CELEBRATING human achievement is one of the most pleasurable aspects of our job at this newspaper. Our pride grows tenfold when the individuals we have the privilege of saluting are Jamaicans or who have Jamaican heritage.

Last week we had that joy as we reported on the latest accomplishment of Ms Sheryl Lee Ralph, the daughter of late Jamaican fashion pioneer Mrs Ivy Ralph and American college professor Mr Stanley Ralph.

Ms Ralph learnt last week Monday that she is among a new group of entertainment professionals selected to receive stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

According to the Walk of Fame Selection Panel, the honorees were chosen from among hundreds of nominations at a meeting held on June 16, 2023 and ratified by the Hollywood Chamber’s board of directors on June 21, 2023.

“The selection committee, which is made up of fellow Walk of Famers, carefully hand-picks a group of honorees each year that represent various genres of the entertainment world,” Walk of Fame Selection Panel chair Ms Ellen K was reported as saying.

Ms Ralph, of course, was taken by surprise, and after admitting her initial reaction to the news stated, in true Jamaican fashion: “This reminds me of what my grandmother used say, ‘What is fi yuh, cyaan be un-fi yuh.’ “

For readers unfamiliar with Jamaican culture it really means, ‘What is meant to be yours, will be yours.’

That is an accurate commentary on Ms Ralph’s life in the performing arts, which started in the early 1970s when she starred in the American film A Piece of the Action directed by Sidney Poitier.

Since then she has, through dint of hard work, dedication, and immense talent, compiled an impressive, award-winning body of work in film, stage and television that can stand with some of the best in show business.

We recall well last September when, at age 66, Ms Ralph won the Emmy Award for best supporting actress in a comedy series for her role as kindergarten teacher Barbara Howard in Abbott Elementary.

The fact that the award came from her first-ever nomination made the accomplishment even more meaningful, and she justly accepted the statuette with relish combined with motivational advice to her fellow human beings to never give up on their dreams — regardless of how long it takes to achieve them.

That counsel, we hold, could not have come from a better source because Ms Ralph’s career is an example of what is possible when we refuse to underestimate the power of dreams.

Since that Emmy achievement Ms Ralph was, last October, invested with the Order of Jamaica, the nation’s fifth-highest honour, for her sterling contribution to the international film industry.

In February this year she performed at the NFL Super Bowl finals, giving a rousing rendition of Lift Every Voice And Sing, the song used as a rallying cry during the US civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s and which is often referred to as the “black national anthem”.

Three months later Ms Ralph, who is also well known for her social activism, was conferred with an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from her alma mater, Rutgers University where she created history in 1972 as the youngest graduate at age 19.

Throughout her exemplary career Ms Ralph has never forgotten her Jamaican roots and spares no effort to promote this country. She justly deserves all the accolades bestowed upon her, and we extend our heartiest congratulations to her.