April 14, 1984: Michael equips a 19-bed-unit at Mount Senai New York Medical Center. This center is part of the T.J. Martell-Foundation for leukemia and cancer research.

July 5, 1984: During the Jackson's press conference at Tavern On The Green, Michael announces that his part of the earnings from the Victory Tour will be donated to three charitable organizations: The United Negro College Fund, Camp Good Times, and the T.J. Martell-Foundation.

July 14, 1984: After the first concert of the Victory Tour, Michael meets 8 terminally ill children backstage.

December 13, 1984: Michael visits the Brotman Memorial Hospital, where he had been treated when he was burned very badly during the producing of a Pepsi commercial. He donates all the money he receives from Pepsi, $1.5 million, to the Michael Jackson Burn Center for Children.

January 28, 1985: Michael and 44 other artistes meet to record ‘We Are The World’, written by Michael and Lionel Ritchie. The proceeds of this record are donated to the starving people in Africa.

1986: Michael set up the "Michael Jackson UNCF Endowed Scholarship Fund". This $1.5 million fund is aimed towards students majoring in performance art and communications, with money given each year to students attending a UNCF member college or university.

February 28, 1986: After having had a heart-transplant, 14-year-old Donna Ashlock from California gets a call from Michael Jackson. He had heard that she is a big fan of his. Michael invites her to his home as soon as she is feeling better. This visit takes place on March 8th. Donna stays for dinner and watches a movie together with Michael.

September 13, 1987: Michael supports a campaign against racism. He supports efforts of the NAACP, to fight prejudices against black artists.

October 1987: At the end of his Bad Tour, Michael donates some personal items to the UNESCO for a charitable auction. The proceeds will be for the education of children in developing countries.

February 1, 1988: The Song ‘Man In the Mirror’ enters the charts. The proceeds from the sales of this record goes to Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times, a camp for children who suffer from cancer.

March 1, 1988: At a press conference held by his sponsor Pepsi, Michael presents a $600,000 check to the United Negro College Fund.

April 1988: Free tickets are given away for three concerts in Atlanta, Georgia to the Make A Wish Foundation.

May 22, 1988: Michael visits children who suffer from cancer in the Bambini-Gesu Children's Hospital in Rome. He signs autographs and gives away sweets and records to the little patients. He promises a cheque of 100,000 pounds to the hospital.

July 16, 1988: Before a concert at Wembley Stadium Michael meets the Prince of Wales and his wife Diana. He hands over a check of 150,000 pounds for the Prince's Trust, and a cheque of 100,000 pounds for the children's hospital at Great Ormond Street.

July 20, 1988: Michael visits terminally ill children at Great Ormond Street Hospital. At a unit for less critical patients he stays a little bit longer and tells a story.

August 29, 1988: At his 30th birthday Michael performs a concert in Leeds, England for the English charity-organization "Give For Life". The goal of this organization is the immunization of children. Michael presents a check for 65,000 pounds.

December 1988: Michael visits 12-year-old David Rothenburg. His father had 5 years earlier burned him very badly in an act of revenge against his former wife.

January 1989: The proceeds of one of Michael's shows in Los Angeles are donated to Childhelp USA, the biggest charity-organization against child-abuse. In appreciation of the contributions of Michael, Childhelp of Southern California is founding the "Michael Jackson International Institute for Research On Child Abuse".

January 10, 1989: The Bad Tour comes to an end. Under-privileged children are donated tickets for each concert and Michael donates money to hospitals, orphanages and charity-organizations.

February 7, 1989: Michael visits the Cleveland Elementary School in Stockton, California. Some weeks earlier a 25-year-old man had fired at the school's playground. 5 children had been killed and 39 had been wounded.

March 5, 1989: Michael invites 200 deprived children of the St. Vincent Institute for handicapped children and of the organization Big Brothers and Big Sisters to the Circus Vargas in Santa Barbara. After this event he invites them to his ranch to introduce his private zoo at his Neverland Ranch to them.

November 13, 1989: The organization "Wishes Granted" helps 4-year-old Darian Pagan, who suffers from leukemia to meet Michael. Michael invites the little boy to a performance of Canadian acrobats.

December 28, 1989: Young Ryan White, who suffers from hemophilia, spends his holidays on Michael's ranch. Ryan had been infected with AIDS by contaminated blood transfusions in 1984. After he was excluded from his school in Kokomo, Ryan fought against the discrimination of AIDS victims.

January 6, 1990: Michael invites 82 abused and neglected children through Childhelp to his Neverland Ranch. There are games, a Barbeque and a movie show provided for them.

July 1990: 45 children from the Project Dream Street, Los Angeles, for children with life-threatening illness are invited to Neverland Valley.

August 18, 1990: Michael invites 130 children of the YMCA summer program of Los Angeles and Santa Barbara to his Neverland Ranch.

May 6, 1991: Michael is invited to the Jane Goodall Charity event. Michael supports her, an advocate of behavioral research concerning chimpanzees in Gombe, Nigeria for more than 30 years.

July 26, 1991: Michael pays a visit to the Youth Sports & Art Foundation in Los Angeles. This Foundation supports families of gang members, and helps dealing with drug-abuse. Michael talks to the kids and presents them with a wide-screen TV set and a financial gift.

December 1991: Michael's office MJJ Productions treats needy families in Los Angeles with more than 200 turkey dinners.

February 1992: Within 11 days Michael covers 30,000 miles in Africa, to visit hospitals, orphanages, schools, churches, and institutions for mentally handicapped children.

February 3, 1992: At a press conference at the New York Radio City Music Hall, Michael announces that he is planning a new world tour, to raise funds for his new "Heal The World" Foundation. This Foundation will support the fight against AIDS, Juvenile Diabetes and will support the Camp Ronald McDonald and the Make A Wish Foundation.

May 6, 1992: Michael defrays the funeral-expenses for Ramon Sanchez, who was killed during the Los Angeles riots.

June 23, 1992: At a press conference in London, Michael makes an announcement about his Heal The World Foundation.

June 26, 1992: Michael presents the Mayor of Munich, Mr. Kronawitter, with a 40,000 DM-check for the needy people of the city.

June 29, 1992: Michael visits the Sophia Children's Hospital in Rotterdam and presents a check for 100,000 pounds.

July 1992: Michael donated L. 821,477,296 to La Partita del Cuore (The Heart Match) in Rome and donated 120,000 DM to children's charities in Estonia and Latvia.

July 25, 1992: On the occasion of a concert in Dublin, Ireland, Michael announces that he will give 400,000 pounds of the tour earnings to various charities.

July 29, 1992: Michael visits the Queen Elizabeth Children's Hospital in London. To the surprise the children, he brings Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse from Euro-Disney to the hospital.

July 31, 1992: On the Eve of his second concert at Wembley Stadium, Michael presents Prince Charles with a check of 200,000 pounds for the Prince's Trust.

August 16, 1992: 6 year old Nicholas Killen, who lost his eyesight caused by a life aiding cancer surgery, meets Michael backstage in Leeds, England.

September 1992: Michael donated 1 million pesetas to charity headed by the Queen of Spain.

September 30, 1992: President Iliescu of Romania inaugurates a playground for 500 orphans which Michael has financed. Michael discusses his Heal The World Foundation.

October 1, 1992: Michael chooses a concert in Bucharest, Romania for worldwide television broadcast. Bucharest is a logical choice due to the numerous orphanages the country is known for.

November 24, 1992: At Kennedy Airport in New York, Michael supervises the loading of 43 tons of medication, blankets, and winter clothes destined for Sarajevo. The Heal The World Foundation collaborates with AmeriCares to bring resources totaling $2.1 million to Sarajevo. They will be allocated under the supervision of the United Nations.

December 10, 1992: During a press conference at the American Ambassy in Tokyo Michael is presented with a check for $100,000 for the Heal The World Foundation by Tour Sponsor Pepsi.

December 26, 1992: During a broadcast request for donations to the United Negro College Fund, Michael declares: "Black Colleges and Universities are breeding some of the leading personalities of our time. They are on top in business, justice, science and technologies, politics and religion. I am proud, that the Michael Jackson Scholarship Program enabled more than 200 young men and women to get a qualified education."

January 19, 1993: Michael is one of the stars to perform at the Presidential Inauguration of Bill Clinton. Before he sings "Gone Too Soon" he draws the attention to the plights of the victims of AIDS and mentions his friend Ryan White.

January 26, 1993: At a press conference held at Century Plaza Hotel in Century City, Los Angeles, Michael is presented with a $200,000 donation from the National Football League and the Sponsors of the Super Bowl. He gets another $500,000 from the BEST Foundation for his Heal The World Foundation. At this occasion the foundation of "Heal L.A." is officially announced.

February 1993: In association with Sega, launched an initiative to distribute more than $108,000 of computer games and equipment to children's hospitals, children's homes, and children's charities throughout the U.K.

March 1993: The foundation of an independent film company is announced. They will produce family-oriented movies. A part of the earnings will go to the Heal The World Foundation.

March 27, 1993: At a meeting at Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, Michael gives a 5-minute speech to 1200 teachers and politicians.

April 26, 1993: Within his "Heal LA" tour, Michael visits the Watta Health Foundation, and two schools in Los Angeles South Central.

May 5, 1993: Former President Jimmy Carter and Michael, who are chairmen of the "Heal Our Children/Heal The World" initiative, are in Atlanta to promote their "Atlanta Project Immunization Drive".

June 1993: Michael has announced that he will donate $1.25 million for children who have suffered from the riots in Los Angeles.

June 1993: 100 children from the Challengers Boys and Girls Club visit Neverland.

June 10, 1993: Michael promotes the new DARE-program. The purpose of the program is to inform children about the dangers of drug abuse.

June 18, 1993: Michael pays a visit to a hospital in Washington. He spends several hours with the young patients and plays chess with some of them.

August 1993: With Pepsi-Cola Thailand, donated $40,000 to Crown Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn's charity, the Rural School Children and Youth Development Fund, in support of school lunch programs in rural villages in Thailand.

August 1993: In conjunction with Pepsi-Cola International, donated new ambulances to the Contacts One Independent Living Center for Children in Moscow, Russia and the Hospital de Ninos Dr. Ricardo Gutierrez in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

October 1993: Donated $100,000 to the Children's Defense Fund, the Children's Diabetes Foundation, the Atlanta Project, and the Boys and Girl Clubs of Newark, New Jersey.

October 22, 1993: Michael visits a hospital in Santiago.

October 28, 1993: Michael makes it possible for 5000 underprivileged children to visit the Reino Aventura Park, where the whale Keiko ("Free Willy") is living.

November 5, 1993: Michael is guest at a children's party at the Hard Rock Cafe in Mexico City.

December 1993: With the Gorbachev Foundation, airlifted 60,000 doses of children's vaccines to Tblisi, Georgia.

December 16, 1993: The Heal The World Foundation UK supports "Operation Christmas Child" delivering toys, sweets, gifts and food to children in former Yugoslavia.

1994: Michael donates $500,000 to Elizabeth Taylor's AIDS Foundation.

January 7, 1994: On the weekend of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, Michael gives a party for more than 100 underprivileged children at his Neverland Ranch.

February 22, 1994: "The Jackson Family Honors" is televised. The earnings of the show are given to their own newly formed charity, "Family Caring for Families".

August 6, 1994: Michael and his wife Lisa Marie are visiting two children's hospitals in Budapest. They distribute toys to the ill children.

1995: Michael wants to free dolphins who have been locked up for years. He believes there should be legal guidelines about the way dolphins have to live in zoos and parks.

March 1995: Little Bela Farkas received a new liver. Michael and Lisa Marie met this 4-year-old boy during their trip to Hungary in 1994. Michael did everything to help Bela, whose only chance to live was getting a new liver. The Heal The World Foundation covered the surgery and the cost for caring.

June 21, 1996: Michael donated a four-times platinum disc of "HIStory" in aid of the Dunblane appeal at the Royal Oak Hotel, Sevenoaks in England.

July 18, 1996: In Soweto, South Africa Michael is laying down a wreath of flowers for youngsters who have been killed during the fights involving Apartheid.

September 1996: The first Sports Festival "Hope" was held for orphans and disadvantaged children. 3000 children and 600 volunteers took part in the Sports Festival and Michael Jackson was a special guest.

September 6, 1996: Michael visits the children's unit of a hospital in Prague.

October 1996: Michael visited a hospital for mentally challenged children in Kaoshiung, Taiwan and offered 2,000 free tickets to the sold out performance in Kaoshiung.

October 1, 1996: Michael donated the proceeds of his Tunisia concert to "The National Solidarity Fund", a charity dedicated to fighting poverty.

October 3, 1996: Michael visits a children's hospital and brings small gifts for the patients during a HIStory tour visit in Amsterdam. A room in the hospital (for parents who want to be with their children) is named after Michael.

November 1, 1996: Michael donates most of the earnings from a HIStory concert in Bombay, India to the poor people of the country.

November 7, 1996: Before his first concert in Auckland, New Zealand, Michael fulfills the wish of little Emely Smith, who is suffering from cancer, who wants to meet Michael.

November 25, 1996: Michael visited the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, delivering toys, signing autographs, and visiting with children.

December 9, 1996: During a HIStory tour visit in Manila, Michael visits a children's hospital. He announces that a part of his concert earnings will be donated to the renovation of the hospital.

January 25, 1997: Michael waved his personal fee for his Bombay appearance and donated $1.1 million to a local charity helping to educate children living in slums.

April 4, 1997: British magazine "OK!" is publishing exclusive photos of Michael's son Prince. The magazine pays about 1 million pounds for the photos. Michael donates the money to charity.

June 18, 1997: Michael signed the "Children in Need" book auctioned by the charity UNESCO.

September 1998: Michael meets 5 year old Aza Woods, who suffers from cancer, at the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas. Michael introduces Aza to the attraction "Star Trek: The Experience" and spends the rest of the afternoon with the little boy. Finally Michael invites Aza to spend some time with him at his Neverland Ranch.

November 16, 1998: Michael arrives in Harare, Zimbabwe. He is a member of the American Delegation invited by the Minister of Defense. The delegation thanks the government of Zimbabwe for helping to keep the peace in this area.

September 4, 1999: Michael presented Nelson Mandela with a check for 1,000,000 South African rand for the "Nelson Mandela Children's Fund."

January 22, 2000: During Christmas last year a violent storm ravaged the park of the Chateau de Versailles and destroyed 10,000 trees in the park. The estimated cost for rebuilding the park is around $20 million. Some celebrities are supporting the restoration of the park. French officials are reporting that Michael Jackson is one of them. He was one of the first people to donate money to this cause.

October 28, 2000: Michael painted a plate to be auctioned for the "Carousel of Hope Ball" benefiting childhood diabetes research.

March 6, 2001: Michael donated a black hat, a birthday phone-call and a jacket worn at the Monaco Music Awards in 2000 to the Movie Action for Children auction, an event being given by UNICEF with all proceeds will going to UNICEF's efforts to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission in Africa.

March 26, 2001: Michael handed out books to young people at a Newark, NJ theater. The event, which helped to launch the Michael Jackson International Book Club, part of his new Heal the Kids charity, aims to promote childhood reading and encourage parents to return to reading bedtime stories.

September 15, 2002: Michael donated 16 exclusively autographed items consisting of CD's, videos and 2 cotton napkins to aid in the support of the victims of a severe flood in Germany. These items were auctioned off for charity and managed to raise 3935 Euro (US$ 3,814).

October 12, 2002: Michael Jackson invited more than 200 Team Vandenberg members, who recently returned from overseas deployments, and their families to his Neverland Ranch. This was to show his appreciation for the sacrifices the military in his community make.

November 19-29, 2002: Michael donated an autographed teddy bear dressed in his likeness to Siegfried & Roy's celebrity teddy bear auction. This auction benefits Opportunity Village which is a non-profit organization based in Las Vegas (USA) that enhances the lives of individuals with intellectual disabilities and their families. Michael's autographed teddy bear raised $5,000 for the charity.

November 21, 2002: Michael donated a jacket to the The Bambi Charity Event in Berlin which raised $16,000.

April 25, 2002: Michael Jackson performed at a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee at the Apollo Theater in Harlem helping to raise nearly $3 million dollars towards voter registration.

June 2003: The Wolf family, who experienced serious damages to their belongings during the flood in Saxony, Germany last August, was invited to Berlin by Michael Jackson when he was at the Bambi Awards. On that occasion Michael invited them to Neverland. In June, they spent three days at Neverland, meeting Michael and his children.

Charity Awards
May 14, 1984: At a ceremony in the White House President Reagan presents Michael an award for special efforts; he is honored for his participation in a national ad campaign against drunk driving.

January 1989: The "Say Yes To A Youngsters Future" program honors Michael in recognition of his efforts to encourage children to natural sciences and award him with the "National Urban Coalition Artist/Humanitarian Of The Year Award".

March 1989: At the Universal Amphitheater in Universal City, California, Michael receives the Black Radio Special Award for his humanitarian efforts.

September 22, 1989: The Capital Children's Museum awards Michael with the Best Of Washington 1989 Humanitarian Award in recognition of his efforts to raise money for the museum, and for his never-ending support of children.

February 3, 1990: From Japan Michael receives a Role Model Award.

April 5, 1990: During a ceremony, where Michael is awarded as "Entertainer Of The Decade", Michael meets President George Bush, who honors him with the "Point Of Light" award. Michael receives this award for his philanthropic activities. President Bush explains Michael's humanitarian commitments to the press.

September 14, 1990: The Council of the American Scouts honors Michael with the first "Good Scout Humanitarian Award". Michael receives this award for his humanitarian activities by supporting the Make A Wish Foundation, the Prince's Trust, the United Negro College Fund and Childhelp USA.

October 23, 1990: Michael Jackson and Elton John will be the first recipients of the award in memory of Ryan White, which was handed over in 1991.

May 1, 1992: President George Bush presents Michael with the "Point of Light" award for his continuing support of deprived children. During his stay, Michael visits little Raynal Pope, who had been injured very badly by dogs.

June 3, 1992: The organization "One To One", who is caring for better living conditions of young people, honors Michael with an award for his commitment to deprived youngsters.

July 1993: The American Friends of Hebrew University honors Michael with the Scopus Award 1993.

August 1993: The Jack The Rapper Awards are presented and Michael is honored with the "Our Children, Our Hope Of Tomorrow" award.

November 17, 1993: Michael rejects the Scopus Award. He was nominated for this award, which was planned to be given to him on January 29th, 1994.

April 12, 1994: On occasion of the 2nd Children's Choice Award ceremony at Cit Center in New York, Michael is presented with the "Caring For Kids" award. This award is to honor celebrities, who take time for young people. 100,000 children and young people from 8 to 18 years old gave Michael their vote of confidence. The Children's Choice Awards are sponsored by Body Sculpt, a charity organization, that offers drug-prevention programs for young people.

November 2, 1995: Michael receives the award "Diamond of Africa".

March, 30, 1996: The Ark Trust-Foundation, who wants to draw the attention of the public eye on animal's problems, presents the 10th Genesis Award. Michael is presented with the 1995 Doris Day Award. He gets this award for the "Earth Song" video, which draws attention to the plight of the animals.

May 1, 1999: At the Bollywood awards in New York, Michael is presented with an award for his humanitarian activities. The award is signed: "Though he comes from the young American tradition, Michael is the embodiment of an old indian soul. His actions are an expression of the philosophy of Weda, which asked to work for the people - not for one's own interests."

Organizations
The Millennium-Issue of the "Guinness Book Of Records" names Michael as the Pop Star who supports the most charity organizations. The following projects are supported by Michael Jackson:

AIDS Project L.A.
American Cancer Society
Angel Food
Big Brothers of Greater Los Angeles
BMI Foundation
Brotherhood Crusade
Brothman Burn Center
Camp Ronald McDonald
Childhelp U.S.A.
Children's Institute International
Cities and Schools Scholarship Fund
Community Youth Sports & Arts Foundation
Congressional Black Caucus
Dakar Foundation
Dreamstreet Kids
Dreams Come True Charity
Elizabeth Taylor Aids Foundation
Heal The World Foundation
Juvenile Diabetes Foundation
Love Match
Make A Wish Foundation
Minority Aids Project
Motown Museum
NAACP
National Rainbow Coalition
Rotary Club of Australia
Society of Singers
Starlight Foundation
The Carter Center's Atlanta Project
The Sickle Cell Research Foundation
Transafrica
United Negro College Fund
United Negro College Fund Ladder's of Hope
Volunteers of America
Watts Summer Festival
Wish Granting
YMCA - 28th Street/Crenshaw
Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America

This is the oldest mentoring organization serving youth in the USA.
BBBSA has provided one-to-one mentoring relationships between adult volunteers and children at risk since 1904. BBBSA currently serves over 100,000 children and youth in more than 500 agencies throughout all of the United States.

BMI Foundation
From jazz to musical theater, from music education for gifted youngsters to support for the work of accomplished concert music composers, the BMI Foundation seeks out the best and most promising of today's and tomorrow's musical creators and offers a platform of support that fosters their growth and ensures the continuation of the heritage of American musical ingenuity for generations to come.

Childhelp USA
Childhelp USA is dedicated to meeting the physical, emotional, educational, und spiritual needs of abused and neglected children focusing efforts and resources upon treatment, prevention.

Children's Institute International
This is a private, non-profit organization specializing in the treatment and prevention of child abuse and neglect.
Over the past 90 years, CII has evolved from a shelter for single mothers and their babies to an internationally recognized model of comprehensive care and assistance for at-risk children and their families.
CII assistance includes child and family assessment supported by 24-hour emergency residential shelter care, family treatment services, therapeutic day care, child health clinic, long-term foster family care, and substance abuse treatment and prevention services.
Make A Wish Foundation fulfills the favorite wish of any child between the age of 2 1⁄2 and 18 who has a diagnosed life-threatening illness.

Camp Ronald McDonald
Camp for children with cancer.

It is a known fact that MJ has given over 300 million dollars of his own money to charity. Jackson's will stipulates that 20% of his trust earnings are earmarked to go to his favourite charities for as long as the trust is in place. There is no comparison to Michel Jackson with these efforts and he has never traveled with the media or bragged about what he was giving. He gave so much and still getting so little from some people – no love whatsoever. R.I.P King Of Pop, Best Comeback Artist of the Universe, Trendsetter of Fashion, Style, Dance, Taste and Personality – Michael to the flipping world!!!!

This Sunday the world over will be celebrating Mother’s Day…but how did it all come about? How come we are now recognizing the significant contribution that mothers have made from creation?

The history of Mother's Day is centuries old and the earliest Mother's Day celebrations can be traced back to the spring celebrations of ancient Greece in honor of Rhea, the Mother of the Gods. During the 1600's, the early Christians in England celebrated a day to honor Mary, the mother of Christ. By a religious order the holiday was later expanded in its scope to include all mothers, and named as the Mothering Sunday. Celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Lent (the 40 day period leading up to Easter), "Mothering Sunday" honored the mothers of England.

In the United States, Mother's Day was loosely inspired by the British day and was first suggested after the American Civil War by social activist Julia Ward Howe. During the Franco-Prussian war in the 1870s, Julia began a one-woman peace crusade and made an impassioned "appeal to womanhood" to rise against war. In 1872, she went to London to promote an international Woman's Peace Congress. She began promoting the idea of a "Mother's Day for Peace" to be celebrated on June 2, honoring peace, motherhood and womanhood. In the Boston Mass, she initiated a Mothers' Peace Day observance on the second Sunday in June, a practice that was to be established as an annual event and practiced for at least 10 years. The day was, however, mainly intended as a call to unite women against war. The celebrations died out when she turned her efforts to working for peace and women's rights in other ways. Howe failed in her attempt to get the formal recognition of a Mother's Day for Peace.

When Ann Jarvis’s mother died in Philadelphia on May 9, 1905, Anna missed her greatly. Anna felt children often neglected to appreciate their mother enough while the mother was still alive. She intended to start a Mother's Day, as an honoring of the mothers. Supported by her friends, Anna decided to dedicate her life to her mother's cause and to establish Mother's Day to "honor mothers, living and dead." She started the campaign to establish a national Mother's Day. She hoped Mother's Day would increase respect for parents and strengthen family bonds.

As a result of her efforts the first mother's day was observed on May 10, 1908, by a church service honoring Late Mrs. Reese Jarvis, in the Andrews Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia. The Mother's Day International Association came into being on December 12, 1912, to promote and encourage meaningful observances of the event. Anna's dream came true when on May 9, 1914, the Presidential proclamation declared the 2nd Sunday of May to be observed as Mother's Day to honor the mothers.

Today, Mother's Day is a day honoring mothers, celebrated on various days in many places around the world. It is the day when you acknowledge your mothers contribution in your life and pay a tribute to her, often with flowers and gifts. It complements Father's Day, the celebration honoring fathers.

So this Mother’s Day, those of who still have mothers make sure you take the time to show her your love.

Michael Lee-Chin was born in Port Antonio, Jamaica to black and Chinese Jamaicans. When Lee-Chin was 7 his mother married Vincent Chen. He attended Titchfield High School between 1962 and 69.

In 1970 he earned a scholarship to study Civil Engineering at McMaster University in Canada. He worked briefly as a road engineer for the Jamaican Government but unable to find a job in his qualified field he returned to Canada.

He had various jobs until he secured a loan in 1983 for C$500,000 from the Continental Bank of Canada and purchased a stake in Mackenzie Financial Group and formed Kicks Athletics with Andrew Gayle which was worth C$3.5 million by 1987.

With these proceeds he bought a Kitchener based company called the Advantage Investment Council for C$200,000. He renamed the company AIC and developed it into a fund that today controls C$6 billion, with hundreds of investors.

He continued to form and acquire companies that deals in investments, securities and insurance through the Berkshire Group of Companies which by 2007 amassed C$12 billion in assets. On October 5, 2006, Lee-Chin announced his resignation fron AIC and was replaced by Johnathan Wellum, AIC's Chief Investment Officer. He remains as AIC's Executive Chairman.

In 2000, Lee-Chin saw potential in Jamaica which was experiencing economic difficulties and decided to invest in his native country. He bought 75 percent of the National Commercial Bank of Jamaica for J$6 billion from the Jamaican Government.

In 2004 he set up the AIC Caribbean Fund with the intention of investing in the entire Caribbean region. The aim was to raise US$1 billion in order to make investments in businesses located in the CARICOM countries.

Lee-Chin guided Portland Holdings through a number of acquisitions in the Caribbean. In the tourism sector he acquired Trident Villas and Spa, Reggae Beach and Blue Lagoon. In the health care industry Portland Holdings acquired Medical Associates Ltd in 2006.

Lee-Chin has received many awards and accolades such as:

Being on the Forbes Billionaire's List since 2001. In 2006 he was placed 365th.

In 2002 he received the Harry Jerome Award for Business Leader of the Decade.

He has also made donations to many charities and causes, and was awarded an Honorary degree from McMaster University, An honorary Doctorate of Laws degree from the University of Toronto, 2007 and from the University of the West Indies- Mona Campus in 2008.

Lee-Chin also owns or operates various businesses, a few are:

AIC Limited
CVM Television
A range of Cable Companies
National Commercial Bank
Radio Jamaica, among many more.

Lee-Chin is separated from his wife of 23 years, Vera Lee-Chin who he married in 1974, with whom he has three children. He presently lives with Sonya Hamilton and their twin daughters in Hamilton, Ontario.

Robert L. Johnson was born in Hickory, Mississippi on April 8, 1946. He was the ninth of ten children born to Edna and Archie Johnson. He studied history at the University of Illinois, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree. He also earned a master's degree in International Affairs from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.

In 1979 he founded Black Entertainment Television (BET), which was the first cable television aimed at African Americans. It was launched in January 1980, broadcasting for two hours per week.
Presently, BET reaches more than 65 million US homes. It has become the first black-controlled company listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

BET has expanded into other BET -related television channels that encompasses the BET Networks: BETJ, BET Hip Hop and BET Gospel.
In 1998 Johnson made the company private by buying back all of its publicly traded stock. In 1999 Viacom bought BET for $3 billion. Johnson's 63 percent share made him the richest black person (before being usurped by Oprah Winfrey) with assets of a billion dollars after taxes. He continued to be the company's chairman and CEO for six years before turning over the titles of President and Chief Operating Officer of BET to Debra L. Lee a former BET vice president.

Johnson started the RLJ Companies whose goal was to create a holding company and asset management firm run by a minority business person. The RLJ Companies has a diverse portfolio of companies touching on all area of their business industry, ie. real estate, financial service, hospitality, sports, film, automotive and gaming. RLJ has headquarters all across the USA.

Johnson also has many other ventures, he serves on the board of General Mills, he is the first Black American to be the principal owner of a North American major league sports franchise; The Charlotte Bobcats, NBA which began play in 2004.

In 2006 Johnson founded Our Stories Films, a Los Angeles based film company.

In 2007, so impressed with the Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sinleaf that he and several Black American leaders toured Liberia with the commitment of revitalizing the historic relationship between Black Americans and Liberia. This led to the creation of the $30 million Liberia Enterprise Development Fund. Johnson was inducted into the Junior Achievements US Business Hall of Fame in 2008.

On October of that same year the Cabinet of Barbados named him as their honorary Consul to North and South Carolina.

In January 2006 Johnson became the target of criticism for remarks he made about Barack Obama in his support of Hilary Clinton. He was criticized for being hypocritical for taunting Barack for his self confessed past marijuana use when the artists prominently featured on BET glorify the use and sale of drugs.

On the 17th of that month he sent a written apology to Obama. He, however, went on to say that Obama would not be the the Democratic Party's leading candidate if he were not black.

Johnson is divorced from Sheila Johnson who claimed much of his billions in a divorce settlement.

The reggae band Black Uhuru was formed by Derrick 'Duckie' Simpson in the 1970's. The band whose name Uhuru is Swahili for freedom was the first group to win a Grammy when the reggae category was introduced in 1985 for the single "What is Life' on the "Anthem'" album.

Over the years the group went through many changes; the first group members were Garth Dennis, Don Carlos and Derrick 'Duckie' Simpson. Then Carlos left and was replaced by Michael Rose, then Dennis left and was replaced by Errol Nelson. During this period the band released its most famous album "Love Crisis" later re-released as "Black Sounds of Freedom". Sandra 'Puma' Jones joined the group in 1979 and with this new line-up; Rose, Simpson and Jones, along with Sly & Robbie as producers and drum and bass players, they release "Sinsemilla", "Red", "Chill Out" and the Grammy winning "Anthem", which were there most popular album.

Black Uhuru became one of the most popular reggae groups in the world touring with super stars such as the Police, the Rolling Stones and the Clash.

In 1985 Rose left to pursue a solo career and Junior Reid joined but only for a short while. Then 'Puma' Jones left in 1987. In 1990 Simpson reunited with the original group members. They recorded several albums and toured extensively before breaking up again amidst a bitter court battle where Dennis and Carlos fought against Simpson over the name and rights of the group. Simpson won the suit and formed yet another alliance with Andrew bees, they produced only one album together "Dynasty" before Bees left to go back to his solo career.

In February 2004, Simpson and Michael Rose reunited using the name "Black Uhuru featuring Michael rose: with Kay Starr as female back up singer they released the single "Dollars" and performed at many concerts including Western Consciousness 2004. The group has made a video and toured Europe in 2006.

Black Uhuru was re-energised in 2008 with 'Duckie' Simpson incharge and Mario Lazare of No Joke Entertainment as manager.

Black Uhuru hopes to do a 25th Anniversary Edition DVD of their 'Live in London' concert.

The group is best known for hits 'Shine Eye Gal", "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner" and "Solidarity".

Portia Lucretia Simpson-Miller ON, MP was born on December 12, 1945 in Wood Hall, St. Catherine. She has the distinction of being Jamaica's first female Prime Minister from March 30, 2006 - September 11, 2007. She is presently the President and Leader of the Opposition. She is also a member of the 'Council of Women World Leaders' which is an International network of former and current women presidents and prime ministers whose mission is to mobilize women leaders in a collective effort to take action on issues critical to women and equitable development.
Mrs Simpson-Miller became the third woman to become Prime Minister in the English speaking Caribbean, when she succeeded ongoing Prime Minister P.J. Patterson. She now holds the position as President of the opposition People's National Party.
Prior to being Prime Minister she was the Minister of local Government and Sport since 2002. She has also served as Minister of Labour, Welfare and Sports; Minister of Labour, Social Security and Sports; Minister of Tourism and Sports and Defence Minister.
On September 2007 her party narrowly lost the 2007 general election to the rival Jamaica Labour Party 32 to 28 seats (after recounts). Simpson-Miller initially refused to concede defeat citing unfair voting regulations, but finally conceded when the Organization of American States issued a statement declaring the election free and fair. She was succeeded as Prime Minister by JLP leader Bruce Golding.
In July 2008 she was challenged for the Presidency of the PNP by her rival Dr. Peter Phillips. The election was held among the party's delegates on September 20, 2008. She defeated Phillips by an even wider margin than that of the previous election.
Simpson-Miller holds a Bachelor of Arts in public administration from the Union Institute, who also gave her an Honorary Doctorate of Human Letters.
She is married to the Most Honorable Errald Miller, former CEO of Cable & Wireless Jamaica Limited.
She was invested with the Jamaican O

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Merlene Joyce Ottey was born on May 10, 1960 in Cold Spring, Hanover, Jamaica to Hubert and Joan Ottey. She was introduced to track & field by her mother.
Ottey attended Gurnrys Mount and Pondside Schools, Ruseas and Vere Technical high schools, where she competed in barefooted races.
Ottey was inspired by listening to track & field broadcasts of the 1976 Summer Olympics. Her athletic career took off while attending University of Nebraska in the USA in 1979.
Over time Ottey won many awards: In 1982 she won the gold medal in the 200m and silver in the 100m at the 1982 Commonwealth Games.
In the 1990 Commonwealth Games she won gold in both events. She was named Ambassador of Jamaica for the Year 15 times between 1979 - 1997.
In total, Ottey has won right Olympic medals, but never an Olympic gold. She has to her credit three silver and five bronze medals which earned her the nickname "The Bronze Queen". She also has won 14 World Championship medals between 1983 - 1997- more than any other althete, male or female.
On 1999 a banned substance was descovered in her urine and she was banned from competing in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. She also pulled out of the World Championships as she strove to clear her name, which she eventually did by the summer of that year in time to be selected to compete in the Olympic games.
She ran fourth in the controversial race and vowed that even though she could still run at 40 she would not run for Jamaica anymore as she felt as they were trying to push her out of the sport.

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Arthur Wint was born in Plowden, Manchester, Jamaica on May 3, 1920. He was the Jamaican Boy Athlete of the Year in 1937, he won a gold medal in the 800m at the Central American Games in Panama.

He joined the Royal Air Force and while undergoing training in Canada he set the 400m record. After taking part in active duty as a pilot in WWii he left the Air Force in 1947 to attend medical school at St. Bartholomews Hospital.

In 1948 he won Jamaica's fist gold medal for the 400m (46.2) in London beating team mate Herb McKenley. He also won the silver medal in the 800m.

Wint was also part of the historic relay team, in Helsinki's 1952 games, where they set the world record and captured the gold medal in the 4 X 400m relay. He also once again won siver in the 800m.

Arthur Wint ran his final race in 1953 at Wembley Stadium, completed his internship, graduated as a doctor and was made a Member of the British Empire (MBE) by Queen Elizabeth the following year.

Wint returned to Jamaica in 1955 and settled in Hanover as the only doctor in the parish. He was awarded the Jamaica honour of the Order of Distinction. He also served as Jamaica's High Commissioner to Britain from 1974-1978. He was inducted in the Black Athlete's Hall of Fame in the USA in 1977, The Jamaican Sports Hall of Fame in 1989 and the Central American and Caribbean Athletic Confederation Hall of Fame in 2003.

Arthur Wint died in Linstead on October 19, 1992 at the age of 72.

Oprah Gail Winfrey was born January 29, 1954 in Kosciusko, Mississippi. She escaped a troubled childhood living with her mother where she was repeatedly sexually abused by male family members and friends, to live with her father in Nashville.
She attended Tennessee State University in 1971 and began working in radio and television.
In 1976 Oprah moved to Baltimore where she hosted the TV talk show, "People are Talking", the show was a hit and Oprah stayed with it for eight years. Her success led her to Stephen Speilberg's 1985 film "The Color Purple" for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
She launched the Oprah Winfrey Show in 1986. The show was such a success that she gained ownership of it from ABC and placed it under the control of her production company Harpo Productions and made more money from syndications. Her show free of tabloid topics earned her the respect and popularity of her viewers.
Harpo has undertaken many projects, one being the production of the 1989 miniseries "The Women of Brewsters Palce" which Oprah also starred in.
Oprah well known for her constant struggle with her weight is also known for the launching of "Oprah's Book Club" as part of her talk show. This is where novels are introduced, read and discussed on air.
Oprah has the distinction of being one of the most powerful and wealthy people in show business. According to Forbes Magazine, Oprah is the richest African American of the 20th century and the world's only black billionaire 3 years running.

She has also launched a monthly magazine called "O: The Oprah Winfrey Magazine" in 2000.
In 2005 Business Week named her the greatest Black philanthropist in American history. She has also raised millions of dollars for her various charities through her Oprah's Angel Network.
Oprah is a dedicated activist for children's rights and in 1994 got President Clinton to sign a bill creating an active database of convicted child abusers.
In 2002 she was named the first recipient of the Academy of Television, Arts and Sciences' Bob Hope Humanitarian Award.
In 2007 she campaigned for democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama attracting the largest crowds of the primary season.
She has also financed a school for underprivileged girls in South Africa called The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy.
She is engaged to Stedman Graham and the couple live in Chicago.

Malcolm Little (Malcolm X) was born in Omaha, nebraska, USA on May 19, 1925.
As a teenager he was involved in pimping and drugs. In 1946 he was arrested, charged and sentenced to ten years in prison for burglary. While in prison he discovered the anti-white Black Muslims.
In 1952 Malcolm joined the Muslims and became a recruiter, changed his name and began writing. He became well known for his 1959 television documentary. Both his writings and his documentary portrayed him as a threat to white people.
After breaking from the Muslims in 1964 he founded the Muslim Mosque in an effort to internationalize the Afro-American struggle. He travelled to Muslim lands and was impressed with their lack of racial bias. He became convinced that whites were not all born inherently racist. He once again re-invented himself and called himself El-Haff Malik El Shabazz and formed the Organisation of African American Unity in hopes of co-operating with progressive white groups.
Malcolm influenced the movements of black power and neo-colonialism by transforming the consciousness of generations of African-Americans.
He was assassinated in New York City in 1965, and it was believed that members of the Nation of Islam were involved.

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Louis Armstrong born on August 4, 1901 in New Orleans, Louisiana USA was one of the leading trumpeters and most influential jazz artistes of his time.
Armstrong grew up poor and did odd jobs while listening to jazz music and singing in a boys' quartet. While spending time in Waifs Home for coloured juvenile delinquents (1913) he learned to play cornet in the home's band. Music quickly became his passion and in his teens he quickly learned more about music by listening to jazz musicians such as King Oliver. He became skilled and was soon playing in jazz bands and even replaced Oliver in the Kid Ory Band (1918), and played in Mississippi riverboat dance bands during the early 20's.
Oliver invited Armstrong to play second cornet in his Creole Jazz Band which included outstanding musicians such as Johnny and Baby Dodds and pianist Lil Hardin who he later married in 1924.
Armstrong recorded his first soloist pieces "Chimes Blues" and "Tears" which he produced with his wife.
Lil encouraged Armstrong to quit Oliver's band and he played in Fletcher Henderson's band in New York for a year before returning to Chicago to play in large orchestras. There he created his most important works - The Armstrong Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings of 1925 - 1928 which made him the first jazz soloist. He recorded solo pieces such as "Hotter than That", "Struttin' with some Barbecue" among others. By this time Armstrong was playing trumpet and his style was far superior to that of his competitors.

By 1929 Armstrong was a famous musician, and performed in "Hot Chocolates". He toured America and Europe as a trumpet soloist. As his trumpet range expanded, he began to sing lyrics on most of his recordings using the the scat singing style, which he had invented.
Louis and Lil separated in 1931.
Joe Glaser, Armstrong's manager guided his film career 'Pennies from Heaven" (1936) and radio and television appearances where he was always featured as a good- humored entertainer.
He died on July 6, 1971.

Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Johnson on April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri. Both she and her brother, Bailey, were sent to live with their grandmother in rural Stamps, Arkansas when their parents separated.
During a visit to her mother in St. Louis Maya Angelou was raped by her mother's boyfriend - she was eight. She later testified against the man, who was beaten to death by her uncles. Blaming herself for his death, Maya refused to speak for five years.
She attended high schools in both Arkansas and California and was the first African American female streetcar conductor in San Francisco, California.
She gave birth to a son at 16 and later married Tosh Angelos in 1950. They soon separated.
Maya Angelou studied drama and dance and went on to perform in theatre where she appeared in "Porgy and Bess" and "Cabaret for Freedom" which she co-wrote with Godfrey Cambridge.
During the 1960's she moved to Cairo, Egypt where she worked as the associate editor of the Arab Observer. She also contributed articles to The Ghanaian Times and was featured on the Ghanaian Broadcasting Corporation programming Accra, Ghana. During the 1960's she was also the Assistant administrator of the School of Music and Drama at the University of Ghana. She was also the feature editor of the African Review in Accra from 1964-1966. Upon her return to the USA civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. requested that she serve as northern coordinator for Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
She wrote her first autobiographical novel " I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" in 1970, which tells of her life up to the age of sixteen.

In 1974 she wrote her second autobiographical novel "Gather Together in My Name" which describes her life as a single parent raising her son.
"Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas" (1976) describes her career in theatre. "The Heart of a Woman" (1981) shows the mature Angelou now comfortable with her life and her successes. "All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes" (1986) describes her four years in Ghana. She also wrote a children's book calles "Kofi and His Magic" (1996)
She also wrote poetry. Her poetry collection includes "Just Give Me A Cool Drink Of Water 'Fore I Diiie" (1971) among others.
Maya Angelou has received many awards for her work including being nominated for National Book Award, 1920, A Pulitzer Prize nomination, 1972, Tony Awards nominations 1973 and 1977 and the North Carolina Award in Literature in 1987. She has also received appointments by President Gerald Ford (1913) and President Jimmy Carter (1924). She was also named Woman of the Year in 1976 and in 1983 she was named one of the top most influential women.
She has also taught at many colleges and universities.
Angelou has also worked in the film and movie industry where she acts, writes, produces and directs. Some of her work include "Sister, Sister", "Georgia Georgia" and "All Day Long".
In 2002 she wrote her sixth autobiographical piece "A Song Flung Up to Heaven".
Now in her seventies she is still working and reciving acclaim. In 2002 she was honoured by President Clinton and in the same year Hallmark introduced The Maya Angelou Life Mosaic Collection which is a series of greeting cards containing her verse.
She has plans to write a cook book and direct another film.

Mary Seacole, born in Kingston in 1805 to a Scottish army officer and a free black woman who not only nursed the sick, ran a boarding house but who also taught her daughter about the healing properties of herbal medicine.

Mary Seacole, using herbal medicine, played a pivotal role in not only the 1850 cholera epidemic but also the yellow fever outbreak in Jamaica. As her notoriety grew she was soon performing operations on persons suffering from gunshot and knife wounds.

From her travels across the Caribbean, Mary Seacole increased her knowledge of how people used local plants and herbs to treat the sick. She also treated persons afflicted with cholera in Panama. Mary learnt more about how the cholera disease attacked the body by performing an autopsy on one of its victims.

When soldiers of the Crimean War began to suffer from cholera and malaria, Mary went to London to offer her help and expertise but was rejected due to prejudice against women performing medicine. However, when the government was forced to change their minds they enlisted the less skilled Florence Nightingale along with a team of thirty-nine nurses. Mary's application to join Florence Nightingale's team was denied.

A successful business woman at the time, Mary travelled to Crimea at her own expense. She visited Florence Nightingale to offer her services but was once again turned down.

Unwilling to give up, Mary started a business called the British Hotel, where she served food and drinks to the soldiers. She used her profits to finance medical treatment for the soldiers.

Unlike Florence Nightingale and her team who were based miles away from the battlefield, Mary treated her patients, from both sides, on the battlefield.

Mary returned to England at the end of the war in 1856 with plans to work as a nurse in India, but gave up the idea as she was unable to finance the trip.

She died in London on May 14, 1881.

The Spanish and the English rule

The Spanish settlers moved to Villa de la Vega, now known as Spanish Town, establishing it as the capital of Jamaica. The 1640s saw many people coming to Jamaica for its stunning beauty; especially the pirates who had a reputation of deserting their raiding parties and staying on in the island. The attacks by the pirates in Jamaican history can be traced back to nearly 100 years, between 1555 and 1655; the final attack leaving the island in the hands of the English.

The island of Jamaica was finally seized by the British forces in the form of a joint expedition by Admiral Sir William Penn and General Robert Venables in May 1655. The buccaneers were invited by the Governor to form their base at Port Royal to prevent Spanish aggression in 1657. The Spanish were defeated in the successive battles that followed, starting the extended reign of the British on Jamaican soil. Through the Treaty of Madrid in 1670, the British gained formal recognition of possession of Jamaica. Still part of the Island remained in the hands of some of the escaped slaves called the 'Maroons', with whom they signed a treaty on March 1, 1738. Even though much of the Spanish capital, Villa de la Vega, was burned during the English conquest, they renamed it Spanish Town and kept it as the island's capital.

By the 19th century, the revolt between the blacks and the whites increased with the blacks outnumbering the whites by a ratio 20 to 1. Following a series of uprisings, slavery was ultimately abolished on August 1, 1834 with Jamaica becoming a Crown Colony. This led to the establishment and growth of a middle class comprising of low-level public officials and police officers drawn from the mass of the population, whose social and political progress was blocked by the colonial authorities. The Great Depression followed in the 1930s and then the revolt by the sugar and the dock workers in 1938 leading to significant changes including the growth of an organized labor movement and a competitive party system.

Modern history

By the mid 1940s the Jamaican gained a degree of local political control. In 1938 the People's National Party (PNP) was founded and five years later its rival, the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) came into being. Under the universal adult suffrage, the first election was held in 1944. Nine other UK territories in the Federation of the West Indies were joined by Jamaica in 1958. Finally on August 6, 1962, Jamaica gained its independence, remaining a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. In the beginning, power switched between the two parties quite regularly. The first Prime Minister was chosen in 1972 and thus the present day government in Jamaica began to function.

For further information on the history of Jamaica, scroll through 123independenceday.com .

The Road to Freedom

The day was August 1, the year 1838 and the event, Emancipation from Slavery. Tears of joy flowed incessantly, while shouts of freedom rang from the mountain tops and the plains, from the men, women and children, who had learnt that they were finally free of the oppressive social and economic system in which they were treated as less than human.

From its introduction in the West Indies in 15th Century, slavery was regarded by many as immoral and brutish, characterized by the destruction of the "innate characteristics of humankind, which are necessary for progress." The slave-owning class, who dominated the legislative system, drew up the slave laws, which were rigid. Some of these laws and punishments included forbidding slaves to hold meetings without permission from or under the supervision of a white person. Slaves were banned from beating drums and blowing horns as it was thought to be a signal of rebellion and they were severely beaten for slowing down in the fields.

The Quakers, a religious group, were among the first critics of the system and campaigned for its abolition. The campaign was led by Granville Sharpe, an English man who was successful in securing the freedom of an abandoned slave, Joseph Strong, in England 1787. The Quakers formed the 'Society For Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade' and others such as Sharpe, Thomas Clarkson, James Ramsey and Edmond Burke then joined it.

They argued that not only was slavery against the will of God, but was also the denial of civilization. They said that freedom was the true, natural state of man. However, their arguments proved futile as the sugar industry was booming.

Persons in favour of the system expressed the view that blacks were unprepared for freedom and would be harmed by it, and that not all men were born free and equal. They also held the view that Africans were different from whites and thus should be treated as animals.

It was not until the eighteenth century when the sugar industry began to decline that the anti-slavery movement received encouragement. The first victory for the abolitionist came in March of 1807, with the passage of the Bill for 'The Total and Immediate Abolition of the Slave Trade' in the British Parliament.

But, to a large extent, it was the slaves themselves who charted the course to their own freedom, by the many brutal revolts staged across the island. They had the help of the Maroons, those slaves who had escaped into the island's mountains. The most famous revolt was the 1831 "Christmas" or "Baptist War".

These rebellions, coupled with the decline in the sugar, caused a drain on the planters' coffers. With the possibility of a general uprising constantly threatening, the law to abolish slavery was once again proposed in the British Parliament in 1833 and this time was passed with little resistance.

On August 1, 1834, all slaves were legally declared free, however, "real" freedom only came in 1838.

Between 1834 and 1840 a system of Apprenticeship was introduced. This system was to help prepare the slaves for freedom and to help the planters cope with this change. However, it was unsuccessful as it failed to achieve the spirit of reconciliation and to prepare the former slaves for full freedom as was intended. Some success though was achieved in limited areas as a result of the Stipendiaries or Special Magistrates who had been appointed by the British government to oversee the system on its behalf, and to investigate cases of abuse. The decision was taken to end the system in 1838, two years earlier than planned. Thus, effective August 1, 1838, slavery was abolished and the former apprentices were declared free citizens.

Now that all slaves were free, what next? Emancipation did not mean the beginning of good times according to Sherlock and Bennett in "The Story of the Jamaican People": "Emancipation gave them the right to free movement, the right to choose where and when they wished to work, but without basic education and training many were compelled to remain on the plantation as field hands and tenants-at-will under conditions determined by the landlord, and for wages set by him."

But, the thousands of people of African descent who were subjected to years of submission to a system characterized by lack of freedom, action or will, were just glad to be free. With the savagery of the plantations behind, they saw promise of a better life ahead.

Swithin Wilmot in "Freedom in Jamaica" recorded the reaction of a former slave on hearing that he was free. "My dear brodders and sisters, me head quite full of joy to see you all so free and here today. At dis hour in slave time we all go de field to dig cane holes or pick coffee and if we sick, Buckra flog we for true, and no hear when we cry for mercy. But now no overseer can come and drive we off to the field, now we can work when we like and stay at home when we sick. We can buy our own land, build we own house and go to we own church."

Jamaica has seen more than 160 years of freedom from slavery and tremendous growth to become an independent nation but do Jamaican's understand the significance of being emancipated from slavery?

The anniversary of Emancipation was celebrated privately up to 1898, when Robert Love introduced the idea of a Convention. The response was good and the Convention was held on August 1, of that year. Out of that Convention came The People's Convention, which was set up so that the celebrations would continue in the future.

However in 1900, the Convention ended but not the celebrations. They continued as usual and in 1914, the Jamaica League was established. This was a group of Non-conformist ministers who were interested in developing, uniting and reforming Jamaica.

In 1962 when Jamaica gained Independence, the country's leaders took the decision to merge the two high points of our history- Emancipation and Independence, into one celebration.

With the passage of time, the commemoration of Emancipation steadily declined and the focus was more on Independence. However, in 1997, the first official function to mark the restoration of Emancipation Day as a National Day took place in Spanish Town where the proclamation of Independence was read.

The decision to restore the celebration of Emancipation Day to its place on the National Calendar was passed by the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament in 1997. This was done with the intention of re-awakening the spirit of the nation to its rich and colourful history.

Emancipation Day is celebrated across the island with all-night vigils being held on the eve of Emancipation Day. These are conducted in churches and town squares throughout the island. At midnight there is drumming, pealing of bells, with celebrations continuing into the dawn of the "First of August." This is an effort to re-create the atmosphere that existed in the early days and in so doing establish a sense of feeling about that "Augus' Mawning".

Another Emancipation celebration activity is the annual Emancipation Lecture put on by the Webster Memorial United, Tarrant and Bethel Baptist churches. Speaking at one of the lectures, Pastor of Bethel Baptist Church, the Rev. Dr. Burchell K. Taylor said, "An event as significant as the Emancipation of our people from slavery and all it signifies in terms of human cruelty, suffering, sacrifice, folly, courage, deception, greed, triumph of the human spirit and faith and hope cannot be allowed to slip from our collective memory. There are lessons to be learnt that are of lasting value.remembering Emancipation can itself be an ongoing liberating experience."

A significant activity for this year is the opening of the Emancipation Park. The Park, located on the former Liguanea lands near National Housing Trust in Kingston, will have walkways, waterways, gardens and related facilities, with designs and sculptures centering on the theme 'Emancipation'.

Source: JIS
Writer: Tanesha Ramdanie

A memorial service will be held this Saturday in Portland, Jamaica for the late television presenter, top radio personality, record producer and artist.

1976-1979

Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation in Kingston, Jamaica - Presenter: "Dread at the Controls Show" Technical Operator: Audio programs both live and recorded.

Awarded: Top Radio Personality in Jamaican Radio based on the unusual impact made on radio listeners and the popularity of recordings made.

Recorded/produced single: "Barber Saloon." Charted at number one on the local radio charts recorded several Top 10-reggae singles.

Performed live at Reggae Sunsplash in Jamaica along with other featured artists including Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, Inner Circle, and Third World.

Produced first album "Dread at the Controls" (Trojan Records-London) and "African Anthem" (A Special Edition from Jamaica's radio program for Cruise Records-UK).

Worked at Treasure Isle Recording Studio-Jamaica as Audio Engineer.

Traveled to London on a promotional trip.

1980-1981

Produced several Jamaican artists. Recorded album “World War 111” for the Dread at the Controls label. The " Breakdown the Walls” single from this album was used in the soundtrack for the movie "Walcott," a British Television Movie Series-aired on Central TV, London. ITV Network.

Attended National Broadcasting School in London, England. Graduated with qualifications in Presentation and Production.

Produced The Clash-Epic Records. First production "Bank Robber/Rockers Galore UK Tour" charted number 12 on the British charts. Highest chart entry in the history of the group. Appeared in the "Bankrobber" video, a CBS Records Production. Co-produced The Clash, several tracks on "Sandinista" album. Co-wroteand performed on 5 tracks.

"Sandinista" Best Rock Record in 1981.

1982-1983

Employed by Central TV-London as Presenter/Researcher/Narrator for a six-part TV documentary series-"Deep Roots Music" that was aired nationally and across Europe. Created and produced "Jungle Signal" used as the Soundtrack and Signature Tune for "Deep Roots Music" /CH4, UK Produced Japanese Rock band Anarchy.

Visited and Performed in Japan with The Mods.

Toured Europe and Scandinavia as support artist for UB40 and produced 10 dub tracks for them.

Made several appearances and performances on BBC and Sky TV Music Box, London and Bristol / UK.

Live appearances with UB40, Bob Dylan, and Carlos Santana at Rock Music Festival at Wembley Stadium in London and Slane Castle in Dublin, Ireland. Live appearances on BBC-2 television show Ebony.

Performed "Pave the Way" " Reggae Hit Shot" (Reggae Christmas) and "Sunday School."

Created TV formats for Rockers Roadshow -a 10 part British TV series for Channel 4 television, commissioned by Central TV, London. Worked at Central TV/Channel 4 as Presenter/Music Director for Rockers Road Show for national broadcast across UK. This was a 10 part youth music series.

Employed at VPRO Radio in the Netherlands as Host/Producer of reggae Series - "Rockers in the Morning" a weekly program.

1984

Studied Studio/Recording Techniques at Polytechnic of North London. Presented Reggae show for Radio West in Bristol,UK.

Presented/produced Reggae Special Reports for BBC Radio 1 For National broadcast across the UK.

Produced several reggae albums. Completed various Station ID's/jingles for various radio networks worldwide.

Hosted live events including "Miss Black UK pageant" in Birmingham.

1985-1988

Produced/presented Reggae Radio special for Australian Broadcasting Corporation 105.7 FMJJJ Radio Sydney, Australia.

Freelanced as Mix Engineer, Music Producer, and Reggae Consultant.

Live appearances in California. Commercial voice overs for Los Angeles Reggae Festival.

Live appearances on CBS-TV News at 10-Channel 13 TV-Tucson, Arizona.

1989-1991

Headlined the "Tropical Heat Wave Festival" in Tampa, Florida – WMNF Radio. Toured USA with Roots Radics Band and Israel Vibrations Group supporting albums: "Happy Family," "Pave the Way," "World War 111," and "S.W.A.L.K."

Recorded single "The Source of Divorce" for Warner Brothers Records, Los Angeles. Filmed video at Gene Kelly's house –a Warner Brothers Production.

Contracted to UK radio network Spectrum International Radio as Head Presentation/ Production and Multicultural Afro Caribbean Programming.

Live appearances across Europe with Bunny Wailer, Culture Abyssinians, and Judy Mowatt.

Participated in a reggae tour across USA and Europe with Freddie McGregor along with Lloyd Parks and "We The People Band." Performed in a European tour with Ziggy Marley, Kid Creole, I-Threes, the Wailers and Freddie McGregor.

Headliner-USA tour with Roots Radics Band (August -September 1991) to support albums "Profile" (Ras Records) and "Mikey Dread's Best Sellers" (Rykodisc). Contracted as guest host "Caribbean Love Boat" - Show for FM Yokohama, Japan.

1992

Nominated for NAIRD Award (National Association of Independent Record Distributors) for album " Mikley Dread Best Sellers"(Rykodisc)-a Billboard Magazine Music Award.

Guest host for a World beat, USA TV show "Tropical Beat" filmed live in New York. Released album "Obsession" (Rykodisc).

Co-produced / co-wrote and performed on Izzy Stradlin's (formerly of Guns and Roses) single "Can't Hear 'Em"(Geffen Records). Production arrangements on Pressure Drop from Izzy Stradlin and the Ju Ju Hounds
(debut album-Geffen Records).

Headlined a charity concert for Mayor Kenneth E. Reeves, Cambridge, Massachusetts - to raise money for The Duboise Academy and youths of the community.

"Breakdown the Walls" album soundtrack was used in the USA movie, The Rift. Headlined a USA tour with the Roots Radics Band to support the "Obsession" album (Rykodisc).

1993-1999

Program Director, Caribbean Satellite Network. On air personality of reggae music feature specials. Producer for the following:
1. Artist Profile
2. New Video Showcase
3. VideoDub Plate
4. Christmas Around the Caribbean
5. Christmas withthe Children
6. Bob Marley, Hall of Fame Induction
7. CelebrityGuest DJ's
8. Trinidad Carnival

Attended the Art Institute of Ft. Lauderdale as a full time student majoring in Music/ Video Production. Graduated in 1996 with honors.

In 1994 received international reggae music awards "Martins International Cultural Award of Honor" in Chicago.

Entertainment Consultant for Caribbean Music Festival in Nassau, Bahamas. Did voice- over for radio and TV spots.

Video Juke Box promotion for Terror Fabulous (East West Records) TV commercial voice - over talent.

Voice - over talent for TV Spot for Patra's new album on Columbia Records.

Radio DJ on WAVS 1170 AM in Davie, Florida and WAXY 790 AM in Miami, Florida.

Video Juke Box TV commercial voice over for BobMarley Promotion. Performed at Essential Music Festival in Brighton, UK. TV News Photographer for Metro Video Filming and editing news stories for NBC 6 in Miami, FL.

Performed at Cameo Theater in Miami Beach, Florida with Culture. TV Broadcast Operator at SKY/DTH Latin America-A Satellite TV Broadcasting Station-utilizing LOUTH automation.

Freelance video editor, editing TV commercials. Live performances at the European Summer Festivals in Germany, Brussels, and Austria.

Performed at the 18th Annual Bob Marley Day at Long Beach Arena San Diego Sports Arena using School Band.

Performed live in San Francisco at Justice League to a sold out crowd.
Awarded 1999 Communicator Award for Video Editing. For a 60-sec. TV spot for "Boca Raton News."

2000

Appearing live in concert across the USA and Hawaii.

Graduated with honors from Lynn University, Boca Raton / Florida with a "Magna Cum Laude" Bachelor of Arts Degree in International Communications. Released "World Tour" - CD. His first album release in 5 years.

Produced local Reggae and Hip-Hop artists.

2001

Toured with the "Fully Fullwood" Band (consisting of Peter Tosh's musicians, like George Fullwood on bass and Tony Chin on guitar) Performed at Bakersfield Reggae Festival and Monterey Reggae Fest in California.

Live appearances in San Francisco (Maritime Hall),Santa Cruz (Palookaville), Berkley, Ashkenaz (California), Maui,Honolulu, and Kauai (Hawaii), Bari and Rome (Italy), Brighton (UK).

Performed at Clearwater Spring Break in Florida with Ja- Rule, 112 and Ziggy Marley (Florida).

Performed at the Hopi- Land Indian Reservation (Arizona), Apache Gold Indian Reservation (Arizona), San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Grover Beach, San Diego, Mateel Community Center, Mckinleyville in California.

2002-2003

Released album "Rasta in Control" Playedtwice for UCLA, California. Specially invited to play in Switzerland at the Montreux Jazz Festival to co-headline the festival at the Miles Davis Hall.

Co-headline performance at the Summer Jam Festival in Koln, Germany. Played live at the Annual Reggae River Splash 2003 in Slovenia, as well as Kozel Klikkfest 2003 in Slovakia, East Europe.

Headlined the "One Love Bob Marley Festival" in Little Rock in Arkansas, "New England Reggae Fest" in Rhode Island, "Jamaica my Weekend" in Fresno, California, Doheny Day's at Dana Point, California and "Reggae Destiny Festival" in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Featured in the BBC / Bravo TV Documentary "History of Reggae Music."
Recorded a Track for "Red Bull" and played an event in Milan, Italy, which was sponsored by Red Bull Home Groove.

2004

Featured artist on "Lips Like Sugar" with Seal for the soundtrack of the Adam Sandler/Drew Barrymore -Sony Pictures movie "50 First Dates" Toured with the "Dread at the Controls" Band in the USA and Europe extensively. Headline artist at Cal State Monterey Bay University and Cal State Stanislaus, Turlock, California.

Headline artist on Island Festival in Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo, Michigan. Played Glastonbury Festival, UK.

Featured on BBC TV Highlights of "The Best Of Glastonbury 2004." Headline artist at St. Pauls Carnival, Bristol, Reggae Festival in Wales, Lambeth County Show at the Brockwell Park, Arches Theatre - Glasgow, Scotland Headline artist at the Aix en Province in France and the Ja' Sound Festival in Lézan, France.

Appeared live on ABC TV - Morning Show in Portland, Oregon performing "Break Down The Walls" live and interviewed by the hosts of the show.

There was every indication at a very early stage that George Stiebel was destined to lead an intriguing life. Born to a Jamaican housekeeper, and a German Jew in the 1820s, George was subject to a range of criticisms and harsh treatment from his peers as a result of his mixed parentage. School was therefore not as fulfilling an experience as it should have been, and he quit the classroom at age fourteen to become a carpenter’s apprentice. George quickly developed a flair for carpentry, and by age 19 he played an integral role in the reconstruction of the famous Ferry Inn, between Kingston and Spanish Town.

In the 1840's, George's father gave him start up capital to purchase a ship, which he began using to transport cargo between North and South America. Shortly after he purchased two additional ships to develop his new business venture in the Caribbean, including Cuba where a revolution was in high gear. He realized that the island would be ideal to undertake a lucrative gun-trading ring. While he did manage to make respectable profits from trading guns, he also fell in trouble with the law for his activities.

In 1851, George's life took a turn for the better when he married long time sweetheart Magdalene Baker, daughter of a Moravian Missionary. Soon after their son, Sigismund, named after George's father, was born. Two years later a girl, Theresa, joined the Stiebel family. Five years after their marriage, his ships were caught in a terrible storm, which destroyed the vessels. Unfortunately Stiebel was aboard one of the ships which sank off the coast of Venezuela. He managed to survive the wreckage and luckily he had the foresight to secure all his money which was stored in a leather belt. Stiebel's tenacity soon began to show results, because shortly after arriving in Venezuela he became a peddler, and with his savings he purchased a mule to assist in transporting his goods. His misfortune at sea quickly dulled when he began trading gold in Venezuela. He invested in a gold mine with his friends, and fifteen years later in 1873 the business was showing huge profits. George Stiebel had undoubtedly made an impressive stake in the gold mining business and the accolade awarded to him as Jamaica's first millionaire of African descend seemed very deserving and appropriate. His achievements were shattered however with the death of his son, and he returned home to Jamaica.

Stiebel's love for his country and sense of civic duty kicked in almost immediately after his return to Jamaica. It is reported that he purchased 99 properties (it was illegal to own 100 properties during the period) including two sugar estates, a wharf at Church Street, Great Salt Pond and a Cattle Pen named Minard, in St. Ann.

He built a lavish home at Minard, which became the family’s favorite vacation getaway. In 1881 he commissioned the services of contractor Charles P. Lazarus to build the magnificent Devon House. The house boasted a library, gaming room, ballroom, sitting rooms, a sewing room, dining room, and bedrooms. The kitchen (now occupied by the Brick Oven) was located towards the back away from the House.

In addition to investing in property in Jamaica, Stiebel was a philanthropist, assisting the poor and disadvantaged, as well as exhibiting continuous interest in the socio-economic state of the country. Several civic authorities and local groups invited Stiebel to sit on their Boards including the Jamaica Permanent Benefit Society, the Jamaica Co-operative Fruit Insurance Company, the Board of Education and the Kingston and St. Andrew Union Poorhouse. Stiebel's most noted civic duty came when he was named a Justice of the Peace (JP) and later Custos of St. Andrew. It was during his tenure as Custos that the Great Exhibition of 1891 was staged in Kingston. The Exhibition, which sought to introduce tourism to the island, required extensive financing which the government was unable to undertake. Stiebel was among a small group of entrepreneurs who loaned the Government funds to stage the exhibition. In recognition of his services in the interest of the island, Her Majesty the Queen bestowed on Stiebel the honour of Companion of the Most Distinguished Order (C.M.G.).

Over the next ten years George Stiebel lived happily at Devon House with his wife Magdalene, and surrounded by his grandchildren. The Stiebels also did an impressive job of holding lavish parties for friends and family. It was not surprising then that they employed a large staff which reportedly included four gardeners, two house maids, a butler, cook, laundress, grooms and coachman. Servants' Quarters were located in the space now used as the property's commercial complex.

Sadness again befell Devon House when Stiebel's wife Magdalene died in October 1892. Magdalene was buried at the St. Andrew Parish Cemetery under a grey granite tombstone with a white marble cross-wreathed in white marble flowers. It is said that at the time Stiebel imported enough grey granite from Scotland to bury his entire family. Tragedy
continued to mark the Stiebel family. In 1895 his grandson Douglas died of typhoid, and only a week later his son in law Richard Hill Jackson (who served as Mayor of Kingston) passed away.

George Stiebel died in 1896 at age 75. Stiebel's generous spirit lived on even after his death, as he ensured that his family was well taken care of. His daughter for example was granted an annual annuity of three thousand pounds, and she was assured a permanent place at Devon House while she was alive. A total of ten thousand pounds was to be allotted to each of his grandchildren once they turned 21. The Stiebel- Jacksons occupied Devon House until 1922 following the death of Theresa Stiebel- Jackson.

For all those who have the opportunity of going to school and are procrastinating then read the story of Booker T Washington. Imagine having to walk 200 miles to get an education! His life should inspire us to forget about the minor irritations and really get focused on making more of our lives!

(1856-1915) - Lecturer, Civil Rights/Human Rights Activist, Educational Administrator, Professor, Organization Executive/Founder, Author/Poet.

Booker T. Washington was born a slave in Hale's Ford, Virginia, reportedly on April 5, 1856. After emancipation, his family was so poverty stricken that he worked in salt furnaces and coal mines beginning at age nine. Always an intelligent and curious child, he yearned for an education and was frustrated when he could not receive good schooling locally. When he was 16 his parents allowed him to quit work to go to school. They had no money to help him, so he walked 200 miles to attend the Hampton Institute in Virginia and paid his tuition and board there by working as the janitor.

Dedicating himself to the idea that education would raise his people to equality in this country, Washington became a teacher. He first taught in his home town, then at the Hampton Institute, and then in 1881, he founded the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama. As head of the Institute, he traveled the country unceasingly to raise funds from blacks and whites both; soon he became a well-known speaker.

In 1895, Washington was asked to speak at the opening of the Cotton States Exposition, an unprecedented honor for an African American. His Atlanta Compromise speech explained his major thesis, that blacks could secure their constitutional rights through their own economic and moral advancement rather than through legal and political changes. Although his conciliatory stand angered some blacks who feared it would encourage the foes of equal rights, whites approved of his views. Thus his major achievement was to win over diverse elements among southern whites, without whose support the programs he envisioned and brought into being would have been impossible.

In addition to Tuskegee Institute, which still educates many today, Washington instituted a variety of programs for rural extension work, and helped to establish the National Negro Business League. Shortly after the election of President William McKinley in 1896, a movement was set in motion that Washington be named to a cabinet post, but he withdrew his name from consideration, preferring to work outside the political arena. He died on November 14, 1915.

Most people hearing the name Garrett Morgan can associate it with he being the man who invented the traffic light – but his work goes far beyond that. He also designed the first gas mask for use by firefighters, too.

Garrett Augustus Morgan was born on March 4, 1877 in Paris, Kentucky. He was the seventh of eleven children, and he spent his childhood working on their farm and attending elementary school.

At the age of 14 Garrett Morgan moved to Cincinnati, Ohio and hired a tutor so he could continue his English grammar studies. Garrett moved again in 1895, this time to Cleveland, Ohio and went to work for a clothing manufacturer as a repairman for the sewing machines. He did such a good job that news of his proficiency and experimentation spread quickly around town, and many job offers came pouring in.

In 1909, he had already opened his own tailoring shop when he came upon an interesting situation that led to the first of his famous inventions. Garrett noticed that the needles moved so fast through the wool fabrics, that the friction often caused them to scorch the fabric. He decided to try to come up with a liquid to polish the needles and reduce the friction. One day, when his wife called him for dinner, he wiped the liquid from his hands onto a pony-fur cloth to clean them. When he returned after dinner, he noticed that the fibers were standing up straight now. He thought that the liquid must have straightened them. He decided to test this theory by applying the liquid to the fur of his neighbor's dog, which was an Airedale.

The liquid was so successful at straightening the dog's hair that the owner didn't even recognize his own dog, and tried to chase it away! The next step was for Garrett Morgan to try the liquid on his own hair, which he did with great success. He had just invented the first human hair straightener, and he began to market it as the G.A. Morgan Hair Refining Cream. These kinds of hair products are still popular today.

The next invention of Garrett Morgan took place in 1912. He called it the Safety Hood and patented it as a breathing device, but it was commonly known as the gas mask. This Safety Hood was specifically meant to assist Firefighters so that they could breathe longer in thick, suffocating gases and smoke, and allow them to do their jobs more efficiently and safely. Garrett Morgan set up the National Safety Device Company to manufacture and sell the Safety Hood, and they did several exhibitions all over the country and won some prizes. That helped business, but a real-life application is what really put it on the map.

On July 24, 1916 Garrett Morgan was relaxing at home when someone called on him and asked him to help. An explosion in a tunnel that was being dug under Lake Erie had trapped 32 workers underground with dust, smoke and poisonous gases. Nobody wanted to go in after them, because there was no way to breathe long enough to rescue them and get back out. In one of the more exciting stories in the biography of Garrett Morgan, Garrett and his brother Frank arrived with their Safety hoods, put them on, and entered the tunnel. Eventually, they returned with a survivor on each of their backs. Applause erupted from the bystanders, and two other men put on Safety Hoods and joined Garrett and Frank as they went back in again. While they were not able to save all of the trapped workers, they did save many who certainly would have died without Garrett Morgan and his Safety Hood.

Orders began pouring in from all over the country from Police and Fire departments who recognized the benefit of this amazing invention. Several orders were later canceled when some customers realized that Garrett Morgan was an African American inventor, but there were many others including the U.S. Army, who bought and utilized the Safety Hood.

In the midst of the biography of Garrett Morgan, Henry Ford invented the Automobile. In 1903 the Ford Motor Company was founded, and soon afterward, many Americans were speeding down the roadways along with the horse drawn carriages, bicycles and pedestrians. It didn't take long to realize that the increased traffic, along with the wide variety in traveling speeds was a problem. The most obvious problem was at the intersections. Many times a police officer would work the busiest intersections to direct and control traffic flow for maximum safety and efficiency, but many intersections were unmanned. It was after Morgan witnessed a particularly bad accident at an intersection that he decided to do something about it.

Garrett designed an automatic system for controlling traffic flow at intersections, patented it, and became known as the traffic light inventor.

The biography of Garrett Morgan shows that he continued to work for the improvement of man and was politically active throughout his life. He died on July 27, 1963, but he will always be remembered for his contributions to society.

Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and others have dominated when it comes to imparting the achievements of blacks...but not enough is sung about Araminta Ross aka Harriet Tubman. Many often refer to her as 'the Moses of her people.' Get familiar with her inspiring story.

Born around 1820 in Bucktown, Maryland. Reared in slavery, she married a free black, John Tubman, in 1844. He opposed her plans to flee north, so she escaped alone via the Underground Railroad in 1849, and over the next decade she led nearly 300 Maryland slaves to safety, including several siblings and her elderly parents.

Harriet was a deeply devoutly religious woman and a believer in decisive action. She helped John Brown organize his 1859 raid on Harper's Ferry, Virginia, but was prevented by illness from accompanying him. During the Civil War she repeatedly went behind enemy lines to spy for the Union, and recruit slaves to fight in the army.

In her later years, living in Auburn, New York, she helped support relatives and other former slaves, and raised money for freedmen's schools and a home for elderly blacks.

While Harriet Tubman remains one of history's best-known African Americans, until recently there have been few biographies of her written for adults. Because her life is inspiring, there are appropriately many children's stories about Tubman, but these tend to stress her early life, her own escape from slavery, and her work with the Underground Railroad. Less well known and neglected by many historians are her Civil War service and her activities in the nearly 50 years she lived after the Civil War ended. In this article, you'll find details about Harriet Tubman's life in slavery and her work as a conductor on the Underground Railroad, but you'll also find information about Tubman's later and less-known work and life.

Life in Slavery

Harriet Tubman was born into slavery in Dorchester County on the Eastern shore of Maryland, on the plantation of Edward Brodas or Brodess.

Her birth name was Araminta, and she was called Minty until she changed her name to Harriet in her early teen years. Her parents, Benjamin Ross and Harriet Green, were enslaved Ashanti Africans who had eleven children, and saw any of the older children sold into the Deep South.

At five years old, Araminta was "rented" to neighbors to do housework. She was never very good at household chores, and was beaten regularly by her owners and those who "rented" her. She was, of course, not educated to read or write. She eventually was assigned work as a field hand, which she preferred to household work. Although she was a small woman, she was strong, and her time working in the fields probably contributed to her strength.

At age fifteen she sustained a head injury, when she deliberately blocked the path of the overseer pursuing an uncooperative fellow slave, and was hit by the heavy weight the overseer tried to fling at the other slave. Harriet, who probably sustained a severe concussion, was ill for a long time recovering from this injury, and never fully recovered. She had periodic "sleeping fits" which, in the early years after her injury, made her less attractive as a slave to others who wanted her services.

When the old master died, the son who inherited the slaves was able to hire Harriet out to a lumber merchant, where her work was appreciated and where she was allowed to keep some money she earned from extra work.

In 1844 or 1845, Harriet married John Tubman, a free black. The marriage was apparently not a good match, from the beginning. It was shortly after her marriage that Harriet hired a lawyer to investigate her own legal history, and discovered that her mother had been freed on a technicality on the death of a former owner. But the lawyer advised Harriet that a court would be unlikely to hear the case, so Tubman dropped it. But knowing that she should have been born free, not a slave, caused her to contemplate freedom and resent her situation.

In 1849, several events came together to motivate Harriet Tubman to act. She heard that two of her brothers were about to be sold to the Deep South. And her husband threatened to sell her South, too. She tried to persuade her brothers to escape with her, but ended up leaving alone, making her way to Philadelphia, and freedom.

Harriet Tubman died on March 10, 1913.

Valentine's Day started in the time of the Roman Empire. In ancient Rome, February 14th was a holiday to honor Juno. Juno was the Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses. The Romans also knew her as the Goddess of women and marriage. The following day, February 15th, began the Feast of Lupercalia.

The lives of young boys and girls were strictly separate. However, one of the customs of the young people was name drawing. On the eve of the festival of Lupercalia, the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and placed into jars. Each young man would draw a girl's name from the jar and would then be partners for the duration of the festival with the girl whom he chose. Sometimes the pairing of the children lasted an entire year, and often, they would fall in love and would later marry.

Under the rule of Emperor Claudius II, Rome was involved in many bloody and unpopular campaigns. Claudius the Cruel was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. He believed that the reason was that Roman men did not want to leave their loves or families. As a result, Claudius canceled all marriages and engagements in Rome.

The good Saint Valentine was a priest at Rome in the days of Claudius II. He and Saint Marius aided the Christian martyrs and secretly married couples, and for this kind deed Saint Valentine was apprehended and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. He suffered martyrdom on the 14th day of February, about the year 270. At that time it was the custom in Rome, a very ancient custom, indeed, to celebrate in the month of February the Lupercalia feasts in honor of a heathen god. On these occasions, amidst a variety of pagan ceremonies, the names of young women were placed in a box, from which they were drawn by the men as chance directed.

The pastors of the early Christian Church in Rome endeavored to do away with the pagan element in these feasts by substituting the names of saints for those of maidens. And as the Lupercalia began about the middle of February, the pastors appear to have chosen Saint Valentine's Day for the celebration of this new feast. So it seems that the custom of young men choosing maidens for valentines, or saints as patrons for the coming year, arose in this way.

Believing that Valentine's Day exists to celebrate the memory of a saint who valued love and romance, many exchange love notes or Valentines. Others believe that Valentine was later confused with the Norman French word 'galantin' meaning "lover of women". Through the passage of time, the two have merged with the result of St. Valentine being remembered as the patron saint of lovers.

By: Kemesha Bolton

In highlighting the legend that has surpassed all expectation and given us all a sense of who we are; we celebrate his birth, music and his death on this day his Earthstrong.

HIS BIRTH

There was no event which took place during the early hours of the morning in rural St. Ann, Jamaica when newly wed, nineteen year old Cedella Malcolm-Marley gave birth to her first child.

The 'moon faced' Cedella suffered greatly from morning sickness. When she went into labour on Sunday evening, she was taken to the house of her father, Omeriah Malcolm. She remained in labour through all of Monday; then at 2:30 the following morning Robert Nesta was finally delivered: a fawn colored boy with nose of his father Captain Norval Sinclair Marley.

Just after sunrise the after birth was wrapped carefully in a page from the Gleaner that contained a story describing the arrest in Kingston the day before of a young rude boy who had stolen 35 pounds from a Chinaman. The Hooligans alias was Pearl Harbor.

The after birth was buried at the foot of a young mango sapling that would from that day forth be Nesta's 'frenly tree', it would grow as tall and as strong as he wished it to, it's health and height reflecting his care; it would bend with the passage of time in the same direction as its cultivator.

THE BEGINNING

Born to Cedella Malcolm and Norval Marley on Tuesday February 6, 1945 at 2:30 am weighing 6 1/2 pounds in the village of Nine Miles St. Ann was Robert Nesta Marley called by many Bob Marley.

Bob's mother was a Jamaican who grew up with her father Omeriah Malcolm in Nine Miles St. Ann. Ciddy, as she was commonly called met Bob's father Norval Marley of the British West India Regiment two years after he moved there. Marley was a pipe puffing superintendent for the crown lands, who came riding into Nine Miles on a fine government bought horse trying to induce poor country people; to sow crops or even resettle in the deepest sections on the 'John Williams' jungle, the largely inhabited 'bridal lands' beyond the point where the crudest roads quit. Those were his activities in the day, at nights he was busy romancing with 'Ciddy' who was seventeen-year-old at the time with Norval being two or three years her senior. Out of this secret relationship came Bob Marley.

A couple of months after Bob was born his father left, but Bob had a happy childhood regardless. He lived with his mother, grandfather and other extended family in the steep hills of Rhoden Hill.

Tragedy struck and Bob's Grandfather died in 1957 and so most of the family migrated to the United States of America and Bob and his mother moved to Trench Town Kingston.

Trench Town was a housing scheme, built after the 1951 hurricane had destroyed the area's squatter camps. These camps which had gradually grown up around West Kingston had been built around the former Kingston refuge dump, where the country folks and displaced city dwellers would scavenge for whatever they could find. The area had been a sugar plantation, owned by the Lindos, one of the twenty-one families that are said to rule Jamaica.

Like other city dwellers Cedella came from the quiet rural surroundings to Jamaica's capital in search of work and excitement. As a youth Bob knew from an early age exactly what he wanted in life, he was not caught up in the negative existence of the ghetto bad boy profile. Bob was not a side walk bully, although Pauline (who was living in the community at the time when Bob was a youth) says, "if a guy come for him an' trouble him, he can defend himself." Even then Bob operated on several levels; on one hand he was affable, openly eager to assist. "He was a very easy going person, he was never rude or anything, him never aggressive and him always irie to me even as a kid coming from school, then on the other hand he was a loner, it was always the 'man and his guitar,' he was very moody, if people were sitting together with him, he would suddenly just get up and go somewhere else, just to be by himself," Pauline explained.

Six years after moving to Kingston at age eighteen (18) Bob met Rita Anderson who he later made his wife after three years of courting on February 10 1966, four days after his 21st birthday. Out of Bob and Rita's marriage came David (Ziggy), Stephen, Cedella and Stephanie Marley; a union inclusive of Rita's first child Sharon. Bob, however, had other outside children - Jah Nesta, Julian, Karen and Kimani Marley who were accepted openly by Rita. At the time of Bob's death there were eight children that were publicly known, but since Bob's death there has been an estimate of about twenty-two children that Bob Marley has fathered.

HIS MUSIC

Bob's music started way back in the 1950's when he was allegedly kidnapped by his father Norval Marley when he was just five years old and taken to Kingston and it is at this time he learnt about music. When he returned to Nine Miles he wanted to do nothing but play or sing. He started playing music using two sticks and tapping on a vegetable bin, his first guitar was made out of a large herring pan with strings attached to a wooden fret work.

In 1962 two years after Bob and his mother moved to Kingston the group 'Teenagers' was formed and the name was later changed to the 'Wailers' the members included Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer and Bob Marley. Their first album was "Judge not" which was well accepted. Then came "Catch a Fire" and "Burning" which were both critically acclaimed.

Bob Marley has contributed significantly to Jamaica and the world. His songs took on real life stories, the group did more than entertain and their music translated a remarkable style and brought to the forefront the pain and feelings of million of people throughout the world.

HIS DEATH

There were many things that led up to Bob's death which takes me to the incident that happened on the morning of September 21, 1980 when Bob and his friend Skelly was jogging in Central Park, New York and he collapsed. Bob said, "I felt my body freezing."

After the incident the decision was taken to admit Bob in the Manhattan's Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and he underwent radium treatment that caused the locks around his head and templates to drop off.

After extensive treatment Bob's health deteriorated. We hold close the memory of one instance when Ciddy stood at his bedside, clutching his hand he turned and said to her "I'll be alright. I am going to prepare a place."

He died just before noon on May 11, 1981, only forty hours after he left Germany. At that moment in Kingston, Judy Mowatt was sitting on the veranda of her home on the outskirts of Liguanea section of Kingston when a great burst of thunder shook the heavens and a bolt of lightening hurtled through her open window glancing off the framed photograph of Bob on her mantle piece. Frightened, her children began to cry; after calming them down Judy turned on the radio and heard the JBC bulletin that Bob was gone.

Tens of thousands of mourners Jamaicans, Africans, Americans, Europeans and West Indians attended the funeral which was a state funeral. His last performance was on the 23rd September 1980 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Bob now rest in peace at his birth place in Nine Miles, St. Ann.

He remains one of the greatest superstars of all time.

Long live the Crowned King Of Reggae Music. The Legend Robert Nesta Marley O.M. Jah Live.

Awards and honors

1976 - Band of the Year (Rolling Stone)
June 1978 - Awarded the Peace Medal of the Third World from the United
Nations
February 1981 - Awarded Jamaica's third highest honor, the Order of Merit
1999 - Album of the Century (Time Magazine) for Exodus)
February 2001 - A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
February 2001 - Awarded Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award

The word "reggae" was coined around 1960 in Jamaica to identify a "ragged" style of dance music, that still had its roots in New Orleans rhythm'n'blues.

However, reggae soon acquired the lament-like style of chanting and emphasized the syncopated beat. It also made explicit the relationship with the underworld of the "Rastafarians" (adepts of a millenary African faith, revived Marcus Garvey who advocated a mass emigration back to Africa), both in the lyrics and in the appropriation of the African nyah-bingi drumming style (a style that mimicks the heartbeat with its pattern of "thump-thump, pause, thump-thump").

Compared with rock music, reggae music basically inverted the role of bass and guitar: the former was the lead, the latter beat the typical hiccupping pattern. The paradox of reggae, of course, is that this music "unique to Jamaica" is actually not Jamaican at all, having its foundations in the USA and Africa.

An independent label, Island, distributed Jamaican records in the UK throughout the 1960s, but reggae became popular in the UK only when Prince Buster's "Al Capone" (1967) started a brief "dance craze". Jamaican music was very much a ghetto phenomenon, associated with gang-style violence, but Jimmy Cliff's "Wonderful World Beautiful People" (1969) wed reggae with the "peace and love" philosophy of the hippies, an association that would not die away. In the USA, Neil
Diamond's "Red Red Wine" (1967) was the first reggae hit by a pop musician. Shortly afterwards, Johnny Nash's "Hold Me Tight" (1968) propelled reggae onto the charts. "Do The Reggae" (1968) by Toots (Hibbert) And The Maytals was the record that gave the music its name. Fredrick Toots Hibbert's vocal style was actually closer to gospel, as proved by their other hits ("54-46," 1967; "Monkey Man," 1969; "Pressure Drop," 1970).

A little noticed event would have far-reaching consequences: in 1967, the Jamaican disc-jockey Rudolph "Ruddy" Redwood had begun recording instrumental versions of reggae hits. The success of his dance club was entirely due to that idea. Duke Reid, who was now the owner of the Trojan label, was the first one to capitalize on the idea: he began releasing singles with two sides: the original song and, on the back, the instrumental remix. This phenomenon elevated the status of dozens of recording engineers.

Reggae music was mainly popularized by Bob Marley, first as the co-leader of the Wailers, the band that promoted the image of the urban guerrilla with Rude Boy (1966) and that cut the first album of reggae music, Best Of The Wailers (1970); and later as the political and religious (rasta) guru of the movement, a stance that would transform him into a star, particularly after his conversion to pop-soul melody with ballads such as Stir It Up (1972), I Shot The Sheriff (1973) and No Woman No Cry (1974).

Among the reggae vocal groups, the Abyssinian' Satta Massa Gana (1971) is representative of the mood of the era.

In 1972 reggae became a staple of western radio stations thanks to the film The Harder They Come. Source: www.scaruffi.com

As we celebrate black history month you can't help but reflect on the great contributions blacks made in making life better for all.

YardFlex in celebration of Black History Month will be featuring some outstanding black luminaries throughout the month.

We start off with George Washington Carver one of the most famous black inventor in history.

His contributions to the world in the areas of agriculture have influenced the economy and provided us with great products ranging from peanut butter to colors for our clothing.

George Washington Carver was born on July 12, 1864 in Diamond Grove, Missouri. He was a sickly child who would remain that way for the majority of his childhood years. He and his mother lived on a farm owned by Moses and Susan Carver, when they were kidnapped during a raid one night. Days later, neighbors found George and returned him to the Carvers, but now he had contracted whooping cough. His mother was nowhere to be found, so the Carver family raised him as their own.

Because of his poor health, George Washington Carver was not able to help out by working in the fields, but he did have a great interest in plants, and even planted his own garden in the woods near their farm. He produced medicines for his family and was soon given the nicknamed, 'The Plant Doctor.'

George was unable to get into any schools until he was 12, due to his race. To get into first formal school, he had to move to Newton County, Missouri and leave his adoptive parents behind, because there were no black schools any closer. He worked on a farm to earn money for his education in a one-room schoolhouse. Shortly afterward, he moved with another family to Fort Scott, Kansas.

When it was time to move on and continue his education at the University level, George Washington Carver again ran into resistance because of the color of his skin. After being denied entrance into Highland University, he was accepted into Simpson College in Iowa in the year 1890. George was very talented in Art, and earned great respect for that, but his passion was in Science and Agriculture. He transferred to the Iowa Agricultural College, which is now known as Iowa State University, and graduated in 1894. Upon graduation, Carver was offered a position on the faculty and allowed great freedom in the school's greenhouses to pursue his agricultural work. He was the first African American to be offered a faculty position at that College.

In 1896, George Washington Carver received his Master's Degree in Agriculture having co-authored a series of papers on the cures for fungus diseases. In 1897, he discovered two new fungi that were later named after him.

Booker T. Washington convinced George to come down to the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama to serve as the Director of Agriculture in 1897.

Carver accepted, and there is where the majority of the work was done that led to him being regarded as the most famous black inventor of all time.

In the south at that time, Tobacco and Cotton were the primary crops grown. The problem is that those crops deplete the soil of all of its nutrients. Between that and the devastation to the land from the Civil War, the agricultural situation in the south was not good. Considering that the majority of the agricultural products for the United States came from the south, this affected all of America.

George Washington Carver came up with a solution to the problem. Crop rotation was the key. George convinced the farmers to plant legumes like peanuts and peas because they produced nitrates and replenished the soil. He told them to rotate planting cotton and tobacco with the peanuts so that they could continue to have plentiful cotton and tobacco harvests. The farmers followed his instructions and were thrilled with the results, except for one thing. The production of cotton and tobacco was great, but now the farmers were left with all of these useless peanuts that were rotting in their overflowing warehouses. George Washington Carver took the challenge and quickly found new uses for peanuts. As a matter of fact, he eventually found over 300 uses for the peanut, such as peanut butter, ink, facial cream, and shampoo.

During this process, he also discovered that sweet potatoes and pecans enriched the soil, too. He convinced the farmers to work these crops into their rotation as well, and then found multiple uses for these products. Some of the uses of these crops include synthetic rubber and material for paving highways. From the pecan he invented over 75 products, and from common clays he developed dyes and paints. Many of these were used to color textiles, which made the colorful clothing people would wear.

Henry Ford, the famous inventor of the automobile, invited George Washington Carver to the Ford plant in Michigan where he came up with a way to use a plant weed named goldenrod to create synthetic rubber.

The famous inventor Thomas Edison was so impressed with Carver's work that he offered him a salary of $100,000 a year to work for him at the Edison Laboratories in their state of the art facilities. He turned it down, however, so that he could continue his research at Tuskegee.

Another way that George Washington Carver showed that his work was never about money and personal gain, is that even though he did hold 3 patents, the majority of his discoveries and inventions he never patented. When asked about this he replied, "God gave them to me, how can I sell them to someone else?"

The United States Government also took notice of Carver's brilliance and appointed him Collaborator in the Division of Plant Mycology and Disease Survey of the Bureau of Plant Industry of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1935.

By 1938, peanuts were 200 million dollar industry and Alabama's chief product. In 1940 George donated over $60,000 of his own savings to the George Washington Carver Foundation. He later willed the remaining money he had to the foundation to carry on his work after he was gone.

Carver died on January 5, 1943 on the campus of the Tuskegee Institute. Governments from around the world honored him for his many inventions and his work that improved the life of all of mankind.

The United States Government designated the farmland he grew up on, as a national monument, and made January 5, 1946 George Washington Carver day.

Desmond Dekker thrilled the world with his ska-laced songs and without a doubt when he died on May 25, 2006 he left a rich legacy of songs that can never be forgotten.

Desmond was the first musician who carried the music from his home Jamaica to the rest of the world. He is considered one of the ancestors of ska. YardFlex take time out to salute the man who made his contribution to the genre.

Desmond Dacres was born in 1942 in Kingston, Jamaica. At the age of 19 he met the influential Leslie Kong and who would have supposed that by now a new legend was born? In 1963, the newly named Dekker released his first single, "Honor Your Father And Mother," which was also issued in the UK courtesy of Chris Blackwell's Island label. During the same period, Dekker teamed up with his backing group, the Aces. Together they enjoyed enormous success in Jamaica during the mid-late 60's with a formidable run of 20 number 1 hits to their credit.

The emergence of rocksready in the latter half of 1966 propelled his James Bond inspired "007 (Shanty Town)" into the UK charts the following year. Also the single presaged Dekker's emergence as an
internationally famous artist. 1969 proved the year of Dekker's greatest worldwide success. "Get up in the morning, slaving for bread, sir, so that every mouth can be fed", was a patois-sung opening line which entranced and confused pop listeners on both sides of the Atlantic. The intriguing "Israelites" was a club hit the previous year and by the spring of 1969 had become the first reggae song to top the UK charts ever!

After an astonishing Top10 hit in the USA Dekker went back to Britain where he settled down in 1969. During the same year he once again hit the UK Charts with "It Mek."

Through his success, buoyed by consistent touring, Dekker remained the most famous reggae artist in the international scene until the early 70's. So it probably doesn't surprise that the hits kept coming for Dekker - once again he topped the charts with the Jimmy Cliff song "You Can Get It If You Really Want." Since Leslie Kong died from a heart failure in 1971, Desmond Dekker decided to join the Cactus Label. "Sing A Little Song" plus the re-release of "Israelites" at the same time put Desmond back in the UK Top 10 in 1975.

The 80's were not a happy time for Desmond: in addition to some very heavily advertised financial problems, his managerial problems were coming to a head. But, however, Desmond kept doing what he knew best: singing.

During a 2-Tone revival in 1993, Desmond then recorded the album "King Of Kings" (Trojan Records) with four original members of the legendary Specials, which continued to sell well.

To sum it up, Desmond Dekker's unmistakable falsetto remains one of Reggae's most memorable and -although his songs got that popular by now that they're used for several TV spots - even the younger generation of the reggae fans appreciates the authentic sound of the artist which definitely belongs to the roots of this movement.

July 1, 1999 will be a day remembered by lovers of good reggae music...it's the day when one of the greatest Reggae crooners – Dennis Brown made his exit from the world.

At age 42, he was definitely a life cut short way too soon. Yet in that span he managed to leave the world a rich legacy of feel good songs that decades from now will still be hot.

In a career that spanned almost 4 decades, Dennis worked with many of reggae's top names, beginning with Coxsone Dodd at Studio One, going on to work with such artistes and producers as Winston (Niney) Holness, Joe Gibbs, Derrick Harriott, Herman Chin-Loy, Sidney Crooks, Prince Buster, Randy's, Phil Pratt and GG Ranglin. The list goes on with Clive Hunt and Willie Lindo, engineer Errol Thompson, Sly & Robbie, Gussie Clarke, Tad Dawkins, Trevor Bow, Bunny Lee and Delroy Wright.

Dennis Emanuel Brown was born on February 1, 1957 in Kingston, Jamaica. Regularly billed as "The Crown Prince Of Reggae', it was only Brown's self-effacing nature that denied him advancement to the office of king. Loved in reggae music like no other singer, Brown was regularly courted by the major record labels, and even enjoyed a couple of token chart hits in Britain. More to the point, he produced more reggae classics than just about anyone else. Beginning his career at the age of 9 as one of the Studio One label's many child stars, his first hit, "No Man Is An Island" (1969), found him singing in much the same style he was to use throughout his career, only with a far less croaky voice.

"If I Follow My Heart", another major hit at Studio One, was every bit as good. He spent the early 70s freelancing between studios, recording for Lloyd Daley, Impact, Joe Gibbs and Aquarius, before recording his third collection, "Super Reggae And Soul Hits," a mature, classic record, full of Derrick Harriott's soulful arrangements and Brown's rich tones. A move to Winston "Niney" Holness' label was no less profitable. The two albums he made there, "Just Dennis" and "Wolf & Leopards," were recorded three years apart but their seamless rootsy artistry made them clearly part of one body of work.

A long, fruitful liaison with Joe Gibbs and Errol Thompson resulted in a further series of classic albums, among them "Visions," "Joseph's Coat Of Many Colours," "Spellbound" and "Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow." While the rock critics were latching on to dub in the mid-70s, it was Brown who was drawing a mass audience almost unnoticed outside reggae's heartlands.

His combination of serious, "message" songs and soul-wailing love melodies was irresistible. His stage shows, too, were genuine events, and always packed a punch. "Money In My Pocket" (1979) was the first of three incursions into UK chart territory, with Brown eventually signing to A&M Records in the early 80s in an unsuccessful attempt to corner the crossover market following the death of Bob Marley.

Simultaneously, he became co-owner of the DEB label, successfully producing Junior Delgado and female lovers rock trio 15-16-17.

Brown gradually spent more time in London as a consequence, eventually settling there for much of the 80s. His Joe Gibbs connection was terminated in 1982, marking the de facto end of Gibbs' prominence as a producer.

Brown's series of reggae hits, including "To The Foundation" for Gussie Clarke, "Revolution" for Taxi Records or cuts on his own Yvonne's Special label (named after his wife), saw him become one of the few established singers to ride the early dancehall boom unscathed. However, when digital music exploded onto reggae in 1985, Brown faltered for the first time in his career, seemingly unsure of his next move. Eventually, he settled into the new style, recording The Exit for King Jammy's in the digital mode.

A move to Gussie Clarke's Music Works Studio in 1989 gave him more kudos with the youth market, particularly on the duet with Gregory Isaacs, "Big All Around". Once again, Dennis Brown was in demand in Jamaica, back at the roots of the music, and rolling once again, recording everywhere and anywhere for a few months. In 1995 he recorded with Beenie Man and Triston Palmer for the hit compilation "Three Against War."

Dennis Brown passed away at the University Hospital of the West Indies. The cause of death - pneumonia/respiratory failure.

Jamaican Prime Minister Patterson led the eulogies while Dennis Brown became the first entertainer to be buried in the National Heroes Park.

Among Brown's most prolific songs are 'If I Follow My Heart', 'Love Me Always', 'Westbound Train', 'Silhouette', 'Stop The Fighting' and 'Here I Come'.

Ross Kemp looks at the gang violence in Kingston, Jamaica and examines the political history involved...

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In 1926, Negro History Week was established to honor the accomplishments of African Americans. Carter G. Woodson, a black historian known as the Father of Black History, as well as others proposed the observance. During the 1970s, the observance became known as Black History Week.

In 1976, Black History Month was established. Black History Month is observed each year in February. It coincides with the birthdays of the great black leader Frederick Douglass (February 14) and Abraham Lincoln (February 12).

The celebration is sponsored by the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History in Washington, DC, which Woodson founded in 1915.

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National Geographic reported that in 1930, as the dawn cleared in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on November 2, it met everyone getting ready for the special historical event to take place that morning - The Coronation of The Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah.

Together with his Empress, His Imperial Majesty, Haile Selassie I spent the night before in prayer and devotion at the most high alter. During the morning chanting of praises resonated and dancing priests with pulsating drum rhythms joined in. Ancient Jewish rites which were in use at the time of King David, were re-lived right there before the ark of the covenant, the report stated. The Coptic Church in all its impressive might and splendor evoked biblical rituals that seemed to roll the centuries back.

As the time came for this coronation, which is the most important event in the Rastafarian Calendar today, His Imperial Majesty entered the ceremonial hall attired in white silk. He was escorted by aides and clergy and was preceded by waving incense burners.

"The Emperor's name was Anglicized as Power of the Holy Trinity and he gave his sacred pledge to uphold the Orthodox religion of the Church, to support and administer the laws of the country for the betterment of the people, to maintain the integrity of Ethiopia, and to found schools for developing the Spiritual and Material welfare of her subjects," National Geographic reported.

Once His Imperial Majesty took his place on the throne, his holiness Abuna Kyrillos broke the solemn silence with the following decree:

"Ye princes and ministers, ye nobles and chiefs of the army, ye soldiers and people of Ethiopia, and ye doctors and chiefs of the clergy, ye professors and priests, look ye upon our Emperor Haile Selassie the First, descended from the dynasty of Menelik the First, who was born of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, a dynasty perpetuated without interruption from the time of King Sehale to our times."

Following ancient customs as when Samuel anointed David, chanting and prayers to the God of Gods rose from priestly voices and wonderful gifts bestowed. The Abuna then anointed His Imperial Majesty's head with oil and further declared:

"That God make this Crown a Crown of Glory. That, by the Grace and the blessing which we have given, you may have an Unshaken Faith and a Pure Heart, in order that you may inherit the Crown Eternal. So be it."

Jamaica celebrates yet another Heroes Day and in honour Yardflex pay tribute to the many who have laid the foundation that we can now enjoy true freedom. To the many unsung heroes whose work will not make it in the history books, to those who are still working behind the scenes making a difference in their own way.

Yardflex now take a brief look at our seven national heroes...they may be gone, but their work will be ringing out in the ages to come.

Marcus Garvey
Marcus Mosiah Garvey stands out in history as one who was greatly committed to the concept of the Emancipation of minds. He sought the unification of all Blacks through the establishment of the United Negro Improvement Association and spoke out against economic exploitation and cultural denigration.

Jamaica's first national hero was born in Saint Ann's Bay on August17, 1887. In his youth Garvey migrated to Kingston where he worked as a printer and later published a small paper "The Watchman".
During his career Marcus Garvey traveled extensively throughout many countries observing the poor working and living conditions of black people.

In 1914 he started the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) in Jamaica. The UNIA, which grew into an international organisation, encouraged self government for black people worldwide; self-help economic projects; protest against racial discrimination and cultural activities.

In 1916, Garvey went to the USA where he preached his doctrine of freedom to the oppressed blacks throughout the country. He spent many years in the United States pursuing his goal of Black Unification. However, USA officials disapproved of his activities and he was imprisoned, then deported.

Back in Jamaica in 1927, he continued his political activity forming the People's Political Party in 1929. He was unsuccessful in national elections. The world of the thirties was not ready for Marcus Garvey’s progressive ideas. He left Jamaica again, this time for England where he died in 1940. His body was brought back to Jamaica in 1964 and buried in the National Heroes Park in Kingston.

Paul Bogle
Paul Bogle, A Baptist Deacon who hails from the Stony Gut community a few miles north of Morant Bay believed in the teachings of the Holy Bible using it to endorse the principles of charity and endurance.

Though he was generally regarded as a peaceful man who shunned violence, he was a leader and organizer; he spent time in educating and training his followers.

Poverty and injustice in the society and lack of public confidence in the central authority urged Paul Bogle to lead a protest march to the Morant Bay Court-house on October 11, 1865. In a violent confrontation with official forces that followed the march, nearly 500 people were killed and a greater number were flogged and punished before order was restored.

Paul Bogle who lived in St. Thomas was captured and hanged on October 24, 1865; but his forceful demonstration achieved it’s objectives. It paved the way for the establishment of just practices in the courts and it brought about a change in official attitude which made possible the social and economic betterment of the people.

Alexander Bustamante
Born Alexander Clarke in the parish of Westmoreland, he took the name Bustamante from an Iberian sea captain who befriended him in his early life. After acquiring some wealth on the American stock exchange, he returned to Jamaica in 1932 and in 1938 led the resistance to the colonial government.

When Bustamante began to make his presence felt in Jamaica, the country was still a crown colony. Under this system, the Governor had, at all times, the right to veto, which he very often exercised against the wishes of the majority.

Bustamante first impressed his name on the society by a series of letters to Jamaica's newspaper, The Gleaner and occasionally to British newspapers calling attention to the social and economic problems of the poor and underprivileged in Jamaica.
The years 1937 and 1938 brought the outbreak of widespread discontent and social unrest. In advocating the cause of the masses, Bustamante became the undisputed champion of the working class. He also confronted the power of the colonial Governor, declaring, "Long live the King! But Denham must go."

During the troublous days of 1938 the security forces were everywhere eyeball to eyeball with Bustamante and the workers. Labour unrest continued on and off.

On September 8, 1940, Bustamante was detained at Up Park Camp for alleged violation of the Defense of the Realm Act. He was released seventeen month he later. On his release, he formed the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union and the Jamaica Labour Party in 1943. He was the first Premier of Jamaica (1944-1954) and Prime Minister at independence in 1962.

On August 6, 1962 Jamaica was granted full independence. At the first session of Parliament, Bustamante received the Instruments of Independence from the Queen's representative, Princess Margaret.
In 1962 Sir Alexander Bustamante became Jamaica's first Prime Minister.

He retired from active politics in 1967. He died on August 6, 1977 at the age of 93.

Norman Washington Manley
Norman Washington Manley founded the People's National Party(PNP) which later was tied to the Trade Union Congress and the N.W. U. Together with Bustamante; their efforts resulted in the New Constitution of 1944 granting full Adult Suffrage. In 1955 Manley was elected Chief Minister. The 400 year British Rule, invoking slavery, deculturisation, uprising and bloodshed was not at an end. Norman Washington Manley was born at Roxborough, Manchester, on July 4, 1893. He was a brilliant scholar and athlete, soldier (First World War) and Lawyer.

He identified himself with the cause of the workers at the time of the labor troubles of 1938 and donated time and advocacy to the cause.

In September 1938, Manley founded the People's National Party and was elected its President annually until his retirement 31 years later.
Manley and the PNP supported the trade union movement, then led by Alexander Bustamante, while leading the demand for Universal Adult Suffrage. When Suffrage came, Manley had to wait ten years and two terms before his party was elected to office.

He was a strong advocate of the Federation of the West Indies, established in 1958, but when Sir Alexander Bustamante declared that opposition Jamaica Labor Party would take Jamaica out of the Federation, Norman Manley, already renowned for his integrity and commitment to democracy, called a referendum, unprecedented in Jamaica, to let the people decide.

Norman Manley died on September 2, 1969.

George William Gordon
George William Gordon was a free colored land owner and an associate of Bogle. Born to a slave mother and a planter father who was attorney to several sugar estates in Jamaica, he was self-educated and became a landowner in St. Thomas. Gordon entered politics to offset the government's attempts to crush the spirit of the freed people of Jamaica and again reduce them to slavery. He faced severe odds as the people whose interests he sought to
serve did not qualify to vote.

As a member of the House of Parliament, he used his position to highlight the sufferings of the people and to make a plea for changes.

He subdivided his own lands, selling farm lots to the people as cheaply as possible, and organized a marketing system through which they could sell their produce at fair prices.

Gordon urged the people to protest against and to resist the oppressive and unjust conditions under which they were forced to live.
Gordon was arrested and charged for complicity in what is now called the Morant Bay Rebellion in 1865. He was illegally tried by court martial and, inspite of a lack of evidence convicted and sentenced to death. He was executed on October 23, 1865.

The Morant Bay Rebellion and the resultant deaths of Bogle and Gordon precipitated the beginning of a new era in Jamaica’s development. The British government became compelled to make changes including outstanding reforms in education, health, local government, banking and infrastructure.

Sam Sharpe
Sam Sharpe was the main instigator of the 1831 Slave Rebellion which began on the Kensington Estate in Saint James which was largely instrumental in bringing about the abolition of slavery.

Sharpe, an educated town slave, was a preacher and spokesman. He followed the developments of the abolition movement by reading discarded local and foreign papers and was able to advise his followers.

Because of his intelligence and leadership qualities, Sam Sharpe became "daddy" or leader of the native Baptist in Montego Bay. Religious meetings were the only permissible forms of organized activities for the slaves. Sam Sharpe was able to communicate his concerns and encourage political thought concerning events in England which affected the slaves and Jamaica.

Sam evolved a plan of passive resistance in 1831, by which the slaves would refuse to work on Christmas Day of 1831 and afterwards, unless their grievances concerning better treatment and the consideration of freedom were accepted by the state owners and managers.

The Rebellion started on December 28 and lasted 8 days. Sam Sharpe was eventually captured and hung at the Parade in Montego Bay (now renamed Sam Sharpe Square).

On August 28, 1833 slavery was abolished and the System of Apprenticeship instituted, allowing for the total freedom of slaves in the next 4-6 years.

Nanny of the Maroons
Nanny of the Maroons stands out in history as the only female among Jamaica’s national heroes. She possessed that fierce fighting spirit generally associated with the courage of men.
In fact, Nanny is described as a fearless Asante warrior who used militarist techniques to fool and beguile the English.

Nanny was a leader of the Maroons at the beginning of the 18th. Century. She was known by both the Maroons and the British settlers as an outstanding military leader who became, in her lifetime and after, a symbol of unity and strength for her people during times of
crisis.

Both legends and documents refer to her as having exceptional leadership qualities. She was a small wiry woman with piercing eyes. Her influence over the Maroons was so strong that it seemed to be supernatural and was said to be connected to her powers of obeah. She was particularly skilled in organising the guerrilla warfare carried out by the Eastern Maroons to keep away the British troops who attempted to penetrate the mountains to overpower them.

Like the heroes of the pre Independence era, Nanny too met her untimely death at theinstigation of the English sometime around 1734. Yet, the spirit of Nanny of the Maroons remains today as a symbol of that indomitable desire that will never yield to captivity.

The Ethiopian New Year falls in September at the end of the big rains. The highlands turn to gold as the Meskel daisies burst out in all their splendor. Ethiopian children clad in brand new clothes dance through the villages giving bouquets of flowers and painted pictures to each household. September 11th is both New Year's Day and the Feast of St. John the Baptist.

The day is called Enkutatash meaning the "gift of jewels." When the famous Queen of Sheba returned from her expensive jaunt to visit King Solomon in Jerusalem, her chiefs welcomed her back by replenishing her treasury with enku or jewels. The spring festival has been celebrated since these early times and as the rains come to their abrupt end, dancing and singing can be heard at every village in the green countryside. After dark on New Year's Eve people light fires outside their houses.

In Ethiopia more than 34,000 Jamaicans reportedly gathered from all across the world to ring in the new millennium. Jamaicans at home turned out in huge numbers on what was New Years eve and the celebrations were intense – very moving and spiritual overall. About a thousand strong rammed Mandela Park where speeches, drumming and movement were the order of the day until 8:00PM.

Livity Restaurant kept the festive mood alive until a little past midnight with an intimate and spirit filled concert. "A naw tell no lie," Sister Isis, the show's host said, "But I really wanted to be in Ethiopia tonight." Everyone could relate to that strong sentiment and still boundless joy was thick in the Livity Restaurant air.

Artistes and cultural icons rolled in and gave their contributions – affording attendees a priceless gift. Among those who not only performed, but hung out, milling around and interacting with all the "Family" in the house, were: Sister Carol, Etana, Empress, Jackie "Mutamba" Cohen, Ikebulan and Tarrus Riley.

"I had to participate - because it is a "Glorious Day" – Etana told Yardflex.

On September 11, 2007 at midnight in Ethiopia, the New Year and New Millennium celebrations began amid lavish gatherings, religious zeal and positive messages from the country’s troubled government. Ethiopia and Ethiopians throughout the world marked this day with immense enthusiasm and will continue to celebrate for days to come.

In the 6th Century, the rest of the Christian world made revisions in its estimate of the date of Christ’s birth - but Ethiopia kept the old date, which means that 7 years after the rest of the world, the country is marking the start of the year 2000.

For Rastafarians worldwide, recognizing and aligning with the calendar of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Ethiopia (a unique slightly modified Julian calendar) has been a part of their lifestyle and today Rastas everywhere have begun to commemorate the beginning of the year 2000.

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, reportedly expressed his hope for a new millennium that would usher in a new era of prosperity for this Horn of Africa nation. He said, “The last few centuries of the millennium have not been as glorious, every generation of Ethiopians during those centuries has paid in blood to maintain our independence.” As the only African nation that has never been colonized, Ethiopia has always been revered and honored – especially amongst Rastafarians.

In Jamaica, the Ethio-Africa Diaspora Union Millennium Council have organized a series of events in honor of the occasion. Taking place over two days the celebrations had a pre-cursor – in the form of a special event to mark the anniversary of the birth of Mortimo Planno that happened on September 6.

On September 11, in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, Entertainment and Culture, the Millennium celebration event took the Mandela Park in Half Way Tree from 12:00 noon until 8:00PM. In addition to dignitaries like Barry Chevannes, Dr. Nafitsu Kagne (Senegal’s first Ambassador to Jamaica) and other African Diplomats, Sam Clayton, from the group The Mystic Revelation of Rastafari, will make presentations.

The Mystic Revelation will entertain along with the Nyabinghi Ancient Order and Drummers, the BoboShante, School of Vision and other Mansions. Artistes like, Tony Rebel, Queen Ifrica, Sizzla, Tarrus Riley,Tommy Cowan and others will alwo grace the stage with musical millennium presentations.

At The Livity Restaurant in Kingston, the celebration continues on September 11.

On September 12, 2007, the revelry continues with a special Millennium Dinner to be held at the Hilton Hotel in Kingston – at the poolside – beginning at 6pm.

Across the island, the official Nyabinghi Ises will be taking place at Scotts Pass Nyabinghi Center in Clarendon form September 10th until September 17th. In Ochio Rios on September 12th the Nyabinghi order will also gather to celebrate.

Ethiopians will attend different events, and three main parties have been planned. Many free festivities took place and there will be a year long celebration there. Many Rastafarians, some of whom are members of the 12 Tribes of Israel have taken what seems like a pilgrimage to join in the celebrations.

Eastern Parkway in Brookly, New York was the scene of great revelry as another Caribbean Day Parade was held. The Labour Day weekend has historically been a day of heavy feting for national of the Caribbean regions and their friends. Most prominent at the annual West Indian Caribbean day parade were Haitians and Trinidadians who displayed a joint float promoting their Christian faith. The float expressed the sentiments of many in attendance with its prophetic message - "Start to pray today, because you may not be here tomorrow."

There were an estimated one million people in attendance at the parade. Despite the prayer message displayed on the float, at least one person's prayers went unanswered as he became the lone reported casualty of the day. At around 4:00 p.m., gunshots rang out in excess at Troy Avenue, which left one 26 year-old man injured with two gun shots to his leg. The injuries are considered non-life threatening.

Among the one million attendees were Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Governor Elliott Spitzer. Their attendance was significant in many respects, not the least of which is the apparent change of heart by City and State officials who deemed this parade as being just as important as other ethnic parades in the City. In the recent past, City officials have displayed their disdain for the Caribbean diaspora by imposing strict bans on the use and sale of alcohol. It has been reported that this policy was not applied equally to all parades throughout the City and appeared to improperly target Caribbean-Americans.

This year, however, the attendance of Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Spitzer showed that these two politicians understand the value of Caribbean-Americans to the New York metropolitan area. The throngs of revelers inject millions of dollars into the New York economy, and increasingly demonstrate their potential political capital by participating more and more in the local electoral process. Despite the unfortunate shooting, by and large the parade was a tremendous success and demonstrates the ability of Caribbean peoples from all islands to coalesce and party together peacefully.

Parade watchers reported seeing flags flying from several nations, including Jamaica, Antigua, Trinidad & Tobago, Guyana, Grenada, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Not to be outdone, flags also were displayed by the people of St. Croix, St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Barbados and others.