Free Download: Grandpa Sydney's Anancy Stories

In celebration of the Anancy Festival 2013, Grandpa Sydney's Anancy Stories is available for a #FREE download from June 11-15, 2013.

About Grandpa Sydney's Anancy Stories. 

Jimmy Harrison loves school and his favorite subject is snack time! But when a new boy, Kevin, joins his class, he begins to pick on Jimmy and the rest of the children. What’s worse, he begins to take away Jimmy’s snacks. Jimmy doesn't want to be a tattletale, but he also doesn’t want to be bullied. When Grandpa Sydney finds out that Jimmy is being bullied, he reads an Anancy story to Jimmy. Will the story help Jimmy to overcome Kevin's bullying?

Grandpa Sydney's Anancy Stories  is available exclusively at Amazon.com: 

http://www.amazon.com/Grandpa-Sydneys-Anancy-Stories-ebook/dp/B009JYLDZO/ref=la_B001K819L0_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1349178428&sr=1-14

Please share the good news!

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Caribbean-American Kids and Bullying

I am working on the e-book version of my first published children's book, Grandpa Sydney's Anancy Stories, which is now out of print. The story uses the story, "Anancy, Snake, and Tiger," to teach a valuable lesson about bullying.

Here's a synopsis:

Jimmy Harrison loves school and his favorite subject is snack time! But when a new boy, Kevin, joins his class, he begins to bully Jimmy and the rest of the children. What's worse, he begins to take away Jimmy's snacks. Using the wisdom from his Grandpa Sydney's story about "Anancy, Snake, and Tiger," Jimmy overcomes the class bully. And for one Sunday, he reunites his family for dinner.

Set in the multicultural environment of South Florida, Grandpa Sydney's Anancy Stories draws on the rich oral tradition of Anancy stories that are told and re-told in Jamaica and the Caribbean. These Anancy stories, which originated in West Africa, are rich sources of wisdom that have been passed down from generation to generation.

I wrote Grandpa Sydney's Anancy Stories because many Caribbean-American children don't know about Anancy stories, which contain many valuable lessons about conflict resolution and demonstrate that problems can be resolved by using our wits instead of our fists. Second, sometimes our children are the targets of bullies because they are perceived as "different." Many of our children in order to "fit in" and to escape the taunts of bullies, suppress aspects of their personality that make them special. This often means shedding their Caribbean identity as well. Third, I love to tell stories in which the conflict is resolved without resorting to violence.

I hope to release the book by the end of June, Caribbean-American Heritage Month. In the meantime, why not check out Marcus and the Amazons, which has a similar theme of non-violence. It also  combines the life of two heroes, one from the Caribbean and the other from North America: Marcus Garvey and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 


If that ain't Caribbean-American, then I don't know what is.

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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.

Caribbean-American Values

Graphic by Don Rico Ricketts

By Geoffrey Philp

During this year's Haitian Flag Day ceremony at Miami Dade College, Beatrice Louissaint, CEO of the Southern Florida Minority Supplier Development Council, spoke eloquently about the values that have helped her to achieve her much deserved success. In her speech, Ms. Louissaint drew upon her experience of leaving Haiti "equipped with 6 words of English and a strong family heritage," and attributed her meteoric rise with the Caribbean-American community to her "Six Great Loves": "God, family, self, education, hard work, community and country."


It was a moving speech and for many Caribbean-Americans in the audience, it was a confirmation of the values to which many of us have committed our lives. These values have shaped our identity and have laid the foundation for our success.


Yet, the list is incomplete. For I would add justice.


Justice has been the cornerstone of the Haitian/Caribbean revolution, which began in Bois Caiman under the leadership of the Jamaican mystic, Boukman, and was guided by the Haitian general, Toussaint L'Ouverture. As C.L.R. James argued in The Black Jacobins, one of the first official acts of Toussaint L'Ouverture was to put an end to slavery, the greatest injustice of the era: "Slavery was forever abolished. Every man, whatever his colour, was admissible to all employments, and there was to exist no other distinction than that of virtues and talents" (263).


Justice is a human value and gives meaning to our lives. Without justice, we are reduced to existence that is "poor, nasty, brutish, and short." It is this love of justice that is echoed in many national anthems of the Caribbean and in the lyrics of beloved songwriters such as Peter Tosh: "I don't want no peace/I need equal rights and justice" ("Equal Rights").


It is because of the grave injustice that was committed against a leader of the first and largest economic justice movement in the USA, Marcus Mosiah Garvey, that many of us are petitioning President Barack Obama to exonerate Mr. Garvey and to clear his name of any criminal wrongdoing.


If you are a lover of justice, please add your name to the petition:

http://bit.ly/KqUrGh

We are petitioning President Barack Obama to exonerate the Rt. Excellent Marcus Mosiah Garvey, leader of the first and largest economic justice movement in the USA and the world, and the first named National Hero of Jamaica.

On January 12, 1922, Marcus Garvey, founder of the UNIA, was arrested by the Bureau of Investigation and charged with mail fraud. In 1925, Marcus Garvey began serving a five-year sentence in the US penitentiary in Atlanta, Georgia. After several appeals, his sentence was eventually commuted by President Calvin Coolidge, and he was deported to Jamaica. It is now abundantly clear (and legal scholars agree) that Garvey did not commit any criminal acts, but as Professor Judith Stein has stated, “his politics were on trial."

We think the President will agree that this year, 2012, the 125th anniversary of Marcus Garvey's birth, is a most timely moment to correct this historic miscarriage of justice.

http://bit.ly/KqUrGh

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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.

A Few Caribbean Gifts to America

Graphic by Don Rico Ricketts

Here are just a few Caribbean-Americans who have made considerable contributions in politics, economics, film, literature, science, medicine, art, sports, and music:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Clifford L Alexander
Monty Alexander
Alice of Dunk's Ferry
Josmer Volmy "Jozy" Altidore
John James Audubon
Maria L Baldwin
Edward Bannister
Ray Barretto
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Mario Bauzá
Harry Belafonte
Ruben Blades
Edward Wilmot Blyden
Roger Bobb
William Stanley Beaumont Braithwaite
Cyril Valentine Briggs
Sir John Gordon Thomas Carter
Aimé Fernand David Césaire
Sir Edward Cheung
J.R. Ralph Casimir
Shirley Chisholm
Henri Christophe
Kenneth Bancroft Clark and Mamie Phipps Clark
Una St. Clarke
Maryse Condé
William H Crogman,
Frank R Crosswaith
Edwidge Danticat
DJ Hollywood
Frank L Douglas
W.E. B. Du Bois
Alexandre Dumas pere
Timothy Theodore "Tim" Duncan
Frantz Fanon
Jonathan David Farley
Louis Farrakhan
Ulrich Alexander "Rick" Fox
Amy Ashwood Garvey
Amy Euphemia Jacques Garvey
Marcus Mosiah Garvey
Joseph Saddler aka King Grandmaster Flash
Prince Hall
Hubert Henry Harrison
Eric Holder
Leonard Percival Howell
Otto Eduard Geradus Majelia Huiswoud
Roy Innis
Hulan Edwin Jack
Jimmy Jean-Louis
Claudia Jones
Jamaica Kincaid
Clive Campbell aka Kool Herc
Mary Elizabeth Lange
Cato T Laurencin
Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-George,
Rosetta Stone LeNoire
Sir Arthur Lewis
Delroy Lindo
Louise Norton Little
Nia Talita Long
Audre Lourde
General Antonio Maceo
Machito
Claude Mckay
George Alexander McGuire
Malcolm X
Albert E Manley
Bob Marley
Jan Ernst Matzeliger
Carlos Moore
Jelly Roll Morton
Constance Baker Motley
Hugh Nathaniel Mulzac
Claire Nelson
Notorious B.I.G.
Johnny Pacheco
George Padmore
Orlando Patterson
Jean Baptiste Point du Sable
Sydney Poitier
Adam Clayton Powell III
Colin Powell
Chano Pozo
Dámaso Pérez Prado
Tito Puente
Sanya Richards-Ross
Pete "El Conde" Rodríguez
Hazelle P. Rogers
Esther Rolle
Sonny Rollins
Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, aka Arthur Schomburg
Gil Scott-Heron
Madge Sinclair
John Alexander Somerville,
Maida Springer Kemp
Mabel Keaton Staupers
Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew Perry aka Stepin Fetchit
David Augustus Straker
Marie-Joseph Benoît Dartagnan Sylvain ou Bénito Sylvain
Susan L Taylor
William Thornton
François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture
The Venerable Pierre Toussaint
Stokely Carmichael aka Kwame Ture
Cicely Tyson
Derek Walcott
Eric Derwent Walrond
Billy Dee Williams
Frederica Wilson
Abdul-Malik Kashie Yoba
Just think how different our lives would have been without these great men and women.

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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.

Congresswoman Wilson’s Statement on National Caribbean-American Heritage Month

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) issued the following statement on National Caribbean-American Heritage Month:

“As the granddaughter of Bahamian immigrants, I am proud to commemorate June 2012 as National Caribbean-American Heritage Month. Like many Americans of Caribbean descent, my parents and grandparents came here with nothing, but through hard work and education, they achieved the American Dream. Caribbean-Americans have made numerous invaluable contributions to our nation through areas such as the arts, politics, armed forces and science. It is because of this shared heritage that I join my fellow Caribbean-Americans in honoring our ancestors’ homelands and sacrifices, and for future generations to have a chance at the American Dream. Happy National Caribbean-American Heritage Month!”

Rep. Frederica S. Wilson is a first-term Congresswoman representing the 17th District of Florida, including Northern Miami-Dade and Southeast Broward Counties. A former state legislator and school principal, she is the founder of the 5000 Role Models for Excellence Project, a mentoring program for young males at risk of dropping out of school.

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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.

How to Write Your Own Caribbean Folktale: Anancy Festival, 2012

Graphic: Christina Elizabeth Philp

As part of my contribution to the Anancy Festival in Pembroke Pines on June 9, 2012, I'll be conducting a workshop for children: How to Write Your Own Caribbean Folktale.

During the workshop, I'll be using some of the techniques that I've developed as a teacher in Dade County Public Schools and in the Poet-in-the-Schools program.

For the teachers, here's a part of the lesson plan:

Materials:

Exercise book

Pen

Pencil or pen

Blank paper for drawing

Students will understand the following:

• Folktales connect us with earlier generations who enjoyed the same tales.
• Folktales help us think about present situations we find ourselves in.
• Magic figures prominently in folktales.
• Folk tales can inspire readers to create original works of art.

The students will be able to do the following:

• Generate ideas and plans for writing by using brainstorming.
• Develop a draft of a folktale
• Edit a draft for word choice
• Submit a completed story
• Recognize and use verbs, adverbs, and adjectives in stories
• Identify the definition of folktale
• Understand and be able to identify the traditional elements in folktales
• Write a folk tale using Caribbean folktale characters

At the end of the process, the kids will write their own Caribbean folktale, which they will return to us via regular mail or e-mail. We hope to publish these stories in an online format.

We're gonna have a lot of fun.

Pembroke Pines/Ft. Lauderdale, Florida,
June 9th, 12:00 noon – 5:00 pm
South Regional/Broward College Library
7300 Pines Boulevard, Pembroke Pines, FL 33024
Admission: Free




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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.

National Caribbean-American Heritage Month, 2012

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICAA PROCLAMATION
Individuals and families from Caribbean countries have journeyed to America's shores for centuries. Some were brought here against their will in the bonds of slavery. Some immigrated to America as children, clutching a parent's hand. Others came as adults, leaving behind everything they knew in pursuit of a better life in a new world. Generations of Caribbean Americans have sought to ensure their children and grandchildren would have the freedom to make of their lives what they will, and during National Caribbean-American Heritage Month, we celebrate their rich narratives and recognize their immeasurable contributions to our country.
Caribbean Americans have shaped every aspect of our society -- enhancing our arts and humanities as titans of music and literature, spurring our economy as intrepid entrepreneurs, making new discoveries as scientists and engineers, serving as staunch advocates for social and political change, and defending our ideals at home and abroad as leaders in our military. Their achievements exemplify the tenacity and perseverance embedded in our national character, and their stories embody the fundamental American idea that when access to opportunity is equal, anyone can make it if they try.
As we reflect on the myriad ways Caribbean Americans have shaped our country, we join in commemorating the 50th anniversaries of independence in Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, and we reaffirm the bonds of friendship we share with our Caribbean neighbors. This month, let us celebrate the essence of the Nation we all love -- an America where so many of our ancestors have come from somewhere else; a society that has been enriched by cultures from around the world.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2012 as National Caribbean-American Heritage Month. I encourage all Americans to celebrate the history and culture of Caribbean Americans with appropriate ceremonies and activities.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand twelve, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-sixth.
BARACK OBAMA


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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.

Marcus and the Amazons Launch at the Anancy Festival

Miami Dade College professor, Geoffrey Philp,  has published a new children’s e-book, Marcus and the Amazons, which will be launched during Caribbean-American Month at the Anancy Festival, Broward County Southwestern Regional Library in Pembroke Pines on June 11, 2011.

“It's become almost a tradition for me to release new work during Caribbean-American Month,” said Professor Philp. “Marcus and the Amazons is a fable that combines Caribbean and North American history, and I am sure that many readers will recognize in Marcus and The Amazons many of the values of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Marcus Garvey.

Marcus and the Amazons, a children's ebook, is about a courageous ant who saves his colony from an evil tyrant without resorting to violence or warfare.

With e-books accounting for nearly 10% of trade book sales in the U.S. in 2010, more authors are taking advantage of the ease of publishing in the new medium. Professor Philp continued, “Our children are fully immersed in the digital culture so it was only logical to release Marcus and the Amazons as an e-book."

Marcus and the Amazons may be purchased online at Smashwords and Amazon and is available on all major mobile platforms including Android, Blackberry, and iPhone apps.

Marcus and the Amazons @ Amazon 

Marcus and the Amazons @ Smashwords

Geoffrey Philp, an award winning Jamaican poet and fiction writer, teaches English at Miami Dade College, where he also chairs the College Preparatory Department. A critically acclaimed author, Philp's work has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, including the Oxford Book of Caribbean Short Stories and the Oxford Book of Caribbean Verse. He maintains a blog at http://geoffreyphilp.blogspot.com/

Contact:

Geoffrey Philp, 786-556-7192, geoffreyphilp101 [at] gmail.com