Guest Columns

“You must also study and learn the lessons of history because humanity has been involved in this soul-wrenching, existential struggle for a very long time. People on every continent have stood in your shoes through decades and centuries before you.” John Lewis, July 2020. This week marked the commemoration of …

At the core of democracy is the vote. This single act is how we, the voters, signal how we feel to the politicians and their parties. It is a means of control. When we vote, we tell the nation which candidate we want and which policies or programmes are crucial. …

This week saw the eruption of meaningless narratives that do not help us to become the best we can be. How do we expect our citizens to dream of becoming better? We get seduced by rhetoric that induces hatred and possibly violence. When will we seek what is in our …

“[…] Earlier this year, National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds said that 25,000 citizens have licensed firearms. Some will therefore face circumstances in which they feel compelled to use them. “What’s absent from the conversation is situational risk assessment. It’s an important part of discussions about armed engagement, but it’s easy …

Those of you who took god out your thoughts and were following my rants over the years know I have been saying the word “emancipation” actually means transfer ownership. And that puts into clearer perspective what dem snakes and soucouyants I was taught to celebrate as humanitarians and liberators were …

There were two disturbing events in a week when the nation needed to be reflective because of the anniversaries of 27 July and Emancipation Day. The first was the re-publication of a Jamaica Observer column by Lisa Hanna about the Jamaica bank debacle, and the second was the re-emergence of …

On 17 July 2014, Eric Garner was accused of selling loose cigarettes by a New York police officer. Daniel Pantaleo, the officer, placed him in an illegal chokehold while arresting him. Multiple officers then piled on, pinning him to the ground. Eleven times Garner pled, “I can’t breathe!” He died …

I first met UWI Professor Emeritus Dr Brinsley Samaroo many years ago on a radio programme, where I brought up an aspect of race relations in Trinidad and Tobago that I thought his explanation was missing. He agreed with me, and we spoke for a long time following the programme. …

There is an exquisite Jamaican saying: “When dog have money, him buy cheese.” That is most applicable to our national spending on tertiary education. The expression means we recklessly purchase unnecessary items when we get excess funds. Hosein R and Tewarie B (2007) saw this recklessness concerning our tertiary education …

Even when you have always believed that a unified Caribbean is the ideal state for regional development; even when you support the idea of Caricom, it is hard to buy in to what it has turned out to be in its 50 years of existence. I was but a child …

Schools can no longer penalise students with “locs, twists, plaits, afros, cornrows, weaves or braids” thanks to a new “National School Hair Code”, which takes effect nationwide from the new academic year in September 2023. The decision was announced by the Ministry of Education (MOE) after “discussions with the Tobago …

Last week, the incumbent Prime Minister, Dr Keith Rowley, pronounced that The University of the West Indies (The UWI) has fallen from its scientific research mission. At the time, he was celebrating The University of The West Indies’ 75th and 70th anniversary of its Seismic Research Centre (SRC) (Express, June …