The Hand I Fan With

I was the first American citizen to be elected to Congress in spite of the double drawbacks of being female and having skin darkened by melanin. When you put it that way, it sounds like a foolish reason for fame. In a just and free society it would be foolish. I want history to remember me not just as the first black woman to be elected to Congress, not as the first black woman to have made a bid for the presidency of the United States, but as a black woman who lived in the 20th century and dared to be herself. Tremendous amounts of talent are lost to our society just because that talent wears a skirt. At present, our country needs women's idealism and determination, perhaps more in politics than anywhere else. Service is the rent we pay for the privilege of living on this earth. You don't make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas. Racism is so universal in this country, so widespread and deepseated, that it...

“The future belongs to those who prepare for it today.” "My alma mater was books, a good library... I could spend the rest of my life reading, just satisfying my curiosity." "If you're not ready to die for it, put the word 'freedom' out of your vocabulary." "There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance next time."

HaHa! Well I have been laughing to myself every time I remember this incident which happened almost first thing in my workday today. I am in my office and the secretary calls to say that one of the construction workers on the project outside my office building, wants to see me. Now I parked my van sort of unusual, so I thought it was about that he must want to see me. So I let him in. I am at this time preparing for my regular Monday morning staff meeting and would not have allowed interruptions ordinarily. But I thought just a few minutes and I would deal with this. In walks one of the workers not in usual construction work clothes but street clothes. I recognize him because every morning I come to work he makes it a point to say hi. He will walk closer to where I park just to make sure he tells me good morning. So now I am curious to know what he wants. I see it is not my vehicle that is the concern...I am wondering maybe he has come to seek assistance under the project I manag...

I have been tres busy with a new job, planning a village reunion and renewal and maintaining a website for that effort. So I have had Zero time to do much else. Plus the new job relocated me to another Caribbean island and Internet access at home has taken four months to get going. So it has been a no go for here . I had even forgotten my password and had to get a new one. Well I think at the end of March I should have some time to put down some of my thoughts on things I find interesting. But I will be popping in to just make a short update like this one before that. Well I eh even know if anybody still comes here to read but this was always more about me being forced to put my thoughts out there in an organized fashion and giving myself some much needed writing practice. Selah

On June 2, 3006 UNAIDS report for the Caribbean revealed that AIDS-related illnesses are the leading cause of death for people ages 15 to 44 in the Caribbean, accounting for 27,000 deaths in 2005, . Further although Bahamas, Barbados, the Dominican Republic and Haiti showed they had "dented the progress of HIV" that region still remained seconds only to Africa as it regards infection rates. More alarming data from the UNAIDS reports show that at the end of 2005 approximately 330,000 HIV-positive people were living in the Caribbean. Particularly, -22,000 of whom were children -51% of people living with HIV/AIDS in the region are women - an estimated 37,000 new HIV cases were reported in the Caribbean in 2005 -12% of reported HIV cases in the Caribbean result from homosexual and unprotected sex. -in region only 25% of people needing antiretroviral drugs was receiving them - In Trinidad and Tobago, females ages 15 to 19 were six times as likely to be HIV-positive than their ...

For the last three nights environmentalists/conservationists, turtle watchers, Canadian scientists, forest rangers and curious on-lookers have been flocking to the black sand beaches, stretching from Cabana to Melville Hall, just outside my village, to see leatherback turtles come ashore to nest. The female turtles come in, dig a whole in which to bury thousands and thousands of eggs and then return to the ocean, leaving the eggs to hatch and the young turtles to brave the elements on their own. There is much folklore about this natural phenomenon. There are those who point out the dark clouds in the sky, claiming that they are signs of the large amphibian coming ashore. They explain with conviction that when the clouds darken, the rain drizzles heavily and there is some lightning, it means that the creatures are near shore. They also claim that turtles prefer to lay their eggs in the black sands because the heat the sand provides high temperatures during the day to hatch the eggs. ...

That is all I could say right after I heard the story I am about to relay. The parents of some students of a secondary school are taking the school to court for punishing its entire fifth-form class after some pretty out of hand behavior by a few students. I think the group punishment was that there would be no graduation for the entire Class of 2006. Some parents have expressed their opposition to what they think is an unreasonable action by the school. It appears complaints to school authorities have gotten them no satisfaction and so they have threatened to take the school to court. Yup! The parents are suing the school! But the most amazing part of the story is not even this although it is pretty far-out. I wonder if anybody can guess what the original offense committed by the few was. Well the Roman Catholic affiliated school had organized a spiritual retreat for its most senior students. It is a tradition of sort among RC schools here. Anyways the retreat was on and it p...

In Dominica the average sports fan, more so cricket fans, will be elated come December 2006, the carded end of construction of the Windsor Park Sports Stadium. The stadium is a gift worth EC$33 million, from The People’s Republic of China to the Government and People of Dominica. The mostly cricket stadium located in downtown Roseau will be of International Cricket Council (ICC) standard and will accommodate state-of-the-art facilities which include among others 10,000 seats, a media centre, practice nets, players’ complex, digital score boards and five cricket pitches. The young and aspiring cricketer should be ecstatic because after decades of empty promises, the cricket stadium is finally a reality. The Government of Dominica should be and probably are proud that they could deliver this facility, without burdening the Dominica Treasury. So all looks well finally in Dominica as far as the sport of cricket goes? After all, cricket is one of the more popular games in the Caribbean. The...

I often wonder why so many black men hate on Oprah so much. Well I guess she is not in the physically beautiful league of a Pam Grier, Lena Horne, Halle Berry, Vanessa Williams, Janet Jackson etc. The above women among many others are the women black men tend to hold up as attractive. It seems that most black men think that physically both Oprah and Whoopi for example are as attractive as a donkey's behind. I think both these women are beautiful in their own right and therefore I don't agree with these men but I understand. In the real world it is in this way most men's preferences are shaped. So I concede on the attractiveness quotient bit. Oprah however is a woman who, like many black women even if they are only successful at having raised some kids into upstanding contributing citizens, has done wonderfully well for herself, by herself and most importantly with lots and lots of hard work. She has achieved and achieved big and is a mover and shaker in the world. So ...

Twice recently I have felt in the pit of my stomach the dread I must have felt the days surrounding my father's death. I was three when my pops passed but I know that event made an indelible mark on my psyche because that feeling of dread would overcome me every time I happened on death or funerals. Mark you, the funeral did not have to be of a very good friend or close family member to awaken such a visceral reaction. An accidental meeting of a funeral procession was enough. So who died recently? Whose funeral? Well it is not who but what and I really don't know if it is a death or a major transformation. That dreadful feeling has reared its ugly head not in signal of an actual funeral but for a vanishing people and maybe for a village dying. I have been looking closely at the village where I was born and raised; my immediate neighborhood and the whole village. Recently I even had the opportunity to accompany my mother on her visits to some shut-ins in the village. What I am...

Isn't it a beaut? This is the national bird of Dominica. Its scientific name is Imperial Amazon. It is found only in Dominica and local name is Sisserou, the Carib word for parrot. The Sisserou parrots on Dominica all but disappeared after the passage of Hurricane David in 1979. Scientists believed that only about 50 of them remained on the island after the destructive storm. As such Dominican Forestry and Wildlife officials had to wait until 2000 to get a glimpse of the huge parrot in its stumping ground, the Morne Diablotin National Park. The Sisserou parrot resides mainly in the thick rain forest reserve situated at the foot of Dominica's highest peak [4,747 ft, Morne Diablotin]. The parrot shares the lower elevation of its home with the other equally popular Jacko Parrot. The Jacko Parrot or the Amazona Arausiaca is smaller than the Sisserou and is also endemic to Dominica. Dominica is lucky in that these two parrots of the Amazon species have survived to this day. Parrots...

Wutliss luv I define as what ordinary women do when they fall in luv with some star or personality who they will never meet or know. Like how some women just luvs them a Denzel Washington while others luv them some Will Smith or Morris Chestnut. For me it is the nondescript Q-tip of the Tribe Called Quest. Yes Q-tip! Most people who read this would wonder “why?” I don't know either but there is something about this man that my spirit just loves....From the first time I saw him in Tribe, I was hooked. He is not remarkable physically or as a rapper. Never dresses up as Kanye West does... he certainly does not bling like most of the brothers in the entertainment business....does not seem to make much money and certainly does not appear to squander whatever he makes like most of these ‘never-see-come-see’ fools either. The strangest thing about me and Q is that I don't follow his career and I know none of his songs off-hand. I can re-call the chorus of Bonita AppleBum with Tribe...

From the public promotion and attention the spread of HIV/AIDS is given in Dominica one would not ever believe this worldwide pandemic is a problem here. Yet we are a country of declining population, having totaled 69,625 and averaged annual population growth of -0.21, reports the 2001 Census. The decline is said to be as a result of migration and low birth rates. Juxtapose the above picture next to one of an island where the reported cumulative HIV cases [that is dead and alive] rose by 576% between 1990 and 2002. Meaning that, in 1990 and 2002 the authorities recorded 38 and 257 cumulative cases respectively. But according to health statisticians, a true picture is obtained when the reported number of cases is multiplied by 10. So approximately 2570 Dominicans have been infected with the virus! Or there is one (1) reported HIV case per 27 Dominicans! What is most alarming is that CAREC indicates that the fastest growing infections are among the 15-24 year olds. In this age group t...

In small Caribbean islands like ours many citizens are frustrated at the lack of ability to effect any meaningful change in the way they are governed. Voting does not seem to help because once politicians actually get in government; it is six of one and half a dozen of the other. I posit that this is so because people don't see their vote as the first step in the process of demanding accountability and good governance but instead as the end. Between elections the real power remains unused in the PTAs, village councils, professional associations, unions, churches and the like. Politicians always want to be present for photo-ops and they like to hear themselves speak, at graduations and for ground breaking of this and that. There are many times when the politicians need our audience more than we need to hear them. People must start booing Ministers who come to their area or groups without having made good on the promises of the elections sans explanation. They must get up and wal...

It has been long since I have really found a voice I just love and Ms. James is it finally. Jill Scott is great, so is India Arie and a few others. I have mad love for Lauryn Hill but something about her is off center and it may come through to me in her music. But for my style, the type of voice and delivery that really hits? Leela James' is just right. I like real soulful singers and she definitely is a throwback in the vein of the old soul music of Gladys Knight and Roberta Flack type. I have been looking for a male version of this kind of voice and delivery too. John Legend, Musiq and are few others are up there but still I keep searching. The modern day Al Green has not yet been discovered but I am patient I can wait. I hope Leela's career is not cut short by the usual music industry bullshit...where looks and physical appeal in the like Britney Spears can overshadow talent so badly. A shame really.

CSME...how prepared is your island for it? Have they complied with all that the amended Treaty of Chaguaramus requires for full membership? Do people know what the requirements are? What is going to be the currency? What is the overall plan...is your country just going to be an expanded market for those who can produce competitively already... is the work force on your islands skilled enough to keep their jobs that national borders have allowed them to have up to this time? Or are they going to be displaced by better skilled workers, therefore resorting to non-skilled labour intensive jobs in other islands maybe not even in CARICOM-like Guadeloupe, Martinique and Tortola. I am also wondering about what happens to islands who have not ratified the amended Treaty of Chaguaramus..

Black people all over this world should not be able to find words to thank this man. What he did for all of us is what one must tag as priceless! That he made himself rich doing so is tesitmoney to what can come of doing for people who are marginlized and yet still having the faith and courage to do what you really want to do and enjoy. It is said that he was asked by Presidents Kennedy and Carter to take high positions in their Cabinets and he turned them down. On tv, I saw him in respone to a question about refusing the offers say that he was doing what he enjoyed and would not trade it for any other thing in the world. Read his company's tribute to the man. A black man who dreamt the impossible and made it real, in apartheid USA 1945! AMAZING!

Isn't it funny the way I mentioned Terry McMillan in my previous post and here she is making this week's news? Well Terry based her last novel "How Stella Got Her Groove Back" on her real life relationship of similar circumstances. As the news item reported,McMillan is now divorcing her groove. Guess why? Uhmn...He is gay. Too Sweet! But like Nfufu, the boy gets real lucky b/c under California divorce laws the poorer spouse can get half. Hahaha the Judge from what I remember off the top of my head awarded Terry's Groove a lump sum of considerable size, plus a monthly allowance as his settlement. Terry is balking at the Judge's order and instead wants the marriage annulled. An annulment will mean no big pay out to the Groove. She feels she has grounds as she claims she did not know her Groove was gay when they got married. Therefore he would have married her under false pretense. She also says that he only married her to get his green card. Too funny. I he...

I meet this West Indian couple when I was doing my masters. The wife became a very good friend of mine because we were the only two West Indians reading for the diploma. Her man however barely finished high school. So I always wondered about the match, I thought it a bit odd. But I put it out of my mind because my friend is a very level headed person and she and her man got on well. Well they had only been married a few months before they relocated and they were living out of their environment so they were tight, of course. It was more than that really. They seemed to complement each other very well. She studied and kept their apartment in tip top shape. He worked and cooked, something he did beautifully and which she could do little of. Although she had degrees, she did not wear the pants in the relationship and because he is older she leaned on him for guidance. Real solid relationship I always thought during the time I knew them. Yet I always thought that the real test of the r...

It appears that WICB’s main purpose for a West Indies A-team tour is that of player development. Development as in, helping fringe senior team players to eliminate deficiencies, giving the next set of senior team players international exposure and exposing the post U-19 players to a high quality of competitive cricket not readily available on a continuous basis in the Caribbean. WICB also intends to use the A-Team as the pool from which replacements will be drawn for the senior team players, who will be touring Sri Lanka at the same time as the A-team. This examination of the A-team which is carded to leave for Sri Lanka on June 17th 2005, should determine how well aligned A-team objectives and selection are. In the cases where the two are found to be out of sync, a more suitable selection will be proffered. Some names make excellent sense. Among them are Tino Best, Carlton Baugh, Narsingh Deonarine, Xavier Marshall, Runarko Morton, Ryan Ramdass, Dwayne Smith, Dwight Washington. T...