March 2009
War on racism needs new soldiers
By PAT WATSON
A person can get exhausted from combating racism; it is an insidious and unrelenting war and many who have been at the forefront of the battle to beat it back can become despondent when, after years of seeking to make change, with the ebb and flow of progress, very little seem to have been accomplished.
It has been 43 years since the United Nations General Assembly declared March 21 as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. This was meant to commemorate the day back in 1960 when police in Sharpeville, South Africa fired into a crowd peacefully demonstrating against apartheid "pass laws" killing 69 people.
We may never know who killed Martin Luther King Jr.
By MURPHY BROWNE
Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on Thursday, April 4, 1968 as he stood on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.
He was in Memphis to lead a march of African-American sanitation workers protesting against low wages and poor working conditions. King had achieved national prominence as a leader of the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott in 1955 when Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat in the "coloured" section of a Montgomery city bus to a Caucasian man who could not find a seat in the crowded White section.
Comedy laced with intrigue, suspense, deceit
In a whirlwind of positive energy, acclaimed Jamaican actress Terri Salmon has stormed into Canada for yet another theatrical season. Salmon is here to perform in Devon Haughton's production of Me Get Mi Landed.
"I've had to hit the ground running," says Salmon, who joined rehearsals already in progress. "I am a stickler for adequate preparation through rehearsals. I believe the most critical factor for an actress in the production of a play, is the rehearsal period."
For Salmon, the investment of time - even outside of the formal rehearsal - is the most important period in the production process.
Ronnie Butler, Jr. is having the time of his life
By RYCH McCAIN in Hollywood
On TV he is 'Oscar', the wise cracking front desk manager on the popular Nickelodeon Network hit TV series, "True Jackson VP", starring Keke Palmer. In real life he is the son of Bahamian superstar singer, guitarist, songwriter Ronnie Butler, AKA "The Godfather of Bahamian Music" whose hits include 'Goin Down Burma Road', 'What We Ga Do' and 'Sweet Music Man'. Even after over 50 years of performing, mainly in the Bahamas, the elder Butler still packs them in wherever he performs.
Chef brings Caribbean fare to city streets
By RON FANFAIR
Bridgette Pinder has come a long way in a short time. She recalled leaving the first meeting a few months ago for vendors interested in the City of Toronto's pilot street food program thinking there wasn't a chance she could fulfill the requirements, much less pose a serious bid to acquire a hot spot in the city to showcase her ethnic Caribfusion jerk chicken.
