MECA Streaming and Podcast Network

This episode discusses the historical importance of coconuts to Jamaica's economy, culture, and industries, and the decline of the industry due to the lethal yellowing disease.

This episode outlines the historical progression of Jamaica, discussing how the Spanish settlement at Seville eventually moved to Spanish Town due to uncontrollable mosquitoes and how the English later moved the capital to Kingston in 1872 for a better harbor, with Kingston originally named Colonel Barry's Hog Crawl. A major shift in the Jamaican economy from tobacco to sugarcane led to the slave trade and introduced a high-salt, high-sugar diet, which, despite later changes in food habits and the rise of the banana industry, contributed to prevalent modern health issues like diabetes and hypertension, which some argue should be addressed in reparations.

The speaker discusses Jamaica's seven National Heroes, noting that the history of these individuals is, in a nucleus, the history of Jamaica. The seven heroes are Nanny, Sam Sharpe, George William Gordon, Paul Bogle, Marcus Garvey, Alexander Bustamante, and Norman Washington Manley.

This episode details the state of Jamaica around the time of independence in 1962, noting that 80% of the population was illiterate, most children went barefoot even to school, and the majority of people lacked basic infrastructure like running water and electricity. Over the following decades, significant improvements were made, including better roads, housing, and the implementation of a national literacy program known as JAMAL, showing how far the independent country has progressed

This episode talks about the Jamaica Welfare, later known as the Social Development Commission, was founded in 1937 by Norman Manley to improve community life in rural areas, following the destruction of the banana industry by disease, which caused workers to migrate to the cities. Originally financed by the United Fruit Company, Jamaica Welfare served as a blueprint for the country's development programs, promoting literacy, self-help housing, cooperative businesses, and preserving Jamaican folk culture, including employing Louise Bennett.

This episode discusses Jamaica's seven National Heroes, explaining that knowing their roles reveals the history of the country. The speaker summarizes the lives and contributions of Nanny of the Maroons, Sam Sharpe, Paul Bogle, George William Gordon, Marcus Garvey, Alexander Bustamante, and Norman Washington Manley.

The host interviews Lami Cooper, a Jamaican Canadian from Toronto and a "hyper creative" writer, director, and aspiring actress, about her successful effort to coordinate the 25th-anniversary celebration of the film Dancehall Queen in Jamaica, which included a screening, afterparty, and academic symposium. Lami Cooper discusses the strong Jamaican culture in Toronto, the challenges of working on her two short films during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how the lockdown inspired her to return to her passion for music and writing songs, which she plans to release under the name Lami.

Jade Lee, the guest on the podcast, is a "proud bowl" Taurus who the host, Rosie, met after moving to Linstead, St. Catherine, about 22 years ago. Jade Lee was born in Kingston but moved to a farm in Linstead before turning ten, which was a challenging transition from the "big city" but which she now considers a "blessing".

Bertina Macauley, an actress, IT developer, and business person from Sierra Leone, West Africa, discusses her move to Jamaica nearly 40 years ago and the cultural similarities, noting she was shocked by the number of Black people outside of Africa. She recounts a "dramatic moment" from her youth: being engaged at 19 to an alcoholic whose verbal abuse and torment peaked the night of their engagement party, which she admits her "actor's curse" led her to assess for "material". Macauley shares her belief that each stage of life is a "new beginning" and a willingness to love freely after being jaded by past relationships, though she remains single, noting she has been proposed to multiple times, including one man who insisted she get rid of her dogs. She also describes her decision to become a mother at 37 after reading a Time Magazine article on declining fertility after age 35, despite having had a miscarriage in her late twenties

In this episode of Sister Speak, the host welcomes her long-time friend Millicent Lynch, an actress, dancer, teacher, and former Executive Manager for Marketing at Cable & Wireless (C&W). They reminisce about their days as acting students at the Jamaica School of Drama, where they first met and performed as "two prostitutes" in the Black American play The Wine Sellers.