By Charo R. Walker
BlackFood News Reporter

At 75 years, Fu Kiau Bunseki, is still going strong. On Monday night he uplifted the audience that gathered at the Indaba Project Lecture Series II with his wisdom, knowledge and humour as he gave insight into the question: “Who are we?”

Bunseki is considered one of the great scholars of African religion, and the leading authority on the Bantu-Kongo civilization. He is also a genuine practitioner of the Kongo spiritual tradition.

In his introduction, he told the gathering – of which BlackFood was a part - that he felt something when he arrived in The Bahamas; something that he had not felt anywhere else. He said that it felt as if people were standing; telling him, “welcome.”

In answering the question, “Who are we?” Bunseki used African cosmology as his frame of reference.

African cosmology ... [Read More]

By Alexandrio Morley
BlackFood News Reporter

TWO young African-American scholars recently spoke on comparative religious studies and modern day fairy tales at the College at The Bahamas.

They were invited to The Bahamas by Anku Sa Ra and friends.

A. J. Varmah and Linzi Morris are members of the Church of the Black Messiah – a group that is known internationally as the Journey Home Group. The group has members in the United States, the UK, Trinidad, West Africa and Tanzania.

According to Varmah: “the Journey Home Group is about making a journey mentally and then physically back home to the Mother Continent.”

In an exclusive interview with BlackFood, both young scholars said that they had spent their teens working in New York with various community organizations and leaders such as Harry Belafonte, Queen Afua, and Dr. Yorke.

Varmah said tha... [Read More]

By Charo R. Walker
BlackFood News Reporter

THIS week, the Indaba Project Lecture Series II continued in Fox Hill with Charles Burnett, who is considered one of America’s greatest filmmakers.

Burnett grew up in Watts - a residential district in southern Los Angeles, California - in the 60s and was fortunate, at that time, to attend and graduate from UCLA’s Film Department.

Though largely unrecognized by mainstream America, he has been shaping America’s cinematic landscape ever since then.

Over the course of two nights, BlackFood was in attendance as Burnett showed Bahamian audiences Nightjohn (1996) and Namibia: The Struggle for Liberation (2007).

The film Nightjohn tells the story of a young girl, Sarny, as she comes of age on a slave plantation. The film is seen through her eyes and centers on her quest to become educated.

Nearly the same time ... [Read More]

By Charo R. Walker
BlackFood News Reporter

LAST week, The Bahamas National Youth Council held a Forum to discuss our concerns and most importantly, hear our solutions to the immigration matters of The Bahamas.

The Forum took place at the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture and many people - both young and old - were in attendance.

Panelists at the event included: Branville McCartney, Minister of State for Immigration, Mark Desmangles, representative from the Haitian-Bahamian Association, Alexandrio Morley, Attorney and BlackFood News Reporter, and Mr. Himland, a representative from the Hummingbird Association of Jamaica.

Mr. Desmangles provided those gathered with simple approaches to rectifying the immigration dilemma.

First, he stated that the citizenship process was too lengthy, sometimes taking up to five years. He added that this was especially true for Bahamians of Haitian parentage.

Desmangles also told the audience that the ... [Read More]

By Alexandrio Morley
BlackFood News Reporter

THE white-capitalist media machine portrays the average rapper as a loud mouth egoistical thug; wearing bling bling jewelry and rhyming about “hoes and weed.”

Marvin Colebroke aka Miff Marco is none of the above. As a matter of fact Miff he is quite the opposite. He’s quiet, polite and humble.

And if you never asked him, you would never know that he’s been doing music for ten years – or that he has travelled throughout the Caribbean and the United States performing on many different stages including, FamFest, HipHop Fest, and Youth Alive.

The truth is that Miff Marco has been one of the shining stars on the gospel hip-hop scene for some time now. He’s already been nominated for four Marlin awards.

The Bahamian Gospel Music Marlin Awards is a locally based awards ceremony designed to honor outstanding achievements in Bahamian gospel music. In 2000 the awards ceremony expanded to include the entire Cari... [Read More]

By Charo R. Walker
BlackFood News Reporter

SISTAHS, how many times have you had to ask someone to hook your necklace or bracelet? Too many to count, right.

Well, you’ll be pleased to know that Jemia Taylor, the creative force behind Aimej Creations, has come up with charming solutions to our daily dressing woes.

Her remedy is to use magnetized clasps on jewelry pieces. And if you think that magnets are not strong enough to withstand daily wear and tear, then think again. Jemia’s pieces pull apart readily while also being amazingly secure.

The idea to use magnets as clasps came about as Jemia thought of ways to aid her parents, who suffer from arthritis and joint pains.

“[Magnetized hematite] helps in dispersing the electrical signals of pain sensations,” Jemia told BlackFood. In fact, many people hold that magnets relieve arthritis, joint pains, cramps, and mus... [Read More]

By Jordache Josey
BlackFood Feature Writer

Motherf**k, your eyes are like snow flakes,

Your face is like sprinkles,

Your skin is soft like the rainbow,

I can’t tell you to stop being the s**t.

Just as I can’t tell the moon to stop lighting the sea.

You’re the two loaves and the fish,
and I’m the five thousand.

Doing any and everything for you,
And being it too.

Crazy enough to be in love with you.
Sane enough to still want to be with crazy you.

You’re my world.

I can’t take life without you.

Tell me what to do cuz I love you,
Please love me back.♦bf

©Jordache Josey

About Jordach Shannadore Josey: I’m a motherless child, so good at being a fatherless child. I’m still somebody’s child, pray for me!
 ... [Read More]

... [Read More]

By Charo R. Walker
BlackFood News Reporter

BLACKFOOD recently spoke with Nikita Stuart, a young Bahamian farmer, whose efforts may assist in taking us back to our culture of farming; a culture that has the potential to heal us from our many diseases and provide us with food security and economic stability.

At just 21, Nikita operates his own greenhouse in the backyard of his family home in the Emerald Gardens subdivision.

He began farming at the age of seven while enrolled at Hopedale and was actively involved in the growing of thyme, sweet peppers, basil, rosemary, cabbages and onions.

He was taught how to plant seeds, as well as how to fertilize, soil, and water plants.

After graduating Hopedale he decided to continue his love affair with farming by growing vegetables based on the techniques that he had gained knowledge of as a student.

He has since enha... [Read More]

By Alexandrio Morley
BlackFood News Reporter

“Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery;
None but ourselves can free our minds.
Have no fear for atomic energy,
cause none of them can stop the time.
How long shall they kill our prophets,
While we stand aside and look? ooh!
Some say its just a part of it:
Weve got to fulfill de book.”

(Bob Marley “Redemption Song” 1979)

BEFORE Bob Marley sang the above words a fiery black preacher – in October 1937 - told a group of his followers in Nova Scotia that: “We are going to emancipate ourselves from mental slavery because whilst others might free the body, none but ourselves can free the mind. Mind is your only ruler, sovereign. The man who is not able to develop and use his mind is bound to be the slave of the other man who uses his mind….”

That black preacher was Marcus Mosiah Garvey. A few years later, on June 10th 1940, Garvey died. He died the greatest advocate of black power in his time and in our time, and no black leader has yet to organize blacks worldwide like he did.

But... [Read More]