THE PJ PATTERSON CENTRE FOR AFRICA CARIBBEAN ADVOCACY JOINS THE CRUSADE GARVEY POSTHUMOUS EXONERATION As we join in the observation of Martin Luther King Day, The P.J. Patterson Centre for Africa Caribbean Advocacy adds its voice to the call once again for the posthumous exoneration of the Rt Honourable Marcus Garvey. No one has devoted more of his life to the fight for freedom from the scourge of racism or written with greater clarity to inspire those who seek no more than the right for the...
In Defense of Democracy in the US and the Caribbean Ambassador Curtis A. Ward (06 January 2022) – I begin with the premise, if American democracy fails, so will democracy in the Caribbean and elsewhere in the world. I have been writing about the threats to democracy for quite some time. Earlier on in my life’s experiences, perhaps I was somewhat naive to believe democracy which represents the will of the people cannot fail. Never before now have I experienced the level of fragility of...
Biden Administration and US Congress failing on Domestic Terrorism Ambassador Curtis A. Ward (05 January 2022) –A year after the violent attack on the US Capitol by white violent extremists – domestic terrorists, no change has been made in the U.S. Criminal Code to provide the investigative and prosecutorial legal framework needed to deal with the domestic terrorism scourge in America. Prosecuting individuals who participated in the violent attack under the Criminal Code without the...
The 1619 Project and the Caribbean experience Ambassador Curtis A. Ward (29 December 2021) –The day after Christmas 2021, I started reading the book, “The 1619 Project” created by Nicole Hannah-Jones and The New York Times Magazine. My daughter included the book among the gifts I received. I was completely blown away by reading the Preface, even before getting into the depths of the chapters. I love history, but this was a new experience which exploded my intellectual curiosity beyond...
Democracy Must Deliver Human Security Ambassador Curtis A. Ward (23 December 2021) — I, among others, enthusiastically promote democratic ideals as the best option, the only way to guarantee the rights and freedoms to which all peoples of the world are entitled. I regard these rights and freedoms to be nonnegotiable, and the governments we elect must be focused on delivering on these expectations. They are given the opportunity to govern in order to fulfill these basic, but critically...
Assault on Democracy and America’s Response Ambassador Curtis A. Ward (17 December 2021)—Whether planned as an insurrection, a terrorist attack on the U.S. Congress, a conspiracy to engage in a coup to overturn a legitimate election, the unprecedented January 6, 2021, events were an assault on democracy. Not just on American democracy but on global democracy. The lame-duck American president Donald Trump and his sycophants needed no Russian autocrat to help them. The Russians could not have...
PJ Patterson warns of the G20 running the world at the detriment of Africa and the Caribbean Ambassador Curtis A. Ward (14 November 2021) — Former Jamaican Prime Minister P. J. Patterson, during a wide-ranging interview on CaribNation TV to discuss the PJ Patterson Centre for Africa-Caribbean Advocacy, issued an ominous warning about the role of the G20 making decisions that determine the fate of developing countries without full participation in their discussions by representatives of...
We didn’t have to Claim General Colin Powell, he Claimed us (In Memoriam) Ambassador Curtis A. Ward (18 October 2021) — Many Jamaicans and Caribbean people in the diaspora, and also at home, tend to claim famous individuals of Caribbean descent as their own. We bask in their achievements. We didn’t have to claim General Colin Powell, he claimed us. He was proud of his Jamaican heritage. He wrote and spoke of his Jamaican and West Indian heritage, proudly.
COVID couldn’t stop us, and it won’t Ambassador Curtis A. Ward (14 October 2021) — Despite the novel coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) a little-known Jamaican diaspora charitable organization, Partners of Good Shepherd Jamaica (POGS) continued to raise funds under extremely difficult circumstances to support three charities in Jamaica. With a three-member board and a core group of dedicated committee members, though having to cancel its annual signature fundraising events in 2020 and...
Suffering within America’s Third Border and in its “Backyard” Ambassador Curtis A. Ward (01 October 2021) — It is difficult, perhaps imprudent, to point accusatory fingers at all those who bear some level of culpability and responsibility for the suffering of the people of Haiti without being accused of bias, or of pursuing an anti-‘whomever’ campaign. I choose instead to focus on those with the power to ameliorate the suffering and deprivation which is a perpetual Haitian...
