“Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.”~ Martin Luther King, Jr. I have links with Canada on both sides of my family tree. Many years ago, my great-grandparents (on my father’s side) decided to emigrate to Canada. This was their second migration. Earlier, shortly after they got […]
‘Oh, sinnerman, where you gonna run to?Sinnerman where you gonna run to?Where you gonna run to?All on that day.’ ~ Nina Simone. I was spoilt by growing up in a land of lyrical beauty. When Columbus reported back to Queen Isabella of Spain, about the lands he had ‘discovered’, he is said to have described […]
‘Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow.’ ~ Helen Keller. When my children were little, their altered understanding of common phrases or things became our name for them. The Hard Rock Stadium was erected a short distance from our home, and in its first naming was the Joe Robbie Stadium. […]
“My fellow Americans, we are and always will be a nation of immigrants. We were strangers once, too.” ~ Barack Obama. I have spent more than 85% of my life living in a land that was not the land of my birth. Thus, as I recently posted on social media, I identify as Immigrant. My […]
“Mozart’s music is so pure and beautiful that I see it as a reflection of the inner beauty of the universe.” ~ Albert Einstein. Many years ago I attended a day of continuing education classes. All nurses must complete a certain number of hours every two years, in order to renew their nursing licenses. There […]
“You can go slow. Allow your dreams and goals to change, but live an intentional life.” ~ Kumail Nanjiani. Music and dance are entwined with memories of growing up in Jamaica. Noone ever dared suggest that as a white girl, I did not have rhythm, at least not that I ever heard. Nor did I […]
“We may give without loving, but we cannot love without giving.” ~ Bernard Meltzer. When I moved to South Florida in the late 70’s, it was the third big cultural shift I had made in my young (ish) life. My first move had been the most dramatic, emigrating from England to Jamaica at the age […]
“As I get older, the more I stay focused on the acceptance of myself and others, and choose compassion over judgment and curiosity over fear.” ~ Tracee Ellis Ross. I have a confession to make. On Friday mornings I get up with my phone, with notes to myself as my guide for what I will […]
“A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” ~ Marcus Garvey. I became a teenager at a time of racial upheaval in the USA. It coincided with the growing consciousness (‘woke’-ness) in Jamaica of young people of African descent. Rastafarianism and awareness of African culture […]
“I say be careful what you teach the little childrenMake sure a nuh something to hurt themMind what yuh say to mi sistaShe could be the next Prime Minister” ~ Tony Rebel. My maternal great-grandfather was a self-made man. He left school early (as they did in those days) to be a bricklayer’s apprentice. He […]
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