Human Rights Day December 10, 2017 Human Rights Day is celebrated annually across the world on 10 December every year. The date was chosen to honour the United Nations General Assembly’s adoption and proclamation, on 10 December 1948, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the first global enunciation of human rights and one […]
Leave No One Behind End Violence Against Women and Girls The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, a global campaign spanning from 25 November through 10 December, is taking place this year against the backdrop of an unprecedented global outcry. Millions have rallied behind the hashtag #MeToo and other campaigns, exposing the sheer magnitude […]
Marcus Mosiah Garvey Jr., ONH Jamaica’s First National Hero Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Jr., ONH (17 August 1887 – 10 June 1940) was a publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, Black nationalist, orator, and founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL). He was born as the youngest of eleven children in St. Ann’s Bay, […]
Peter Tosh, OM Chronicle: October 19, 1944 Peter Tosh was more than a luminary in the development of reggae music. He was the ultimate firebrand, speaking out against oppression around the world in both his songs and his public statements. He was a man who demonstrated the power of personal and artistic integrity, and pride […]
Legalize It A History of Hemp (and Marijuana) When President Barack Obama signed the Farm Bill of 2013 on February 7, 2014, it was a small but significant step towards the legalization of hemp across the United States. The bill defined industrial hemp, excluding it from the definition of Marijuana in the Controlled Substances Act. […]
The Chronicles of Kaya A History of Hemp & Marijuana Here’s a fact: Hemp and Marijuana both come from the same plant; its scientific name is ‘Cannabis Sativa’. For thousands of years hemp was used to make dozens of commercial products like paper, rope, canvas, and textiles. U.S. Presidents and founding fathers George Washington and […]
Black Star Line June 27, 1919 The Black Star Line (1919−1922) was a shipping line incorporated by Marcus Garvey, the organizer of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), and other members of the UNIA. The shipping line was created to facilitate the transportation of goods and eventually African Americans throughout the African global economy. It […]
National Day of Reggae Peace. Love. Music. The Sierra Nevada World Music Festival promotes ‘conscious’ music. Conscious music is music with a message of peace, unity and brotherhood, which transcends the divisions of race and culture. Over the past twenty three years we have endeavored to build a community where Conscious music, Roots music, and […]
National Day of Reggae CHRONICLE: May 14, 2012 Back on May 14, 2012, former President Dilma Rousseff, signed into law a bill establishing the National Day of Reggae, celebrated annually on May 11, the date of Jamaican musician Bob Marley’s passing. Senator Rodrigo Rollemberg – then a congressman – authored the bill, according to the […]
Jacob ‘Killer’ Miller May 4, 1952 Jacob Miller was born in Mandeville, Jamaica to Joan Ashman and Desmond Elliot. At the age of eight he moved to Kingston, Jamaica where he was raised by his maternal grandparents. His move to Kingston would prove to be a seminal event in his life, as Miller began spending […]
Origin of 420 April 20, 2017 420, 4:20, or 4/20 (pronounced four-twenty) is a code-term that refers to the consumption of cannabis, especially smoking cannabis around the time 4:20 p.m./a.m. (or 16:20 in some European nations) and smoking and celebrating cannabis on the date April 20 (which is 4/20 in U.S. form). Origin A group […]
Millie Small My Boy Lollipop The ever-so-talented Millicent Dolly May Small, more famously known as ‘Millie Small’, was born on October 6, 1946 in Clarendon, Jamaica. She is known for her rendition of the hit song ‘My Boy Lollipop’ which has sold over six million records worldwide and helped launch Island Records into mainstream popularity […]