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WEEKLYPRESS.COM · UCREVIEW.COM · JULY 27 · 2011


Caribbean Culture Extends Globally, Acts Locally O


By Stacey Lawrence Special to Press/Review


ver 100,000 people of Caribbean descent re- side in Philadelphia.


Many have migrated here, and started businesses and families. They have shared their culture and made musi- cal, scientific, culinary, and athletic contributions to the United States, an addition to the complex melting pot com- prised of so many different cultures. The interesting thing about Caribbean culture is that it is really a melting pot of its own. Indigenous people in- habited the islands of the Ca- ribbean Sea until the 15th


cen-


tury, when European powers (Spain, France, England, and the Netherlands) “discov- ered” the islands, which were rich with resources, and at- tempted to colonize them. Though they were met with resistance, the Europeans were largely successful, and in a narrative strikingly simi- lar to that of the United States, imported African slaves for labor after introducing diseas- es that nearly wiped out the indigenous population.


Timi Tanzania talking on the UC Review Newshour on 88.1FM WPEB.


The African Diaspora—or the global dispersal of Africans from their homeland through- out the world—is closely linked with Caribbean his- tory because of the slave trade route from Africa, to the Ca- ribbean islands, and up to the United States and back again. It led to the convergence of African, indigenous and Eu- ropean cultures and resulted in a global culture that is not restricted to the islands but reaches to Philadelphia and beyond. Hopeton Brown is one of the many unofficial ambassadors of that Caribbean culture. He works with the Philadelphia


chapter of Read for Jamaica, a nonprofit that donates books and promotes literacy in the Caribbean islands, and often travels between Philadelphia and Jamaica. He first migrated to the United States in 1977, and attended high school in West Philadelphia. “When I came here, the cul- ture shock wasn’t really on my part. It was a culture shock to [the students],” Hopeton said. “I would get questions like, ‘Do you live in trees?’” By the time Hopeton gradu- ated from high school in 1979, he had started a West Indies Club, dedicated to educating their peers about Caribbean


culture. After high school, Hopeton at- tended Drexel University and became program director of Drexel’s radio station WKDU. It was during this time that he started a Caribbean mu- sic program at Drexel, which featured an annual reggae marathon, which played 100 straight hours of Caribbean music. Started in 1983, it is the oldest station that has played Caribbean music continuous- ly in the area. Though Hope- ton graduated years ago, he continues to assist with the reggae marathon each year, but his major musical focus is promoting Caribbean mu- sic and artists, and his people have performed at the electric factory, the Trocadero, TLA, and the Blockley. However, Hopeton’s main promotional concern is the promotion of his own peo- ple. He feels that while their achievements are many, they are not as assertive or visual with their activities in the city as they should be. “The influ- ential Caribbean folks tend to blend into [American] culture, and so we don’t have a ‘Carib- bean’ neighborhood. There’s not a clearly defined section for Caribbeans in this city. You see a business, and you may not know that it’s Caribbean owned.” Hopeton attributes this ab- sence of representation to a lack of unity in the Caribbean community. “One of the things that is missing within the Ca- ribbean culture is the ability to get together as a unit,” Hope- ton said. “We see individual islands and individual entities trying to do things, but there isn’t an umbrella organization where everybody tries to pool together.” One of his wishes for Carib- beans here in Philadelphia is to follow the example of is- land nations in the Caribbean Sea and form a collective to represent all of the nations. “There was a move to push for the Caribbean CARICOM (Caribbean Community and Common Market), which is the group of islands coming together so that they could speak in one voice. Every- thing is focusing on advance- ment of Caribbean products and initiatives. When you go together, you have more strength.” One of Hopeton’s solutions for unity is to have a gather- ing place. He currently works at Calabash Restaurant and Banquet, a recently opened restaurant, bar, lounge, and banquet hall at 6082 Lancaster Avenue. “We don’t have a


place where folks can come. Hold an immigration forum,” he said. “Hopefully this can be a meeting space. We can offer it up to organizations. If you don’t have a place to meet, and our space is not booked, you can always have it here.” Calabash recently held a Ca- ribbean forum, and its speaker was Stanley Straughter, chair- man of the Mayor’s Commis- sion on African and Caribbean Immigrant Affairs. This com- mission was formed in 2005 by former Mayor John Street and Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell with the purpose of fostering understanding about the continent of Africa and the Caribbean, to create awareness of the continent of Africa, and to engage Phila- delphia African and Caribbe- an immigrant members and other members of the African American Diaspora commu- nities in a fruitful dialogue on how to strengthen beneficial relationships. As the chairman of the com- mission since its inception, one of Straughter’s goals is to pro- mote the contributions made to the community by its Afri- can and Caribbean members. “This is a global community. Not only identifying but also uplifting the contributions of African people around the world; that’s something I do everywhere I go,” Straughter said. He noted that many im- migrants come to the United States, attend the best schools, and become very successful members of society. One of those members is Glenn Bryan, Assistant Vice President of the Office of Government and Community Affairs for the University of Pennsylvania. He is a West Philadelphia native. His par- ents were originally from Puerto Rico and then migrat- ed to and lived in the British Virgin Islands in a place called Tortola. He emphasized that there is a strong national pride among people from the Carib- bean region. “I can say for one thing there’s a strong sense of who you are when you’re from the Carib- bean. There are similarities in the culture, but there also are as many distinguishing factors that each culture has, that they can claim. The mis- conception here is that there is one culture. It’s really a combination of culture. All of them are influenced by Africa. But there are also influences of Danish, Spanish, French, etc.” Bryan is also a classically trained keyboardist who has


performed with the late Gro- ver Washington Jr. and Carlos Santana. He gives credit to the Afro-Latin influences in his music. “They are just natu- rally inside of what I play.” Timi Tanzania is an African- American artist and musician who has embraced reggae music and culture into his lifestyle. He would probably say the culture does not only influence his music, but entire outlook on life. He believes that reggae’s positive mes- sage is the answer for today’s troubled youth. “Music and art heals,” he says simply. Timi was raised as a foster child in North Philadelphia. He was what he would call a “troubled child” and gravi- tated to music and art to aid him. “A lot of the music I heard growing up in America was basically R & B based but the subject matter was ‘love me baby’ or ‘girl you done me wrong’ or dancing music. But when I started to hear reggae music with social issues and love of Africa, I really wanted to spread those good vibes and love, and reggae really brought that out of me.” Timi taught himself drums, bass, and piano, and then went on to further study art and music at a college in New Mexico. He eventually formed his own reggae band called Timi and the DubWarriors. He is also a part of five other bands which are titled: ‘Urban Shamans,’ ‘I Yahn I Arkestra,’ ‘Timi Tanzania and the Dub- way Reggae Band,’(“Don’t take the subway, take the Dubway,” he says) Dubsmith and Hai Tokyo. The latter is a fusion of urban and Japanese reggae. He plans to release a new album shortly called Ce- lestial Waters, which promises to be a futuristic, New Age take on reggae. “I identify with a universal mindset,” he said. “I am a cul- tural ambassador. I’m a lover of international things. I do promote culture, I do promote harmony among different cul- tures, and I live my life as an example of that.” Timi believes strongly in cul- tural exchange, and that is one of the reasons he is partic- ipating in and promoting the upcoming Caribbean Festival at Penn’s Landing on August 21st


. It is the festival’s 25th an-


niversary. “The festival allows people young and old to take part in an event that gives them an education beyond the norm,” Timi said. “You can ac- tually sit down, enjoy the mu- sic, eat the food, and interact.


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