The Intersection of Gender, Culture and Education: Jamaica: The Next 50 Years!

“The environment is where we all meet; where we all have a mutual interest; it is the one thing all of us share.”- Lady Bird Johnson. We are all guilty of not paying enough attention to our environment. The polluted state of our environment continues to be ignored by many in the society. The extent to which we ignore environmental matters will, in fact, determine the quality of our lives in the near future. Earth Day will be observed on April 22. The theme Restore Our Earth focuses on natural processes, emerging green technologies, and innovative thinking that can restore the world’s ecosystems. Earth Day can also provide us with a platform to learn about the impact of climate change, environmental racism and ecology on people of colour. Greenaction.org defines environmental racism as the institutional rules, regulations, policies or government and or corporate decisions that deliberately target certain communities for locally undesirable land uses and lax environment of zoning and env...

Each year on April 17 the international community pauses to commemorate World Hemophilia Day. The theme this year is Adapting to Change: sustaining care in a new world. The ongoing COVID19 virus has forced humanity to adjust to a new normal way of life as we navigate this global pandemic together. Every year, landmarks around the world are lit up in red as part of the World Hemophilia Day “Light It Up Red” campaign. Last year, a “world record” was set: 98 landmarks around the world were lit up in a show of solidarity with the hemophilia community. The day is set aside to bring awareness to hemophilia as well as other bleeding disorders. Since 1989, World Hemophilia Day is the day the entire bleeding disorders community comes together to celebrate the continuous advances in treatment while raising awareness and bringing understanding and attention to the issues related to proper care to the wider public. The World Federation of Hemophilia defines hemophilia as a bleeding problem. In...

“Between the powerful and those they dominate by daily habit there is no limit to the lengths they may go to maintain their supremacy.”- Professor Vincent Brown. The annual Chief Tayki Lecture was held on April 8, 2021 in a virtual space. The lecture was hosted by the Centre for Reparation Research, the University of the West Indies (UWI), in collaboration with The Tayki Foundation (St. Mary) and The Department of History and Archaeology (UWI). The co-hosts of the lecture were Professors Verene Shepherd and Carolyn Cooper. The lecture was delivered by Professor Vincent Brown; Professor of American History and African and African American Studies at Harvard University. Professor Brown spoke on the topic Tacky’s Revolt, or the Coromantee War. Regrettably, the teaching of history education in Jamaica is not compulsory; as a result many Jamaicans have never heard of Tacky. Even those of us who have heard about him know very little about this great military organizer and freedom fighter o...

“On this day, we honour those who were murdered, we reflect on the suffering and we recognize the resilience of those who have survived. As we join in solidarity with the people of Rwanda, we must take a hard look at today’s world and ensure that we heed the lessons of 27 years ago.”- António Guterres. Have you ever watched the movie Hotel Rwanda? For those of us who have not I strongly suggest that you view this powerful movie. The movie chronicled the genocide in Rwanda which left almost 1 million of its citizen dead in less than three months. Many of us in this part of the world did not know exactly what was happening in Rwanda. Rwanda is a densely populated, land-locked country in east-central Africa. Its neighbours are Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Rwanda is known for its beautiful scenery. Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction of a group of people because of their ethnicity, nationality, religion, or race. The online source Holocaust Muse...

“Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.”- Jim Rohn. The World Day for Physical Activity is observed by the World Health Organization and the International Society for Physical Activity and Health on 6 April. Although the world is currently going through a pandemic this is no excuse for us not to be physically active. Physical inactivity is now identified as the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality. Physical inactivity levels are increasing in many countries. As a result of an increase in sedentary lifestyles a significant portion of many populations have been diagnosed with major implications for the prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The World Health Organization (WHO) states that heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and chronic lung disease, are collectively responsible for almost 70% of all deaths worldwide. Other non-communicable diseases include hypertension which is prevalent in the Jamaican society. According to the Ministry of H...

“I can’t control your behaviour; nor do I want that burden but I will not apologize for refusing to be disrespected.” Steve Maraboli. Have you ever asked yourself which of the sexes are lonelier; men versus women? Men for the most part are socialized not to show their emotions. Niobe Way, a professor of developmental psychology at New York University, believes that boys are conditioned to view emotional vulnerability as a weakness. As they grow up, boys are told that men should suppress and hide their emotions. “Boys start off in the first decade being remarkably emotionally astute and attuned,” Dr. Way said. Unfortunately, according to Dr. Way, when boys are socialized to become men, they learn to avoid disclosing difficult emotions, especially to other men. It can be argued that male detachment from their emotions is viewed positively in some quarters. Those men who are emotional are often viewed as weak and are subjected to ridicule by other men and women. In most societies the mal...

“The angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.”- St. Matthew 28:5-6. Easter, or Pascha, is the oldest and most significant Christian celebration, commemorating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after his crucifixion. When mankind sinned through Adam, God immediately put in place a plan for the redemption of our sins. Easter symbolizes an unconditional love that only the son of God could demonstrate in the manner in which he died. Jesus went willingly to a cross so that we can inherit eternal life. We live in an era where everyone speaks of love; however, in almost all instances that love is conditional. Easter is that time of year when we feel especially close to God. Many of us are not at the place where we hope to be regarding our relationships with God. Those who profess otherwise are either fooling themselves or are...

Most men aspire to become fathers. Fatherhood is a time for celebration and goodwill. In an age of modernity there are gender reveal parties where the sex of the unborn child is announced to family and friends. Fatherhood or pending fatherhood is a time of joy and happiness. There are no manuals on fatherhood or parenting; usually parents use the model derived from their own childhood with some amount of tweeting to grow up their children. Having children around makes a vast difference in one’s life. In Jamaica, men who are not biological fathers are often ridiculed. The stigma associated with male childlessness is rooted in a homophobic culture which adds negative labels to others. In some inner-city communities the verbal abuse against men in that category can become intolerable. The Jamaican society is a rough and tough space and only the strong willed among us survives. Interestingly, the label makers rarely find the time to label themselves or their close associates. The label ...

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness, by His wounds you have been healed.”- 1 Peter 2:24. Good Friday is observed the Friday before Easter. Christians annually observe the commemoration of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. From the early days of Christianity, Good Friday was observed as a day of sorrow, penance, and fasting. The day holds great significance in the hearts of Christians. In fact Easter is the most revered religious occasion in Christendom. In Jamaica, churches are usually standing room only for Good Friday services. The service usually takes on a solemn tone as many worshippers experience sadness regarding the crucifixion of Jesus for the sins of the world. Crucifixion is a method of punishment or capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden beam and left to hang perhaps for several days, until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishmen...

“Black men struggle with masculinity so much. The idea that we must always be strong really presses us all down.”- Donald Glover. We have been here before; the Jamaica society is outraged and rightly so. The disgust and outcry over the murder of Khanice Jackson has been making the rounds, from social media to the taxi stand to Parliament. But we have been here before as a society. Jamaica has a serious problem. The issue we face is rooted in a culture void of consent and the manner in which we construct and affirm masculinity. The society takes its cue from popular culture regarding who is a real man. The music of the day defines who a real man is. One, who is promiscuous, smokes and who pays little or no attention to education. Our boys learn their lessons quite early and well in their lives and this is evident as male educational achievement is now a pandemic not only in Jamaica but worldwide. Consent culture a culture which normalizes the action of asking for consent and respectin...