One Caribbean Nation. By William Skinner Me and V: a personal introduction to gay tolerance I must have been around nine or ten years old. V was a well-known gay citizen, who lived in my beloved hometown of Britton’s Hill, in the parish of St. Michael, Barbados. My earliest recollection of V was his apparent penchant for dressing in white. I seldom saw him in a long pants, and he walked with an amazing rhythm. Even at that early age, I realized that he was very effeminate. He always seemed busy out and about in the Brittons Hill area and it was obvious that everybody knew him, and his notoriety was island wide. I also noticed that he was always exceptionally clean. Later, I would learn that he was also known as a popular pudding and souse vendor, who carried on his trade in the vicinity of Nelson Street, in the city. He was well loved and respected in Britton’s Hill; along with that respect came good-natured heckling. One day, around midafternoon, about three of my chil...
One Caribbean Nation. Deryck Thomas By William Skinner Sweet Drinks: A High School Friendship and Memories Back in the sixties, while a student at the famous Modern High School located on Roebuck Street, Deryck Thomas and I developed a wonderful friendship that remains wonderfully intact. Deryck’s father, worked in a managerial/ supervisory capacity at what we called the Coke factory, which was situated extremely close to our school. Occasionally, the students were treated to free beverages, and we all believed, it was the magnanimity of our distinguished Headmaster and owner of the Modern, Louis Lynch, who remains a legend among educators, in our country. It is widely known that there have been calls to make him a national hero. There was also a rumor that th...
One Caribbean Nation. UN slavery resolution hailed as reparations campaign watershed By Ricardo Roberts Ambassador to CARICOM David Comissiong has hailed a United Nations resolution describing the transatlantic slave trade as a "grievous crime against humanity" as a landmark victory for the global quest for reparatory justice, saying it cements the Caribbean's case for reparations on firm legal and historical ground. The resolution, passed by 123 member nations on Wednesday, calls for the return of stolen cultural artefacts, the establishment of a global reparations fund, and increased public education through agencies such as UNESCO. The United States joined with Israel and Argentina to vote against the resolution while 52 other countries, including all of Europe's former colonial powers that captured and enslaved millions of Africans, abstained. In an exclusive interview with Barbados TODAY, Amb Comissiong emphasised that while the journey began in earnest at the ...
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