Mahogany CoConut Blog

One Caribbean Nation.                             Did you come for the improvement                                 or the exchange ?            

One Caribbean Nation. by William Skinner Since the abolition of slavery, the Caribbean region has been heading toward a date with destiny. Many of us have hailed events as defining moments. In most cases those moments lingered a while and then faded into historical reference. The abolition of slavery was a significant moment for our physical being but the scars of mental slavery still shackle us to a belief that we have reached the apex of our civilization. The rise of the working class in the 1930s and onward to individual state independence, would have further cemented that we had arrived at a stage of development that was almost miraculous. It is a remarkable feat, that we went from slavery to independence in a historically short time. We should therefore be forgiven if we thought : The Strife   Is O’er, The Battle Won.” We were skillful with our limited resources and those countries within the region with more bountiful resources than others, were generous in the...

One Caribbean Nation. How Europe Underdeveloped Africa. Walter Rodney 1973  Preface  "This book derives from a concern with the contemporary African situation. It delves into the past only because otherwise it would be impossible to understand how the present came into being and what the trends are for the near future. In the search for an understanding of what is now called “underdevelopment” in Africa, the limits of enquiry have had to be fixed as far apart as the fifteenth century, on the one hand and the end of the colonial period, on the other hand. Ideally. an analysis of underdevelopment should come even closer to the present than the end of the colonial period in the 1960s. The phenomenon of neo-colonialism cries out for extensive investigation in order to formulate the strategy and tactics of African emancipation and development. This study does not go that far, but at least certain solutions are implicit in a correct historical evaluation, just as given med...

One Caribbean Nation. “ Nobody can go back and start a new beginning but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”

One Caribbean Nation. Garlic Chives Garlic chives can aid respiratory disorders by Annette Maynard-Watson BOY OH BOY! My grandmother returned from front line duties in Bimtoons and she had many stories to relate to me about King Coven and his 19 villains. Remember, last week she insisted that I was duty bound to tell you about General Mugwort. This general was healing the villagers of Madagascar and King Coven was very angry. However, back in Bimtoons my grandmother related that Queen Mary had lifted some of the sanctions and the villagers were very happy. Many of them were ecstatic to go to the barber and many were thrilled because they no longer needed to cook on the wood fires because the Chef was again serving roti and wing dings. However, my grandmother said that all of this activity was placing stress on some of the villagers in Bimtoons. They were feeling stress because in the midst of the hive of activities, King Coven was beginning to feel happy again b...

One Caribbean Nation. White supremacy on display Mohammed Iqbal Degia IN RECENT WEEKS, the spectacle of heavily armed white supremacists walking the streets of America unimpeded has been broadcast worldwide. They are “protesting” the COVID-19 lockdowns. Several even stormed the Michigan capitol building. Nowadays, the menacing sight of people of this ilk parading is common. It would be erroneous, however, to believe white supremacy emerged with President Donald Trump. He has merely emboldened some to express more openly and loudly the fascism they had quietened to an extent after the civil rights movement. White supremacy has been entrenched in the United States since the first invaders landed from Europe and embarked on their colonial project. A centuries-old order does not simply shed its core. Thus, white supremacy continues to exhibit itself in the post-civil rights era in various structurally embedded forms. An example of this is in the law enforcement an...

One Caribbean Nation. Caribbean Heads of State The fears of many progressives that Caribbean leaders will not embrace a new economic path post COVID -19, are slowly surfacing. While we support the current efforts , in the fight against COVID-19,we must admit that as the region returns to state of normalcy or what is being branded the “new normal”,   there will be nothing new about their economic management. There is a collective pandering to the same institutions and backward policies that are essentially stagnating growth. We therefore expect the status quo to remain entrenched and we predict that we will witness blatant attempts, to apply the finishing touches to the death of trade unionism. The commanding heights of our economies will continue to be dominated by whites, Asians, and other minorities both local and expatriate. The relentless quest for wealth will continue and many poor Black Caribbean citizens, will be expected to carry the burden. These hopelessly bac...