historian, Garvey disciple Dr. Runoko Rashidi, to deliver the feature presentation at the 2012 Rootz Extravaganza on Friday, August 17, 2012. Dr. Rashidi, the Traveling Ambassador of the UNIA (Garvey’s organization), is well known for his one-of-a-kind and enlightening slide-shows comprising exclusive photographs from all over the globe.

Dr. Rashidi is a public lecturer, research specialist, writer and world traveler who concentrates on the African foundations of world civilizations. His specialty is the African presence in Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands, and he has coordinated numerous historic educational group tours to locations all over the world. Dr. Rashidi is the author of a number of books including Introduction to the Study of African Classical Civilizations, and along with Dr. Ivan Van Sertima, he co-edited The African Presence in Early Asia, considered "the most comprehensive volume on the subject yet produced".

Vocalists Everton Blender and Pressure Buss Pipe, along with musician Pablove Black will be the recipients of this year’s Marcus Garvey Community Service Awards. The information filled and variety packed program will offer a cross section of activities including audio-visual screenings, photographic displays, live music by guest artists, African dancers, as well as food and refreshments, door prizes and surprises.

In addition, patrons to the 2012 Rootz Extravaganza will be able to sign a petition to President Obama requesting the exoneration of Marcus Garvey.

The 125th anniversary of Marcus Garvey’s birthday will be staged at the Joseph C. Carter Park, located at 1450 West Sunrise Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale. The event will be under the patronage of the Jamaican Consul General in Miami, Mrs. Sandra Grant-Griffiths. The program is scheduled for 7.00 pm to midnight on Friday, August 17, 2008, which has been designated “Marcus Garvey Appreciation Day” in the City of Fort Lauderdale. 

Entry to the 2012 Marcus Garvey Rootz Extravaganza will be free.

The cultural celebration is staged annually by the Rootz Foundation Inc. to mark the birthday of Marcus Garvey. The Jamaican-born Garvey became a National/International Hero in Jamaica, the Caribbean, the Americas and in Africa, after he organized and led the Universal Negro Improvement Association, the UNIA. The organization became the largest international mass movement of Black people in the history of the United States and the world.

For this year’s renewal of the family-friendly and student oriented cultural event, the Rootz Foundation Inc. has partnered once again with the City of Fort Lauderdale Parks and Recreation Department. The Broward County Library heads the list of sponsors of the event. Other sponsors of the 2012 Rootz Extravaganza are: Tomlinson’s Dental Care, Goldson Spinal Center, Hall’s Neurological Surgery, Bobby’s Meals, Carl’s Seafood, Nature’s Coolers Juices, In & Out Tires, Holistic Arts Center, WDNA 88.9 FM, Whiz Communications, LoveLight Promotions, Island Beat Marketing, Talawah Roots Tonic and the Rootz Magazine.

For more information call Rootz Foundation at 954-981-1176 or Joseph Carter Park at 954-828-5411


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We are petitioning President Barack Obama to exonerate the Right Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey.

Today is Marcus Garvey Day in Miami Dade!


Spearheaded by Ras Don Rico Ricketts of the Marcus Garvey Celebrations Committee, of IMI, Inc, August 17, 2012, Marcus Garvey's 125th birthday, has been proclaimed "Universal Marcus Garvey Day" by the Miami-Dade County Commission.


For more information, please follow this link: http://sflcn.com/story.php?id=11833


***


We are petitioning President Barack Obama to exonerate the Right Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey.




***

Blog Disclosure Policy




Geoffrey Philp’s Blog Spot receives a percentage of the purchase price on anything you buy through links to Amazon, Shambala Books, Hay House, or any of the Google ads or Google Custom Search.


***

Disclaimer of Endorsement


The documents posted on this Web site may contain hypertext links or pointers to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. These links and pointers are provided for visitors' convenience. I do not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of any linked information. Further, the inclusion of links or pointers to other Web sites or agencies is not intended to assign importance to those sites and the information contained therein, nor is it intended to endorse, recommend, or favor any views expressed, or commercial products or services offered on these outside sites, or the organizations sponsoring the sites, by trade name, trademark, manufacture, or otherwise.


Reference in this Web site to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the site's visitors, and does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by this blog.

Happy Earthstrong, Marcus Garvey!

"We are going to emancipate ourselves from mental slavery because whilst others might free the body, none but ourselves can free the mind. " ~ Marcus Garvey.



"How long shall they kill our prophets
While we stand aside and look?"
~ Bob Marley, "Redemption Song"

Give a great Earthstrong gift for Baba Garvey:

1. Featuring the petition on your FB page: http://bit.ly/KqUrGh

2. Tweeting to friends and contacts, especially media contacts: Our goal: PUBLIC restoration of the good name of #MarcusGarvey: #PanAfrican #AfricanAmerican #Caribbean http://bit.ly/KqUrGh

3. Emailing the petition to at least 10 friends and URGING them to sign: http://bit.ly/KqUrGh

 "With confidence, you have won even before you have started." 
~ Marcus Garvey


***
We are petitioning President Barack Obama to exonerate the Right Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey.

http://signon.org/sign/exonerate-marcus-garvey?source=c.url&r_by=4631897
***

Blog Disclosure Policy


Geoffrey Philp’s Blog Spot receives a percentage of the purchase price on anything you buy through links to Amazon, Shambala Books, Hay House, or any of the Google ads or Google Custom Search.

*** 

Disclaimer of Endorsement


The documents posted on this Web site may contain hypertext links or pointers to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. These links and pointers are provided for visitors' convenience. I do not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of any linked information. Further, the inclusion of links or pointers to other Web sites or agencies is not intended to assign importance to those sites and the information contained therein, nor is it intended to endorse, recommend, or favor any views expressed, or commercial products or services offered on these outside sites, or the organizations sponsoring the sites, by trade name, trademark, manufacture, or otherwise.

Reference in this Web site to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the site's visitors, and does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by this blog.

August 15, 2012

John Henrik Clarke Speaks About Marcus Garvey's Influence.


As of today, the petition to exonerate Marcus Garvey has 1046 signatures, and our target is 5,000, which we would like to meet by Friday, August 17, 2012, Marcus Garvey's birthday.
I am asking for your help to meet this goal by doing the following at least once this week. Every day would be great!
1. Featuring the petition on your FB page: http://bit.ly/KqUrGh
2. Tweeting to friends and contacts, especially media contacts: Our goal: PUBLIC restoration of the good name of #MarcusGarvey: #PanAfrican #AfricanAmerican #Caribbean http://bit.ly/KqUrGh
3. Emailing the petition to at least 10 friends and URGING them to sign: http://bit.ly/KqUrGh

"Never underestimate the power of a few committed individuals to change the world.  Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."  Margaret Mead 
***
We are petitioning President Barack Obama to exonerate the Right Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey.
http://signon.org/sign/exonerate-marcus-garvey?source=c.url&r_by=4631897
***



Blog Disclosure Policy


Geoffrey Philp’s Blog Spot receives a percentage of the purchase price on anything you buy through links to Amazon, Shambala Books, Hay House, or any of the Google ads or Google Custom Search.


***

Disclaimer of Endorsement


The documents posted on this Web site may contain hypertext links or pointers to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. These links and pointers are provided for visitors' convenience. I do not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of any linked information. Further, the inclusion of links or pointers to other Web sites or agencies is not intended to assign importance to those sites and the information contained therein, nor is it intended to endorse, recommend, or favor any views expressed, or commercial products or services offered on these outside sites, or the organizations sponsoring the sites, by trade name, trademark, manufacture, or otherwise.

Reference in this Web site to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the site's visitors, and does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by this blog.

Bob Marley and Bradford's iPod: Book of the Month



Geoffrey Philp, author of the e-book, Bob Marley and Bradford’s iPod, has also written two short story collections, six volumes of poetry, and two children's books. A multi-award winning writer, whose work explores the themes of masculinity and fatherhood in a Caribbean context, Geoffrey is one of the few writers whose work has been published in the Oxford Book of Caribbean Short Stories and the Oxford Book of Caribbean Verse. His popular blog, geoffreyphilp.blogspot.com, covers literary events in the Caribbean and Miami. He teaches creative writing at Miami Dade College, where he is the chairperson of the College Prep. Department.

Bob Marley and Bradford's iPod




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Blog Disclosure Policy


Geoffrey Philp’s Blog Spot receives a percentage of the purchase price on anything you buy through links to Amazon, Shambala Books, Hay House, or any of the Google ads or Google Custom Search.


***

Disclaimer of Endorsement


The documents posted on this Web site may contain hypertext links or pointers to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. These links and pointers are provided for visitors' convenience. I do not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of any linked information. Further, the inclusion of links or pointers to other Web sites or agencies is not intended to assign importance to those sites and the information contained therein, nor is it intended to endorse, recommend, or favor any views expressed, or commercial products or services offered on these outside sites, or the organizations sponsoring the sites, by trade name, trademark, manufacture, or otherwise.

Reference in this Web site to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the site's visitors, and does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by this blog.

August 14, 2012

Geoffrey Philp: Interview With “Smile Jamaica…It’s Morning Time.”



On Wednesday, August 15, 2012 at 7:43 a.m. (EST), I will be interviewed about the petition to exonerate Marcus Garvey by Kerrian Lee and Neville Bell on “Smile Jamaica…It’s Morning Time.” 


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We are petitioning President Barack Obama to exonerate the Right Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey.

http://signon.org/sign/exonerate-marcus-garvey?source=c.url&r_by=4631897



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Blog Disclosure Policy


Geoffrey Philp’s Blog Spot receives a percentage of the purchase price on anything you buy through links to Amazon, Shambala Books, Hay House, or any of the Google ads or Google Custom Search.

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Disclaimer of Endorsement


The documents posted on this Web site may contain hypertext links or pointers to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. These links and pointers are provided for visitors' convenience. I do not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of any linked information. Further, the inclusion of links or pointers to other Web sites or agencies is not intended to assign importance to those sites and the information contained therein, nor is it intended to endorse, recommend, or favor any views expressed, or commercial products or services offered on these outside sites, or the organizations sponsoring the sites, by trade name, trademark, manufacture, or otherwise.

Reference in this Web site to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the site's visitors, and does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by this blog.

August 13, 2012

Malachi’s Birthday Bash and Caribbean Education Fundraiser


Malachi’s Birthday Bash and Caribbean Education Fundraiser, 
Saturday, August 25

Award winning Jamaican dub poet Malachi Smith is set to celebrate his birthday in fine style on Saturday, August 25, 2012, 9 PM, at JEPA’s Place, 7153 West Oakland Park Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale. Smith is a Board Member of Caribbean Education Foundation and he will use the occasion to raise funds for his adopted Jamaican student Garth Pearson, who has a scholarship from the foundation and currently attends Kingston College in Jamaica. 

Legendary Jamaican singers Dobby Dobson, O.D., and Sharon Forrester, who is enjoying a resurgence of her singing career, will join Smith for the special night along with chart topping artist Mical Rustle, Michael Schloss, Taurus Alphanso, King Banton and others. Sky Force will set the pace along with Faada Duss.

Smith returned to the US in mid June after a successful one week tour of Medellin, Colombia, where he represented Jamaica at the 22nd Medellin Poetry Festival. Smith is Jamaica Cultural Development Commission’s 2009 Most Outstanding Writer and was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by Independence Voyces at its 2011 literary festival in St. Mary, Jamaica, for his contribution to the dub poetry genre of Jamaican poetry. He was the featured reader at the 2012 Talking Tree II Book Fair at Treasure Beach, St. Elizabeth. Smith recently appeared in Tampa and Coral Springs, Florida, at Culturama 2012, at Princess PM’s Children Fun day at Negril on the Green, Hollywood, Florida, and at the Jamaican Flag Day celebration in Miramar, Florida.

Smith has appearances scheduled for 50 Diaspora Honors and Gala Benefit: “The Journey” hosted by the Consulate General of Jamaica, where he will be one of 50 persons who will be specially honored for contributions to brand Jamaica in the Diaspora. Smith is also scheduled to appear at another Jamaican gala in Virginia on September 16, 2012.

Smith is also currently the president of Jamaica Ex-Police Association of South Florida. Annually, the group travels to Jamaica to do a police station refurbishing project, award a scholarship to a Jamaican high school student, and do other charity work. 

Smith is an alumnus of Florida International University and Miami Dade College, and a fellow of University of Miami, James Michener’s Caribbean Writers Institute. He works as a Field Training Officer with Miami-Dade Police Department.

For further information: Malachi (305) 302-5365 or Email: malismith [at] aol.com & mlchsmth [at]yahoo.com 

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Blog Disclosure Policy

Geoffrey Philp’s Blog Spot receives a percentage of the purchase price on anything you buy through links to Amazon, Shambala Books, Hay House, or any of the Google ads or Google Custom Search.

***

Disclaimer of Endorsement


The documents posted on this Web site may contain hypertext links or pointers to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. These links and pointers are provided for visitors' convenience. I do not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of any linked information. Further, the inclusion of links or pointers to other Web sites or agencies is not intended to assign importance to those sites and the information contained therein, nor is it intended to endorse, recommend, or favor any views expressed, or commercial products or services offered on these outside sites, or the organizations sponsoring the sites, by trade name, trademark, manufacture, or otherwise.

Reference in this Web site to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the site's visitors, and does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by this blog.

Marcus Gavey: "Know Yourself"



During my interview on Caribbean Radio ShowDr. Ev  played this clip about the philosophical basis of Garvey's ideas: "Know Yourself."


See also "Man Know Thyself."
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Blog Disclosure Policy


Geoffrey Philp’s Blog Spot receives a percentage of the purchase price on anything you buy through links to Amazon, Shambala Books, Hay House, or any of the Google ads or Google Custom Search.


***

Disclaimer of Endorsement


The documents posted on this Web site may contain hypertext links or pointers to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. These links and pointers are provided for visitors' convenience. I do not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of any linked information. Further, the inclusion of links or pointers to other Web sites or agencies is not intended to assign importance to those sites and the information contained therein, nor is it intended to endorse, recommend, or favor any views expressed, or commercial products or services offered on these outside sites, or the organizations sponsoring the sites, by trade name, trademark, manufacture, or otherwise.

Reference in this Web site to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the site's visitors, and does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by this blog.

August 12, 2012

Walter Rodney Speaks About Marcus Garvey's Influence




We are petitioning President Barack Obama to exonerate the Right Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey.

http://signon.org/sign/exonerate-marcus-garvey?source=c.url&r_by=4631897

***
Blog Disclosure Policy


Geoffrey Philp’s Blog Spot receives a percentage of the purchase price on anything you buy through links to Amazon, Shambala Books, Hay House, or any of the Google ads or Google Custom Search.


***

Disclaimer of Endorsement


The documents posted on this Web site may contain hypertext links or pointers to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. These links and pointers are provided for visitors' convenience. I do not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of any linked information. Further, the inclusion of links or pointers to other Web sites or agencies is not intended to assign importance to those sites and the information contained therein, nor is it intended to endorse, recommend, or favor any views expressed, or commercial products or services offered on these outside sites, or the organizations sponsoring the sites, by trade name, trademark, manufacture, or otherwise.

Reference in this Web site to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the site's visitors, and does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by this blog.