Cultural Voice

C ountry of Origin:  Jamaica U ltra excited about this art form :   Reggae Dub Poetry ​                        L oves to travel to:  Africa (Zambia) T rend you love:  Females Wearing Their Natural Hair U nderground artist to watch:  Prince Levy (Singer) R isk averse, Risk Tolerant or Risk Taker:  Risk Taker A rtistic Side:  Mixes Creativity w/ Activism. L ife Motto:  The Sky Is No Limit V ery good at:  Working with People O utspoken about:  Child Rights I nspired b y:  People Who Rise Above Challenges C ultural Icon:  Louise Bennett-Coverley (Miss Lou) E veryone should try this once:  Performing 

The world is on edge of the devastation that Ebola has unleashed on affected countries in West Africa. Accouring to the World Health Organization t here have been 9,936 Ebola cases so far this year and 4,877 people have been killed by Ebola.  In an increasingly insular world where cultural crossroads are a necessity for normalcy, there is increased xenophobia and anxiety induced by the thought of a global outbreak. No sentence is complete without the word Ebola.  My friend Jani is a citizen of Liberia, one of the countries most affected by the outbreak cannot escape the ‘threats,’ real and imagined. In her brief musing about the effect it has on her psyche, she has coined a term for her condition and the condition of those around her as the ‘Siren effect’. The change in cultural norms should not be frowned on. But my fear is that after Ebola, they may never return.  Siren Effect - Jani Jallah  It’s 10: 29p.m. on a Monday night. I am ly...

Contributor: Derefe Chevannes How many times you heard folks referring to Africa, not as a continent but a country? It’s, “are you African?” rather than “are you from Kenya? Or, Uganda? Or, the Congo, even?”         Or, how many images do we see daily with starving kids with big bellies lying in the dirt waiting to die? Or, how many times do we see lions, giraffes or hippos being the image of the African animal? Also, let’s talk honestly about images of corrupt politicians and bankrupted, poor nations that seem to represent all countries on the continent. How many times have we heard those narratives? And, it’s not that they are untrue, but that they are NOT representative of Africa’s vast diversity.                                          ...

Contributor: Akugizibwe Solomon Within the Koogere oral tradition there is a popular story describing successes of a reign of a great woman ruler and entrepreneur called Koogere who was a chief of Busongora chiefdom in the ancient Kitara Empire during the Batembuzi dynasty about 1500 years ago. The Batembuzi Dynasty Batembuzi means harbingers or pioneers. The Batembuzi and their reign are not well documented, and are surrounded by a lot of myth and oral legend.  It is believed that their reign dates back to the height of Africa’s bronze age. The number of individual Batembuzi reigns, as given by different scholars, ranges from nine to twenty one. Uganda, Source: C Education Kitara was the biggest African empire south of the Sahara, stretching from Madi and Bukidi present day Eastern Uganda to Karagwe in Northern Tanzania and Ituri and Bulenga both in the present day Eastern part of Democratic Republic of Congo. The story is told among the co...

  Emprezz describes herself as a passionate, benevolent entrepreneur and media personality. She focuses on making ideas tangible realities. How many of us can say we've started and successfully run a resturant (alongside husband Steven) ; a Jamaican themed clothing and accessories store; manufactured and designed new card games; produced multiple shows including her newest 'Talk up Yout' which can be seen on TVJ every tuesday @6pm, and much more?   Emprezz gave us a peek into her life before returning to Jamaica. 'CHERRY' Emprezz spent most of her high school years in Australia and during that time she was a member of a pop singing group called 'Cherry' and used her middle name 'Camielle'. The Group was signed to Sony Records and Warner Music. It was during this time that Emprezz aka Camielle 'found herself' asking many self revealing questions in the multicultural environment...