Let them smell their ‘flowers’
Promoter echoes call to honour reggae stalwarts before they pass on
Dr B, promoter of an annual awards ceremony in New York, is urging Jamaicans to honour reggae’s stalwarts before they die. He said too many pioneers have passed on without any recognition from their country.
The Kingston-born pan-African is founder of the DARC Foundation, which honours black people who have contributed significantly to music, the arts, sports, and their community.
“We should give these people their flowers, an’ mek dem smell these flowers before they die. Too many of our artistes an’ musicians are honoured in eulogies, an’ dat’s not right,” said Dr B in an interview with the Jamaica Observer.
The annual national honours and awards has been consistently criticised for indifference towards some individuals who played pivotal roles in the development of Jamaican music. Several artistes and producers, including Dennis Brown and Duke Reid, have been honoured posthumously by the Jamaican Government.
There were 10 recipients of the DARC Foundation’s last annual Ethiophile Banquet and RasTafari Meritorious Awards. They include singer Marcia Griffiths; guitarist Earl “Chinna” Smith; David Hinds, lead singer and guitarist of reggae band Steel Pulse; Ras Michael of Ras Michael and The Sons of Negus; and sound system operator/broadcaster Garfield “Chin” Bourne.
Completing the list of honorees were Thomas Sankara, former prime minister of Burkina Faso, who was killed in 1987; Daughter Dean, a Rastafarian elder; Dr Yvette Morgan, an educator and member of the Morgan Heritage family; philanthropist Andre McDonnell; and marijuana advocate President Scherill Murray-Powell.
“When we started out we honoured Rastafarians, but over the years we have expanded to include [American] athletes like John Carlos and Bob Beamon who were revolutionaries in their own right,” said Dr B.
Originally from Vineyard Town in eastern Kingston, Dr B first staged a ceremony honouring Rastafarians in Brooklyn, New York, in 1994. That event recognised the achievements of Sam Brown, a key figure in the Rastafarian Movement and reggae legend Burning Spear.
