Black Queen salutes Garvey

St Ann-based reggae singer Black Queen impressed the large gathering with a powerful performance at the Marcus Garvey Celebration held last week in Ocho Rios in the parish.

With flag-waving dancers in tow and dressed in a flowing yellow African print dress, she used every square inch of the stage as she pranced all over the stage chanting 'Africa'.

"Africa, we de ya, tell dem we de ya ... from yu black, yu a African," she chanted, while horns and vuvuzelas blared. Then she pulled up the rhythm to bless up the audience .

"Good night, ladies and gentlemen, we are coming from so far, we have been through so much so we should realise that we are powerful and we should know we should love ourselves," she said to appreciative cheers. She then performed her most popular song, Black N Proud, and closed her set with Conqueror.

Held annually, the Marcus Garvey Celebration is a free event that aims to educate, uplift, and inspire through the arts.

"The teachings of Marcus Garvey are especially important now because of general hopelessness and the high crime rate. People are suffering and we need to cleave to the teachings and philosophy of Marcus Garvey to get through," Black Queen said.

TRIBUTE

The event also featured tribute performances from the likes of Warrior King, Bushman, Chezidek, Yaksta, Anthony Cruz, Nesbeth and Little Hero. There were also performances from Ras Ivie and the Nyabinghi Drummers, and the Moore Town Maroon Cultural Group.

Born in St Ann, Garvey advanced a pan-African philosophy that inspired a movement known as Garveyism. He died in London in 1940 at age 52, and his body was exhumed and returned to Jamaica in November 1964. Five years later, he was named Jamaica's first national hero.