The 6th Jamaican Diaspora Conference is fast approaching and there has been much discussion about state of things. Representative for the North East Advisory Board, Immigration Attorney Joan Pinnock, has been making the rounds hosting town hall meetings with the community about the conference in Montego Bay, June 13th through 18th why they should attend. All while she is fighting off a what she described as a "smear campaign" accusing her of promoting an immigration seminar prior the conference" which her accusers say will accrue to her benefit. After all she is an immigration attorney. Attorney Pinnock, says, she stands to "benefit in no way from this forum" and as a matter of fact, she "has had to pull back on her work load in her four offices located through out the New York tri-state.
During an interview with CPRLive hosts, Damani Saunderson and Carlyle McKetty on Diaspora Dialog, Attorney Pinnock, told the audience and the hosts, that "under advise from counsel" she cannot comment further on the situation as it relates to her former "running mate" who lost to her in the recently held elections for North East Diaspora Advisory Board representative and is the current "Alternate." However, says Attorney Pinnock, "This individual lost" but "refuses to concede" and is making my life a very difficult. Albeit it, Attorney Pinnock was in good spirit throughout the interview and spoke strongly about the "Mapping" project which seeks to have a true sense of "who makes up the Jamaican Diaspora" and "where they are located" and "what skills sets" exist that can be marketable. By encouraging folks to register at the website online and complete the questionnaire, Attorney Pinnock assured the integrity of the process saying that, it is "private and confidential."
One group that is busy getting ready to travel to Jamaica for the Conference is the Education Sector who are excited that finally, Education will hold its own "front and center" at the upcoming conference. According Karlene Large of the Diaspora Education Task Force and former President of the Union of Jamaica Alumni Associations, (UJAA) "Quietly and diligently, we have been at work collaborating with key stake holders to advance education in Jamaica," she says,"We're nowhere near our dreams and goals but go day by day and today there is much to be proud of." The Task Force's many accomplishments are a direct result of sticking to the "take aways" from the 2013 conference and the subsequent Education Summit that was held in Jamaica, February 2014. The Task Force will present a Report Card at the 2015 Conference to highlight these accomplishments. Of course, UJAA will be in Montego Bay inside the MarketPlace to continue to advance the education agenda and also to expose corporate Jamaica and other key organizations to their mission.
Speaking of Education and Jamaicans in the Diaspora. One Jamaican who made his mark in the early 20th Century was Jamaican born author and self made scholar, Joel A. Rogers (J.A. Rogers) whose many books including his seminal work, From Superman to Man have become collectors items. The famed book which helped to change a generation's attitude towards race and race relations was recently returned to the spotlight with the production of a play of the same name, by native New Yorker, Jamel Wade. Wade transforms the novel into a play that outlines the conversation between a Dixon, a black porter and a racist white bigoted Senator from Oklahoma.
The setting is post WWII during the heights of the Jim Crow era when lynching was as American as Apple pie. The play which ran at the Black Spectrum Theater in Roy Wilkins Park, Queens, New York on May 22nd and 23rd zeroed in on racial tensions that are at an all time high in major cities across the America in places like Baltimore, Ferguson and Chicago at a time when a Black President occupies the White House. Those harboring sentiments of a "post racial society" are being challenged by what is being reported on the nightly news and on social media. Jamel Wade's ambitious attempt to present From Superman to Man at this time, is a stroke of brilliance.
Though the play moves a little slow, due to the cerebral nature of the conversation, it shines a well needed spotlight on this "third rail" issue within American society. In his genius, JA Rogers wrote a story the presents Dixon, as a well educated black porter who was able to destroy the illusion of superiority held by the Senator. Dixon does this in a manner that highlighted his display of logic, compassion and knowledge for European history and literature. Dixon is well educated and the Senator is by far no match for his intellectual prowess. The story pretty much is a full blown commentary on the state of things with the Republicans and their behavior towards the President and his administration. "We have the smartest president in the White House, yet they treat him like a little boy," says one audience member, "I really identify with this story, can't believe it was written so long ago."
