The Caribbean People

The Caribbean is one of the greatest regions of the Western Hemisphere and the world. I knew by instinct that I would write information about this subject. God, in his Providence and Foreknowledge, definitely knew it as well. The Caribbean experience is made up of numerous cultures and social dispositions. Its history fully is consisted of triumphs, tribulations, and other controversies. Character, strength,

intellectual curiosity, and compassion are firm, accurate characterizations of the Caribbean human beings collectively. For years, I know Caribbean human beings that are hard
workers with great intellectual strength. In fact, my mothers side of my family has Caribbean heritage, so this is an important topic for me and others across the globe. So many legitimate revolutions for change led by black human beings originated from the Caribbean. For a while, I wanted to write about this issue and now I have the concrete opportunity to do so. As a man, I have to present this information right in a cogent fashion. Now, it is a historical fact that Caribbean black human beings contributed a great deal to the struggle of black liberation here in the States. Marcus Garvey is from Jamaica. Enough Said. Marcus Garvey was one of the greatest black heroes of history. Even WEB DuBois had Haitian roots and he was one of the founders of the NAACP. Kwame Ture was born in Trinidad. Regardless of what we think of his or WEB DuBois earlier foolish errors of slandering the brother Marcus Garvey, DuBois woke up in the 1960s just before he died. Shirley Chisholms father was born in British Guiana and her mother was born in Barbados. That is why in the final analysis; we are all Africans regardless if we live in the States or the Caribbean. WE ARE AN AFRICAN PEOPLE. We who are black are strong

and our ancestors were definitely strong indeed. Also, all human beings too ought to have their dignity, equality, and liberty. The truth is that Africans worldwide worked
together and this unity of purpose is a shining light. We are one black Afrikan people. We are one and we

are unified in our common humanity. We

have one blood. It is a fact that family growth, improvements of our socioeconomic conditions, and education can greatly enhance our cultural dynamics in a positive trajectory.

The history of the great Caribbean begins with the Native Americans. Native Americans have a long, interesting journey. In about 4,500 B.C., there was the Casirmoid culture in Cuba and Hispaniola. There were human beings that used ceramic devices and formed other advances in civilization in the ancient Caribbean surroundings. There were humans in the Lesser Antilles from 2,000 B.C. in Antigua. In eastern Trinidad, there was the Saladoid culture between 400 B.C. and 200 B.C. The main Native American indigenous peoples in the Caribbean islands were the Taino in the Greater Antilles, the Bahamas, and the Leeward Islands. There were the Island Caribs and the Gallibi in the Windward Islands. There was the Ciboney in western Cuba. All of these people were in the Caribbean around the time Europeans first came into the territory. The Tanos are subdivided into Classic Tanos, who occupied Hispaniola and Puerto Rico, Western Tanos, who occupied Cuba, Jamaica, and the Bahamian archipelago, and the Eastern Tanos, who occupied the Leeward Islands. Trinidad was lived by both Carib speaking and Arawak speaking groups. One of the most evil periods in human history was when the Europeans colonized the Americas including the Caribbean. One of the first Europeans to do so were the Spanish and the Portuguese. Christopher Columbus and other explorers came into the region. They or the European imperialist criminals sought wealth and power, but many of these explorers caused the genocide of the Native American population. We all know about the criminal and terrorist actions of the criminal Christopher Columbus (who was blessed by the religious leadership of Europe in that time period). The Spanish and other Europeans exploited black people by making blacks slaves. Later, black human beings were imported in the Americas to be used as labor (and make the growth of European imperialism a reality). After the Spanish Empire declined inside of the Caribbean, other European powers came into the Caribbean as a clear means to exploit its resources and harm human rights basically. The Dutch, the French, and the British followed one another to the region and established a long-term presence. They brought with them millions of slaves imported from Africa to support the tropical plantation system that spread through the Caribbean islands. There was the British colonization of Bermuda back in 1612, then St. Kitts in 1623, and Barbados in 1627. The Brits colonized other locations too in Nevis, Antigua, Montserrat, Anguilla, and Tortola in 1672. The French enacted the same policy of colonization in Guadeloupe, Martinique, St. Martin, St. Barts, St. Croix, St. Lucia, Grenada, Dominica, and St. Vincent in 1719. The Dutch took over other locations from Saba to parts of the Virgin Islands. The immoral slave trade basically caused most of the growth of the capitalist th system in the modern era. The slave trade in the Western Hemisphere continued until the 19 century. Sugar cane and other resources were produced for the establishment. Some of the European or American wars between Empires would spread into the Caribbean. For example, even the American Revolution caused British and French fleet to battle it out in the Caribbean. Many abolitionists and black freedom fighters since the moment this immoral slavery Maafa came about fought back against oppression. Their efforts allowed the British Empire to end the slave trade in 1807 and to ban slavery completely by 1833. When the Slavery Abolition Act came into force in 1834, roughly 700,000 slaves in the British West Indies immediately became free; other enslaved workers were freed several years later after a period of forced apprenticeship. Slavery was abolished in the Dutch Empire in 1814. Spain abolished slavery in its empire in 1811, with the exceptions of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Santo Domingo. Spain ended the slave trade to colonies in 1817 after being paid 400,000 by Britain. Slavery itself was not abolished in Cuba until 1886. France abolished slavery in its colonies in 1848. When slavery was gone, the evils of colonization and discrimination still remained. Jamaica was one of the strongest locations where black human beings legitimately rebelled against oppression. Many slaves were worked to death. There were the Maroons or escaped slaves that banded together as a way to fight evil. They existed in the mountainous Greater Antilles and some of the islands of the Lesser Antilles. The Maroons established villages and settlements. One of the greatest Jamaican Maroon military leaders were Cudjoe. Cudjoe and others organized actions to enchance their territories and defend themselves against

imperallists. When youre dealing with murderous imperialists, you cant play fish with them. You have the right to oppose oppression in anyway. McFarlane (in his "Cudjoe of Jamaica") wrote that Cudjoe would sneak onto plantations or had his army leaders disguised as slaves sneak onto plantations to learn their inner workings in order ultimately to plot ways to sabotage them. Slave rebellions regularly occurred in Jamaica and Cuba. One of the greatest moments of black history and human history was when Haiti fought for its independence against the French Empire. This happened in 1804, which was after 13 years of hard work from the Haitian Revolution. Toussaint lOuverture and other brothers and sisters fought for freedom in that epoch of human history.

You cannot fully understand about the Caribbean human beings without knowing about the AfroCaribbean community. There are other ethnic groups that live in the Caribbean of course, but AfroCaribbean have a very special cultural and societal influence in that region of the globe. Many of them suffered the unjust treatment of slavery, the exploitation in plantations, and other forms of oppression. Yet, the Afro-Caribbean human beings stood triumphantly up for justice and great reforms. They fought against British, Spanish, French, and Spanish imperialism including imperialism. They make up more than 22 million human beings in the world. There was a black Spanish seafarer named Pedro Alonso Nino who piloted one of Columbuss ships. Pedro came back to Europe in 1499.

A luta continua
Queen Nanny of the Maroons is very heroic human being of the Caribbean. She was the famous leader of the Jamaican Maroons and she lived from ca. 1685 to 1755. She founded Nanny Land. The Maroons formed their own communities in the rugged, hilly interior of Jamaica than adjust to slavery. They were skilled fighters and they were hard to defeat. The Windward and Leeward Maroons were headed by Nanny of the Maroons and Captain Cudjoe. Many of the Maroons came from human beings from the Akan region of West Africa. Nanny came from the Ashanti tribe. The Maroons freed slaves from the plantations. Later, they damaged land and property belonging to the plantation owners. Nanny was born in Ghana, West Africa. She was brought to Jamaica as a slave. Some of her relatives were sold as slaves as well. She, Accompong, Cudjoe, Johnny, and Quao ran away from their plantation. They hid in the Blue Mountains area of northern Saint Thomas Parish. Each of them formed communities all over Jamaica like

Accompong settling in Saint Elizabeth Parish in a community known as Accompong Town. Nanny Town was made up of 500 acres of the land granted to runaway slaves. It overlooked Stony River via a 900 foot ridges to make sure that a surprise attack by the British virtually impossible. The Maroons at Nanny Town also organized look-outs for such an attack as well as designated warriors who could be summoned by the sound of a horn called an Abeng. The community raised animals, hunted, grew crops, and were organized very similar to the Ashanti tribe of Africa. Nanny freed more than 800 slaves and helped them to resettle in the Maroon community. Nanny was a true heroine indeed of the black liberation struggle. Her contributions ought to be acknowledged. We have to learn about learn about our heroes like Bussa. Bussa was an African born man. He was a Barbardian slave who in 1816 led a slave uprising in Barbados known as Bussa's Rebellion. He may have been Igbo or of Akan descent. He was captured by African slave merchants and sold to the British in the late 18th century. His rebellion was the first of the 3 large scale slave rebellions in the British West Indies that shook public faith in slavery in the years leading up to emancipation or the freedom of the slaves. The Bussa Rebellion inspired the Guyanese insurrection. The planning was undertaken at a number of sugar estates, including Bayley's plantation where it began. Preparation for the rebellion began soon after the House of Assembly discussed and rejected the Imperial Registry Bill in November 1815. By February 1816, the decision had been taken that the revolt should take place in April, at Easter. Bussa led the slaves into battle at Bayley's on Tuesday on April 16. Bussa led 400 freedom fighters and he or Bussa was killed in battle. The rebellion, but liberation for Barbados would soon come who have valiantly fought for their liberation like men, women, and children. The Emancipation Statue still exists in Haggat Hall in the parish of St. Michael. It was created by Karl Broodhagen. An act of Parliament in 1998 made Bussa to be named the ten National Heroes of Barbados.

The Brother Sam Sharpe led the Jamaican Baptist War slave rebellion against British imperialism. He is a national hero of the great country of Jamaica. Samuel Sharpe was born in the parish of St. James. He was a very educated man. Sharpe was religious and was respected by other slaves in his own vicinity. He organized general strikes across many estates in western Jamaica. He felt rightly that freedom and emancipation should not be granted by the British Parliament. All human beings are born free. So, Sharpe was involved in the Christmas Rebellion or the Baptist War on December 25, 1831 at the Kensington Estate. Rebels burned crops. A peaceful protest led into Jamaicas largest slave rebellions. Hundreds of human beings died in

the whole circumstance. The imperialists gathered the leaders of the rebellion. He was hanged for fighting for human liberation from slavery. Just before he was hanged for his role in the rebellion, Sharpe said:

I would rather die among yonder gallows, than live in slavery.

The rebellion caused two detailed Parliamentary Inquiries which arguably contributed to the 1833 Abolition of Slavery across the British Empire. Sharpe died in 1832 and he was named a national hero in 1975 by the Jamaican government. Also in 1975, Sam Sharpe Teachers College in Granville, a suburb of Montego Bay, was founded and named in his honor. He is also on the modern Jamaican $50 dollar bill.

Mary Prince was a famous Afro-Caribbean hero. She was born into slavery. Her own autobiography entitled, "...The History of Mary Prince" from 1831 was the first account of the life of a black woman to be published in the United Kingdom. Her firsthand account described numerous important events of her life. It described the brutalities of enslavement. Slavery at the time, when the autobiography was released, was still legal in British Caribbean colonies. The book galvanizes more of the anti-slavery movement. Mary Prince's parents were both slaves. She was often flogged by evil folks. She worked with Thomas Pringle, who was abolitionist writer and Secretary to the Anti-Slavery Society. Prince's life after her autobiography is not much known. Abolition in the West Indies came about by 1840. Her personal accounts were strong and very direct. Henry Sylvester Williams was a Trinidadian lawyer, councilor, and writer. He was famous for his work in the Pan-African Movement. He went into North America and Britain to further his education. In the UK, he formed the African Association in 1897 where it came to challenge racism, imperialism, and paternalism. That organization wanted to advance the interests of all African peoples of the world. In 1900, Williams organized the First PanAfrican Conference which was held at Westminster Hall in London. WEB DuBois was in the conference. DuBois even admitted that Henry Sylvester Williams influenced heavily his thinking about the Pan African Movement. He was the first black man to be called to the bar in the Cape Colony after he studied to be a barrister. He was born in 1869 in Arouca, Trinidad. At the age of 17, Williams was a teacher with a Class III Certification. He was posted to the government school in San Fernando. According to the records, he was one of only 3 teachers with certificates in that year. He could teach, sing, and play the piano regularly. He fought for reform in government. Many brothers and sisters in Trinidad back in that time were race-conscious and fought for liberation like John Jacob Thomas, Maresse Smith, Mzumbo Lazare, C. E. Petioni, the Reverend Phillip Henry Douglin. John Jacob Thomas' book entitled, "Froudacity" from 1889 wanted black people to have more self-government. Thomas's

ideas inspired Williams. Williams would spread the message of Pan-Africanism globally, especially in Jamaica, Trinidad, and the States. When he came into London after working in Cape Town, he wanted to fight for the equality of all human beings. "We should not be deprived of equal justice because of the colour of our skins," he said. He soon was elected to public office in Britain. He was one of the first black human beings to be elected in public office in the modern era of British history. He continued to work in devotion in Africa. Williams didn't want colonists to dictate the political or social affairs of African peoples. He passed away on March 26, 1911. He was only 42 years old. He was buried at Lapeyrouse Cemetery, Port of Spain. A memorial plaque is on the site of his former home at 38 Church Street, Marylebone. It was unveiled on October 12, 2007. From Toussaint L'Ouverture, Queen Nanny, and to Kwame Ture, we can find Afro-Caribbeans & all blacks of African descent contributing a great deal to the struggle of black liberation.

Cuba was the last emancipated island of the region. From back then centuries to now, Afro-Caribbean freedom fighters have always advanced the cause of black human liberation. Marcus Garvey was a famous Afro-Caribbean that advanced the interests of the pan-African movement. He led the UNIA movement that allowed black human beings all over the Diaspora to be unified in the theme of growing black African cultural identity. The black, red, and red symbol of black African heritage started with th Garvey and his adherents back in the early 20 century. Aime Cesaire grown his negritude movement. He was a politician from Martinique that was one of the founders of the negritude movement in Francophone literature. He lived from 1913 to 2008 in 94 years. He even taught Frantz Fanon. In 1941, Aim Csaire and Suzanne Roussi founded the literary review Tropiques, with the help of other Martinican intellectuals such as Rene Menil and Aristide Maugee. Aime Cesaire wanted progressive action, an end to European colonial racism and civil plus social engagement. In 1960, he published the biography entitled, Toussaint Louverture, which is about the life the Haitian revolutionary under the same name. He made great contributions to poetry and other forms of literature in the world. Caribbeans

did not just birth reggae music, calypso, hip hop, and Rastafarianism. A lot of folks need to eliminate the stereotypical perception that the Caribbean is only about carnival, vacations, and so forth.

*One of the greatest black Caribbean leaders in history was Walter Rodney. He only lived from March 23, 1942 to June 13, 1980. He was a great historian, political activist, and preeminent scholar. He was working in a working class family. He was a very intelligent student. He attended Queen's College in Guyana. He was a champion debater and athlete. He later went on a scholarship to University College of the West Indies (UCWI) in Jamaica. He graduated in 1963 with a first class degree in 1963. He won the Faculty of Arts prize. He earned a PhD in African History at 1966 at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, England. He was only 24 years old. He wrote a dissertation about the slave trade on the Upper Guinea Coast. It was published by the Oxford University Press in 1970 under the title of A History of the Upper Guinea Coast 1545-1800. It was acclaimed for its originality in challenging the conventional wisdom on the issue of the Maafa. Rodney traveled all over the world. He was known as an excellent scholar, activist, and orator. He taught at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania during the period of 1966 to 1967. He did the same in Jamaica at his alma mater in UWI Mona. He did not like some of the middle class in its role in the post-independence of the Caribbean. He criticized heavily capitalism. He wanted a socialist development template. By October 14, 1968 the Jamaican Prime Minister Hugh Shearer banned him from returning to Jamaica via persona non grata. The reason was that Rodney advocated the rights of the working poor. Rebellions came in Jamaica and many human beings died. After the October 16, 1968 Rodney Riots came an increase among the Caribbean community, especially among the Afrocentric Rastafarian community in Jamaica. All of this is documented his book called "The Groundlings With My Brothers." In 1969, Rodney returned to the University of Dar es Salaam, where he served as a Professor of History until 1974. He was a famous Pan-Africanist. He was important in the Black Power Movement in the Caribbean and North America. He was very much known for building up Dar es Salaam in having new African learning and discussion. By 1974, he returned to Guyana from Tanzania. He worked in politics. He was a professor at the University of Guyana. He founded the Working People's Alliance. It opposed the PNC government. He was arrested and charged with arson after 2 government offices were burned in 1979. He was murdered by a bomb in his car in June 13, 1980. This came after he celebrated the independence celebrations in Zimbabwe. He was survived by his wife named Pat and his 3 children. His brother, Donald Rodney, who was injured in the explosion, said that a sergeant in the Guyana Defense Force named Gregory Smith had given Walter the bomb that killed him. After the killing, Smith fled to French Guiana where he died in 2002. It is said that President Linden Forbes Burnham was involved in the assassination, because Rodney wanted various ethnic groups to work together in a class struggle. His legacy is extensive. His magnum opus is called How Europe Underdeveloped Africa. It was published in 1972. It proved how Africa was exploited consciously by European imperialism, which resulted in the underdevelopment of much of the continent. His research was groundbreaking in that it analyzed how the slave trade effected Africa centuries later.

Role models and real leaders are always adequately part of the Caribbean cultural experience. The human being on the far left is named Clement Osbourne Payne. He was a Trinidad born pioneer in the Caribbean trade union movement. In fact by 1998, via an act of Parliament, Clement was named one of the 10 National Heroes of Barbados. So, Payne fought in his life for social justice and he only died at the age of 37 years old. The man to the right of Clement was Errol Walton Barrow. Barrow wanted the Caribbean region to acquire more political and economic power. He worked with the famous American singer Nina Simone. Errol Walton Barrow was the First Prime Minister of Barbados. He was involved in the Treaty of Chaguaramas, which wanted more political and economic unity among Caribbean nations like Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados, and Guyana. Dr. Pearlette Louisy is the woman to the left of the last woman from the far right. She is a Ph.D and he worked her entire life involved in education. She works in the performing arts. The woman from the far right is Louise Lake-Tack. She worked in the AntiApartheid Movement. She is the Governor General of Antigua and Barbuda from July 2007 to the present. These human beings inspire us. The live that each of these individuals lived give us all of the motivation to continue to advance liberty, justice, equality, and genuine cooperation among the nations of the world. The truth will never stop, because faith and hope in the future will be a prescient reality.

The Caribbean struggle for civil rights is ever real and known in history. The struggle for human rights is international since all human beings deserve and ought to have equal rights. Caribbean heroes, therefore, spread their talents globally as a pristine means to advance justice.
Marcus Garvey was a giant and a hero not only among Caribbeans, but among all human beings (especially those of black African descent). Marcus Garvey gave us a real vision and a real plan for liberation. There were others before him that talked similar dreams (like Martin Delany advocated similar goals back in the 19th century), but Marcus Garvey was the first in my view that took it to the next level. He organized millions of black brothers and black sisters to not only culturally appreciate their African heritage, but to actively set up programs to directly assist black human beings internationally. His legacy is that pan-Africanism is a great ideal to fight for and advance. Amy Ashwood Garvey was born in Jamaica and was in the struggle for black pan-African liberation as well. Amy Ashwood Garvey was Marcus Garvey's first wife. She was told by her grandmother that she was of Ashanti descent.

She and Marcus Garvey founded the UNIA (or the Universal Negro Improvement Association) in 1914. Amy Garvey became a director of the Black Star Line Steamship Corporation and founded the Negro World newspaper. She was a friend of the brother Ladipo
Solanke. Amy Garvey worked in women's issues via creating the London Afro-Women's Centre as well. She joined the West Indies National Council and the Council of African Affairs. She campaigned for Adam Clayton Powell. Amy Garvey tortured the Americas and fought for justice until her death in 1969. She was 72 years old. William Grant was a Jamaican labor activist too. He was one great figure in the working

class struggle for justice in the land of Jamaica. Malcolm X and Kwame Ture have Caribbean ancestry too. Each wanted human rights. Each believed that black people should have strength, dignity, power, and true equality in the world. Malcolm X woke up in his life and he including his family were Garveyites. They knew greatly the contributions of black people in world history and the oppression system from the European elite (not everybody in Europe since there are black folks in Europe too). Claudia Jones is an unsung hero of the Caribbean influence in civil rights as well. Claudia Jones was born in Belmont, Port of Spain in Trinidad. As far back as the 1930's, she fought for civil rights. She wanted an end to Jim Crow and she believed in justice for the masses of the world. She was right to advocate black women to be militant in action (as she wrote back in 1949) so all of the black community can fight against imperialism. Whether you agree or disagree with her other political views, she was right that action must be taken to improve the conditions of the black community. In the United Kingdom, she organized with others as a means to allow British Afro-Caribbean community to have access to basic access to basic facilities and equal rights. She campaigned against racism in housing, education, and employment. She addressed peace rallies as well. In the early 1960s, despite failing health, Jones helped organize campaigns against the 1876 Immigration Act, which would make it harder for non-Whites to migrate to Britain. She also campaigned for the release of Nelson Mandela. Paul Stephenson is one human being who fought for black civil rights in the UK as well (not in his bus boycott, but in other avenues). She or Claudia Jones contributed to the rise of consciousness in the Black British community. She died in December of 1964. After WWII, there was a massive increase of black Caribbeans coming into the United Kingdom. The transparent reality is that Caribbean culture is multifaceted, dynamic, and rich. It birthed a lot of revolutionary human beings like Kwame Ture, who grown the Black Power movements in America. Africans in the Caribbean used clubs called Nations to preserve African language, culture, religion, and music. Paul Bogle, George William Gordon, and other freedom fighters worked with others in fighting for st their liberation. Franz Fanon and Stuart Hall were theorists that were Afro-Caribbean as well. In the 21 century, many blessings have come about in the Caribbean. Portia Simpson Miller is the Prime Minister of Jamaica, which underlining the growing power of Afro-Caribbean women in daily life. There have been successes in development, but some parts of the Caribbean still have poverty and joblessness in Haiti and Jamaica. These issues ought to be addressed indeed. There was the West India author named Derek Walcott that published Omerosm which was an epic poem about the Caribbean back in 1990. Tim Duncan, Bob Marley, Orlando Hernandez, Patrick Manning, Rihanna, Colin Powell, Usain Bolt, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, and others are of Afro-Caribbean descent.

The Caribbean Cuisine

You can never really talk about Caribbean culture without discussing about the Caribbean cuisine. The Caribbean cuisine is made up of numerous cultures like African, Native American, East Indian, and Chinese cuisine influences. influences The cuisine has a great fusion. There is the local version of the Caribbean goat stew as being the official national dish of Montserrat. It is one of the signature dishes of St. Kitts and Nevis. Ackee and salt fish are popular dishes that are found in Jamaica. In Jamaica, human beings love to eat curry goat, fired dumplings, and steamed cabbage. There is the food of rice and beans (or or pigeon peas or kidney beans). beans African, Indian, British, French, Spanish, and Chinese influence relate to Jamaican cuisine. Jerk is style of cooking that is famous in Jamaica. It is when the meat is dry rubbed or wet marinated with a very hot spice mixture called Jamaican jerk spice. It is found in the seasoning of pork and chicken hence the famous phrase of jerk chicken. Jerk spice is used on fish, shrimp, shellfish, beef, sausage, lamb, and tofu. Jerk seasoning is found in allspice and Scotch bonnet peppers (which is similar in heat to the habanero pepper). There are other ingredients in jerk food. They include cloves, cinnamon, scallions, nutmeg, thyme, garlic, and salt. Jamaican jerk cause comes from African sources. In the Western Hemisphere, jerk sauce was modified to fit new cultures. Jerk cooking is found all over the world beyond just the Caribbean. Restaurants sell jerk chicken in Canada, the UK, and the States (my my little brother ate jerk chicken before. before. He got it from a location in Young Park). Park Bush tea is a famous herbal tea in the Virgin Islands. Pate in the Virgin Islands was fried dough filled with numerous meats (like beef, chicken, or salt fish stuffed inside a popular snack). There are numerous fruits consumed locally in the Virgin Islands. In the Virgin Islands, human beings consume sugar

apple, mango, papaya, sour sop, genip, sea grapes, tamarind (that can be made into a sweet stew or rolled in sweet balls), and goose berries. Goose berries are small green sour fruit, which is smaller than a grape. These fruits are mainly stewed together with sugar for a sweet snack. Du riz a pois or Diri ak Pwa is a rice and beans dish from Haiti. Guavas juice, grapefruit juice, mango juice, and along with other juices (like orange juice, granadilla juice, and passion fruit) are popular in Haiti. Frescos are sweet deserts that Haitian people like as well. It is made up of mostly fruit syrup. The syrup is thick and very sweet. Sweet vendors sell frescos all of the time. African, France, Taino, and Spanish culinary influence make up the major Haitian cuisine. Bajan cuisine is made up of an unique, strong blend of foods. It has African, Indian, and British influences. The national dish of Barbados is Cou-Cou and Flying Fish. Cou-cou is made up of cornmeal (or corn flour) and okra. It is found all over the Caribbean. It came from African ancestry when slaves used it as a regular meal when they were brought to Barbados from Africa. Flying fish is known as a complement to cou-cou. Flying fish is either fried or steam in Barbados. There is corned beef or just stew beef used with cou-cou as well. Traditionally, cou-cou is served on Fridays at homes across Barbados and local food establishments. Fungi is the name for cou-cou when it is cooked without okra.

Culture and Music

Language, music, industry, history, learning, and other themes of human civilization intersect when you learn about Caribbean culture and music. The Caribbean is not a monolith for human beings from the four corners of the Earth have influenced greatly the total essence of the Caribbean experience. The Caribbean culture is diverse with influences from Africa, Native American human beings, Europe, and from the four corners of the world. The rich history of the Caribbean is readily known and it is beautiful too. Educators, farmers, artists, merchants, traders, technological experts, theologians, etc. made a huge large part of the Caribbean region. Oral histories and cultural preservation is a great theme. Now, the tropical setting is a big portion of the Caribbean scene. This has influence the diverse music, architecture, attitudes, and customs of the great Caribbean. Some African customs are still followed in the Caribbean. Jamaica believes in a strong self-sufficient ethos. That is why Jamaica still has a strong democracy filled with Rastafarians, business leaders, political experts, and musicians. The Creole languages are heavily spoken in the Caribbean. Creole is a patois or language that is made up of an African syntax and European lexicon or words. Slaves created it to communicate with the European plantation owners. We can find French Creole with regional dialects in Haiti, Martinique, Guadeloupe, St. Lucia, Dominica, and French Guyana. There is the language of Papiamento, which is a Dutch, Portuguese, English, and African blend. There is the language of Patwa as found in Jamaica. Jamaican Patwa is an English lexified creole language with Western African influences that is spoken mostly in Jamaica and the Jamaican diaspora. The Creole languages are known to be spoken by the poor, labor class, etc. Now, other human beings speak it more. There is Jamaican English and the Rastafarian use of English, so don't get things twisted. It is not a secret that old African culture and customs influence much of the religious worship, rhythmic dancing, singing, art, and even the thinking of the Caribbean. We know about Voodun in Haiti. We know about Junkanoo in the Bahamas. We understand bout the Rastafari in Jamaica. These were all influenced directly or indirectly by African movements. We know that reggae music and jerk cooking are African inspired gifts to the world from the Caribbean. There is the Eastern Caribbean soca tradition with the limbo dance ritual has roots on the slave ships that came to the colonies on the horrific Middle Passage or Maafa. You can't fully understand about Caribbean culture without learning about its music and dance. Music has been a very fixture of Caribbean heritage.

Caribbean Culture is heavily unique and diverse. There are many official symbols of the Caribbean region. There are the parrot, the palm, and the shell. Many Caribbean human beings show their flags all of time in vehicles, homes, parades, and other locations. Caribbean literature is made up of many languages from English, French, Spanish, etc. Sometimes, the literature is based on nature, gender, and ethnicity. Andrew Salkey was one such famous journalist of Jamaican and Haitian descent. He was born in Panama and raised in Jamaica. Salkey was part of the West Indian Student Union or WISU. This was a forum for Caribbean students to express their ideas and provide voluntary support for the harassed working class Caribbean immigrant community from the 1960's to the 1980's of the UK. He was a great prolific writer of over 30 books in his life including novels for adults and for children. He wrote poetry collections, anthologies, travelogues, and essays. One of the great parts of Caribbean culture has been sports or athletics. Many Caribbeans love soccer, cricket, rugby, and softball. Cricket is the biggest sport in the Caribbean. We know that track and field is loved by Jamaica. You see their names all of the time from the Olympics to athletic competitions globally. The Jamaican Usain Bolt is the fastest sprinter in human history. Yohan Blake is part of new generation. The very young gold medal winner of the 2012 Summer Olympics Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (who shows a lot of real sportsmanship) won her 100m race too (as a World Champion). Veronica Campbell-Brown is a legend in her own right by performing in the 100m and the 200m (including winning championships and gold medals. The friendly competition

between Jamaica and the United States in terms of track and field is excellent for the sport in general. The reason is that regardless of our nationalities, we are all brothers and sisters. We are all one people from one blood. When a brother or a sister is doing well and enormously contributing to society in a positive direction, then I will give that person their due props). Kerron Stewart, Sherone Simpson, Brigitte Foster-Hylton, Dellloreen EnnisLondon, Merlene Ottey, Asfa Powell, and other track and field Jamaican athletes deserve their respect and due. They not only act in sports, but they perform firmly in charities and other programs to assist legitimately their own people.

Caribbean culture is extremely diverse indeed. Compas is a form of the national music genre of Haiti. Human beings have been dancing and singing compass music since the 1800's. Nemours Jean-Baptiste popularized this form of music via the Haitian sax and the guitar in 1955. It is found not only in Haiti, but in Martinique, Guadeloupe, Dominicia, etc. Jamaican music can be found in reggae, ska, mento, dancehall, dub, kumina, lovers rock, rocksteady, roots reggae, nyabinghi, and other forms of music. We know about the famous international music of reggae. In the States, I listened to reggae for a number of years. Calypso is a Trinidadian form of music. It can be in the form of slow tempo along with having vocalist composers or calypsonians. Songs in calypso can mention issues from love to social commentaries. They are performed in the Carnival. Its rhythms come from West Africa. It is associated also with the Bahamas,

Jamaica, Bermuda, and the Virgin islands. Carnival is one of the famous celebrations in the Caribbean. They usually occur before Lent during February. They include a public celebration or parade with mix of a circus, mask, and public street party. Both males and females in Carnival wear masks as a means to have fun or celebrate life in general. Many Carnivals are heavily Catholic or Eastern Orthodox. Some Protestant areas have their modified traditions like the Danish Carnival or the Shrove Tuesday events. Caribbean Carnival celebrations happen year round. Such Caribbean festivals exist globally from France, the States, to Calgary, Canada. Many of such Carnivals have themes from the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival. In such a Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago, you have calypso and soca played. Many human beings wear costumes in many colorful arrays.

We are still here advocating for justice. We are still here calling for universal, single payer health care all humanity (in the midst of the year anniversary of the passage of the Affordable Health Care Act). We are still here in wanting to end gentrification, imprisonment, and the mass incarceration of our brothers and sisters. That is why despite our ideological differences, we still united in the common goal of ending the war on terror and desiring a very peaceful, progressive world to live in. The expression of liberty is not found in the Patriot Act, but it is found in the dedicated efforts of human beings who seek the truth. It is important to note that class also has a key role to play in oppression for how we treat the poor, the oppressed, and the outcasts is one of the greatest indicators of our moral barometer. For token gains by the middle class doesnt mean that we are free. If we must achieve freedom, then all human beings must be free from every socioeconomic background. You know where I am going with this. We must have a better distribution of wealth. Some folks want to cut loose, but you should never cut your morality off from your soul or mental aspects of your being. Our individual rights are important to maintain. Liberty is not something to be mocked greatly. It is something to be respected and honored as a means to stand up for truth. That is why sick authoritarians hate anyone being

individualistic, free, acting in the spirit of collective power, and self-sufficient. It is as simple as that. These authoritarian hypocrites want to lecture us on guns when they have bodyguards with guns living in some enclosed enclave communities, they love drone attacks, etc. Gun rights is a very important concept to advance among law abiding citizens for real. Criminals should never own a gun and that include the terrorists in the FBI (these terrorists killed Black Panthers in the 1960s and early 1970s heavily) and the CIA. For individual power and collective
power are legitimate expressions of human dignity. Now, we must remember that the war on terror benefits white supremacy. For all cultures in the four corners of the world have great, intrinsic value. The white European cultural yardstick is not superior to all other cultures in the world at all. There is great beauty and inherit value in the Black African cultural tradition. I will always oppose concretely Euro-American imperialist wars. We should always realize the imperfections of capitalism and realize that collective power too is fine. Stagnation is not a part of a real movement, but progressive action motivated by LOVE. We have a long way to go in terms of racial equality and other reforms, but we can still fight for truth and cultural self-assertiveness among any human being indeed.

By Timothy

Od'abo Olorun a da fun e

We have the subsequent Right to Get Up and to Stand Up. I will always dig truth and dig reality. I will never

forget the Maafa or my ancestors at all. We will not lose our original salt at all.

Moyo wangu wamtukuza Bwana

Likkle more Peace.