Caribbean Matters: Sargassum seaweed continues to spread

Denise Oliver Velez for Community Contributors Team

Community

Thursday April 18, 2024 · 5:30 AM PDT

2024/04/18 · 05:30

no image description available — Sargassum covers the beach next to the mouth of the Osama River in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Sargassum seaweed is back, and massive amounts of it continue to create major problems across the Caribbean, impacting people’s health, the environment, and the tourism industry. The situation is not new, yet in spite of efforts by governments and international agencies, the effects are worsening.

“Caribbean Matters” first covered the sargassum story in August 2022, and it is time to revisit. This month, multiple news agencies have tackled this issue.

Caribbean Matters is a weekly series from Daily Kos. If you are unfamiliar with the region, check out Caribbean Matters: Getting to know the countries of the Caribbean.

Denise Oliver Velez for Community Contributors Team

Community

Sunday April 14, 2024 · 5:59 AM PDT

2024/04/14 · 05:59

Since April is Jazz Appreciation Month, and because so many of the finest practitioners of the genre were born this month, let’s pay a special birthday tribute to three of the all-time top jazz vocalists! Ella Fitzgerald (born April 25, 1917), Billie Holiday (born April 7, 1915), and Carmen McRae (born April 8, 1920) are all from the same generation, but each had a unique sound.

And since this year’s JAM is a celebration of the great Duke Ellington, we’re playing these ladies’ renditions of his work.

Check out our JAM kickoff and Duke retrospective here: Black Music Sunday: It's Jazz Appreciation Month!

”Black Music Sunday” is a weekly series highlighting all things Black music, with over 200 stories covering performers, genres, history, and more, each featuring its own vibrant soundtrack. I hope you’ll find some familiar tunes and perhaps an introduction to something new.

Denise Oliver Velez for Community Contributors Team

Community

Thursday April 11, 2024 · 5:30 AM PDT

2024/04/11 · 05:30

Mainland U.S. residents who are not Puerto Rican rarely pay attention to the politics of the island. If there is a hurricane, or some other natural disaster there, media will cover it, but soon enough, the coverage fades.

So it’s up to us “not-Boricuas” to pay attention and speak out against policies and laws that are negatively impacting Puerto Ricans. We must join their voices and amplify their cries for justice.

One key law enacted in Puerto Rico that is having a disastrous impact on Puerto Rican islanders is Act 22, which is now a part of Act 60. Puerto Ricans need our help to get this tax haven scam repealed by the U.S. Congress, where they only have a nonvoting representative.

“Caribbean Matters” is a weekly series from Daily Kos. If you are unfamiliar with the region, check out Caribbean Matters: Getting to know the countries of the Caribbean.

Denise Oliver Velez for Community Contributors Team

Community

Sunday April 07, 2024 · 5:59 AM PDT

2024/04/07 · 05:59

Jazz Appreciation Month was created in 2001 at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. April was selected because a lot of jazz greats were born this month, including Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Carmen McRae, Charles Mingus, and Herbie Hancock.

This year, JAM is a celebration of Ellington, because 2024 marks his 125th birthday. Also in April, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization—often referred as UNESCO—celebrates International Jazz Day on the 30th.

We’re celebrating Ellington here at Black Music Sunday too, both this week and throughout the month. But first I have a question for our readers, prompted by a conversation I had recently with a younger person who told me that they “didn’t like jazz.”

When I asked them about which musicians they did appreciate, two of the top names on their list were jazz musicians—just not in one of the early genres most associated with the name. So let’s explore the broad diversity of subgenres, or styles, that make up jazz is—and hopefully you’ll find your jazz favorites along the way.

Denise Oliver Velez for Community Contributors Team

Community

Thursday April 04, 2024 · 5:30 AM PDT

2024/04/04 · 05:30

Guyana’s president and CARICOM chair Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali made headlines last week as a result of a contentious television interview.

The BBC series “HARDTalk” and journalist Stephen Sackur both came under fire after a clip from Friday’s program went viral. Sackur’s interview approach, which many viewers saw as both aggressive and patronizing, was met by Ali with vociferous bluntness.

Numerous outlets covered reactions to the program, from St. Lucia to New Delhi.

But it’s a complex situation—so let’s dig in.

“Caribbean Matters” is a weekly series from Daily Kos. If you are unfamiliar with the region, check out Caribbean Matters: Getting to know the countries of the Caribbean.

Denise Oliver Velez for Community Contributors Team

Community

Sunday March 31, 2024 · 5:59 AM PDT

2024/03/31 · 05:59

When I think of Easter, my thoughts turn to the glorious gospel music that has been gifted to us over the years. I wasn’t raised in a Black church, or any church for that matter. That doesn’t stop me from feeling the spirit when I hear the joy-filled harmonies and percussive hand-clapping that marks another year of surviving in a nation that enslaved us, discriminated against us, disrespected, and repressed we Black folks. Yet still we continue to survive and thrive.

Gospel music, which has both influenced and been influenced by blues, jazz, R&B, folk, country, rap, hip-hop, and other American music genres—is alive and well. Come join our celebration of the gift of gospel!

Denise Oliver Velez for Community Contributors Team

Community

Thursday March 28, 2024 · 5:30 AM PDT

2024/03/28 · 05:30

It’s déjà vu: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, no longer in the spotlight for his failed Republican presidential campaign, has threatened a repeat of 2022’s “send refugees to Martha’s Vineyard” scam, only this time Haitian refugees are his target.

This won’t win DeSantis any points from the Haitian American community, particularly in Florida, which is home to the largest Haitian American population in the U.S. DeSantis’ little plot has also provoked a response from the House Haiti Caucus. Founded on Haitian Flag Day 2021, its current members are Democratic Reps. Yvette Clarke of New York, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida, Sydney Kamlager of California, and Seth Magaziner of Rhode Island, as well as Republican Rep. Mike Lawler of New York..

This provocation by Gov. “DeKlantis” (as many on social media call him) is taking place at a time when Haitian Americans are focused on worsening conditions in Haiti, and worried about family and friends caught up in the chaos there.

“Caribbean Matters” is a weekly series from Daily Kos. If you are unfamiliar with the region, check out Caribbean Matters: Getting to know the countries of the Caribbean.

Denise Oliver Velez for Community Contributors Team

Community

Sunday March 24, 2024 · 5:59 AM PDT

2024/03/24 · 05:59

Billy Stewart was a stellar R&B singer with a unique vocal style of scatting and word doubling who doesn’t get enough props when we’re discussing the “greats” of the genre. We’re celebrating his birthday and remembering a performer who brought joy to all who heard him, though he has often been overlooked when discussing great soul singers.

Stewart was born on March 24, 1937, in the nation’s capital—which would be his home base for his entire life, though he recorded his major hits for Chess Records in Chicago. Tragically, his hit-making career was cut short in January 1970, when at the age of 32, he was in a tragic automobile accident that killed him and three of his band members: Norman P. Rich, William Cathey, and Rico Hightower.

But Stewart’s music lives on, and with hits like “Summertime,” “I Do Love You,” and “Sitting in the Park,” he carved a place in many of our hearts. Join me in celebrating his memory and his music today.

Denise Oliver Velez for Community Contributors Team

Community

Thursday March 21, 2024 · 5:18 AM PDT

2024/03/21 · 05:18

Member of Parliament of the United Kingdom Diane Abbott

The United Kingdom is home to a notable Caribbean diasporic population (though as of the 2021 United Kingdom census 81.7% of the population is white). Sadly, it is no stranger to the ills and evils of anti-Black racism in its politics.

We’ve covered the Windrush scandal here in “Caribbean Matters” multiple times in the past, but the latest scandal over racism in the U.K. revolves around comments made by a top donor to the Conservative Party (the Tories): white software CEO and multimillionaire Frank Hester. Hester remarked about Diane Abbott, Britain’s longest serving Black MP and the first Black woman elected to Parliament, that looking at her on TV makes you “want to hate all black women” and that “she should be shot,” The Guardian reported.

Abbott, whose parents were part of the Windrush generation, migrating to England from Jamaica in 1953, has been an inspiration to many Black Brits, especially to younger Black women, both in the U.K. and in the Caribbean. In response to these ugly and racist comments, there has been a firestorm of protest. There has also been anger expressed over what is seen as an unsatisfactory response from the Tory Party over demands that they return Hester’s donations. Protestors are also critical of the Labour Party for not really standing up for Abbott.

“Caribbean Matters” is a weekly series from Daily Kos. If you are unfamiliar with the region, check out Caribbean Matters: Getting to know the countries of the Caribbean.

Denise Oliver Velez for Community Contributors Team

Community

Sunday March 17, 2024 · 5:59 AM PDT

2024/03/17 · 05:59

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Around the world wherever there are people of Irish heritage, Catholics who honor St. Pat, or just folks (and some pets) who get into the joy of it all, there are parades and celebrations galore. Here in New York, everybody, including me, is a little bit Irish today.

I’m not actually Irish, of course. But as a kid I grew up with a love of leprechauns because one of my parents’ favorite Broadway shows was “Finian’s Rainbow.” Several of their friends were in the musical, we had the cast album, and I knew the words to every tune. I even thought of it as my birthday play, because the original production premiered on Broadway in 1947, the year I was born.

For those unfamiliar, “Finian’s Rainbow” is a tale about a leprechaun’s pot o’ gold being stolen from Ireland, only to end up in the made-up town of Rainbow Valley, Missitucky, where the townspeople, white and Black alike, are poor and exploited, while the white politicians are openly crooked and racist. The leprechaun follows his gold from Ireland and all kinds of magic and mayhem ensue.

Denise Oliver Velez for Community Contributors Team

Community

Thursday March 14, 2024 · 5:30 AM PDT

2024/03/14 · 05:30

For months, the people of Haiti have taken to the streets, demanding the resignation of unelected Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who was installed after the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. On Monday, at an emergency meeting convened by CARICOM in the Jamaican capital, chairman Mohammed Irfaan Ali announced that Henry finally agreed to step down.

Henry then announced his resignation from Puerto Rico (where he’s been stranded since March 5).

“The government that I am leading will resign immediately after the installation of [a transition] council,” Henry said. “I’m asking all Haitians to remain calm and do everything they can for peace and stability to come back as fast as possible.”

The question now that Henry’s gone: Will the Haitian people accept the CARICOM plan—an appointed interim presidential panel—until there can be free and fair elections?

Caribbean Matters is a weekly series from Daily Kos. If you are unfamiliar with the region, check out Caribbean Matters: Getting to know the countries of the Caribbean.

Denise Oliver Velez for Community Contributors Team

Community

Sunday March 10, 2024 · 5:59 AM PDT

2024/03/10 · 05:59

The Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins Monday in the United States. It’s a monthlong time of prayer, fasting, and introspection for Muslims around the world. It’s only fitting to highlight some stellar Muslim jazz musicians in this week’s “Black Music Sunday”—both their history and their music, which have been a blessing to listeners (of any faith or no faith) for many decades.

Many of the Black American musicians who developed bebop as a genre were converts to Islam, or were in bands heavily influenced by converts.

Join me for an exploration and celebration of Black Muslims’ contributions to both bebop and the wider world of jazz.

”Black Music Sunday” is a weekly series highlighting all things Black music, with over 200 stories covering performers, genres, history, and more, each featuring its own vibrant soundtrack. I hope you’ll find some familiar tunes and perhaps an introduction to something new.

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Caribbean Matters: Sargassum seaweed continues to spread

Black Music Sunday: Happy birthday to 3 great ladies of jazz!

Caribbean Matters: Puerto Ricans are losing Puerto Rico to a tax scam

Black Music Sunday: It's Jazz Appreciation Month!

Caribbean Matters: Guyanese president spars with BBC host, goes viral

Black Music Sunday: Lift your spirits with an Easter celebration of gospel music!

Caribbean Matters: Lawmakers slam DeSantis' threats to Haitian refugees

Black Music Sunday: Remembering singer Billy Stewart

Caribbean Matters: Racism rears its head again, this time in UK politics

Black Music Sunday: A St. Patrick's Day celebration of 'Finian's Rainbow'

Caribbean Matters: Amid pressure and protests, Haiti's prime minister finally resigns

Black Music Sunday: Celebrating Muslim jazz musicians as Ramadan begins