This week's episode features the brilliant Alexandria Miller who is a historian, writer, and multimedia documentarian who is passionate about capturing Caribbean stories. This episode we talk about our academic journeys, doing a PhD and some of the differences in studying Caribbean history for a US vs UK perspective. We discuss Alexandria's work on Jamaican women and her motivations for researching a community so close to home. You can find out more about Alexandria's work on her podcast Strictly Facts: A Guide to Caribbean History and Culture and follow us for more here.
On Thursday 14th March, in a landmark decision the UK’s privy council overturned the murder conviction of the Jamaican dancehall artist Vybz Kartel, impacting also the ruling on his three co-defendants: Shawn Campbell, Kahira Jones and Andre St John. It was overturned due to findings that the original conviction was compromised due to juror misconduct, during the 2014 trial. Vybz Kartel at this point has been in prison since 2011 was convicted of the murder of Clive “Lizard” Williams in one of Jamaica’s longest trials. Find out more about the Privy Council rulings and why Jamaica's highest arm of justice is the UK's Privy Council and not the Caribbean Court of Justice. Find us here
An episode based on my undergraduate dissertation that was all about political and religious influences of reggae music in the 1970s, which coincidentally talks us through some of things I wish the Bob Marley: One Love film did not give enough time to. This episodes explores the political context in 1970s Jamaica as well as the Rastafarian movement and the influences of these on reggae music as the mouthpiece for the oppressed.
“Try to pigeon hole Benjamin Zephaniah at your peril. Poet, writer, lyricist, musician, actor, republican, activist, campaigner, freedom fighter. It’s impossible. His achievements are too plentiful to mention.” – Opening for an interview with Shelley Carter for Birmingham Living magazine. Benjamin Zephaniah was born on 15th April 1958 in Handsworth, Birmingham. This episode looks at his life, his activism and all he stood for. It explores his refusal to accept an MBE and the implications that had. Clips taken from: ITN Archives Articles featured: Tribune Article "Us An Dem: The Radical Benjamin Zephaniah" 'Me? I thought, OBE me? Up yours, I thought' Updates on the MRes legal challenge Follow us on socials