In September 2025, Errald Miller confirmed publicly that his wife is living with dementia, a condition that gradually affects memory, communication, and reasoning. Though she has not reached the most debilitating stages, the illness has changed her daily life. Miller, deeply emotional, declared that his only purpose now is caring for her. Here we speak about her legacy and impact.
The story of the Jamaican Maroons begins in the mountains, where freedom was carved from resistance. The Maroons were Africans who escaped slavery and established independent communities in Jamaica’s rugged interior. Their roots trace back to the island’s earliest colonial period, when Spain controlled Jamaica from 1493 to 1655. Enslaved Africans brought by the Spanish often fled to the hills, forming some of the first “refugee” communities of free blacks.
Jamaica, affectionately called Xaymaca by the island’s first inhabitants—the Taino—means “Land of Wood and Water.” Few places in the Caribbean embody this name as powerfully as Jamaica, with over 120 rivers flowing through its valleys, cascading down its mountains, and weaving into the daily lives, heritage, and identity of its people. From the north coast’s rafting havens to the south’s hidden freshwater gems, rivers in Jamaica are not merely natural resources—they are lifelines, witnesses to rebellion, channels of commerce, and gateways to adventure.
In a historic move set to redefine Jamaica’s urban and economic landscape, Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness has unveiled a groundbreaking initiative — the creation of Jamaica’s third city — to be purposefully built in the parish of St. Elizabeth. This transformative project, revealed during the grand opening of KFC Black River on July 26, 2025, signals a new chapter in national development and promises to shift the axis of progress to the island’s often-overlooked south coast.
Jamaica is often praised for its national motto: Out of Many, One People. This phrase doesn’t merely echo patriotic sentiment — it encapsulates the nation’s deep and complex multicultural identity. As of 2024, Jamaica’s demographic makeup is approximately 76.3% of African descent, 15.1% Afro-European (mixed), 3.4% East Indian and Afro-East Indian, 3.2% Caucasian (White), 1.2% Chinese, and 0.8% Other. Among these groups, Indo-Jamaicans — descendants of Indian indentured labourers and later migrants — represent the largest ethnic minority in the country, critical in Jamaican culture.
Among the many powerful and world-shaping stories in the African diaspora, few have fused prophecy, kingship, resistance, and faith quite like the spiritual connection between Haile Selassie I, Marcus Garvey, and the birth of Rastafarianism.
Rooted in the Black struggle for identity, dignity, and liberation, this story stretches from the hills of Jamaica to the highlands of Ethiopia—linking ancient royal lineage to modern political resistance, and transforming how generations of Africans and their descendants see themselves and their Creator.
This is not just the tale of a man becoming king. It is the spiritual awakening of a people—a movement that redefined God, Africa, and destiny through Black eyes and Black voices.
In the 19th century, a man of mixed heritage defied the odds, amassed a fortune from the rugged frontiers of South America, and etched his name in Jamaica’s history. That man was George Stiebel (c.1821–1896) — a trader, investor, and visionary entrepreneur, remembered today as Jamaica’s first Black millionaire. But behind the wealth lies a layered story of privilege, resilience, ambition, and legacy — one that still captivates Jamaicans and historians alike.
The majority of Jamaicans are descendants of Africans forcibly brought to the island between the 17th and 19th centuries during the transatlantic slave trade. Although European slave traders grouped them as “Africans,” these men, women, and children came from a range of distinct ethnic groups, nations, and cultures across West and Central Africa. The largest contributions came from the Gold Coast (modern-day Ghana), the Bight of Biafra (primarily Nigeria), and West-Central Africa (especially Congo and Angola regions).
Jamaica’s African heritage is not accidental—it is the result of centuries of calculated, systemic exploitation known as the transatlantic slave trade. This wasn’t a tragedy that “just happened.” It was a deliberate global enterprise, engineered by powerful economic and political forces, and supported by local African collaborators, European elites, and colonial administrators alike.
To understand why enslaved Africans were brought to Jamaica and who allowed it to happen, we must pull back the curtain on a vast, brutal machinery that turned human lives into currency, empires into superpowers, and Africa into a bleeding continent.
Long before Jamaica gained independence in 1962, freedom was already being carved into the island’s mountainous heart by self-liberated Africans who refused to bow to colonial chains. At the forefront of this fierce resistance stood Captain Cudjoe — a warrior, strategist, and the legendary leader of the Leeward Maroons. His legacy is one of defiance, diplomacy, and deep ancestral pride. Known also as Codjoe, Cudjo, or Kojo (an Akan name given to boys born on Monday), this Jamaican hero helped shape a unique chapter in Caribbean history — one written not by colonial rulers but by the blood, courage, and determination of a free African people.
