A Tribute to Rev. Dr. Lieutenant Stitchie (Cleveland "Cleve" Laing) Delivered by Chief Fabian Stennett, Furry Town Maroons Tonight the drums of Jamaica are muffled, and the hills that raised him hold their breath. From Spanish Town he came, a teacher with chalk on his hands and rhythm in his bones. He taught biology by day, and by night he taught the whole island how to laugh. In 1986 "Wear Yuh Size" rang out like a bell, and "Natty Dread" climbed and stayed atop the charts for fourteen weeks. They called him The Governor, and the yard crowned him gladly. He stepped onto the world's stage with a major label behind him, and he never left the people who made him. He carried our voice across the water, wit sharp as a machete and joy wide as the Caribbean Sea. Then came the road, the crash in 1997, and the turning of a heart. Like the Maroons who left the plantation for the mountains and found freedom there, he left one way of life and climbed toward anot...
AN OPEN LETTER TO HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF JAMAICA His Excellency the Most Hon. Sir Patrick Allen, ON, GCMG, CD, K St J Governor-General of Jamaica King's House Kingston August 22, 2026 RE: URGENT APPEAL ON BEHALF OF THE DISPLACED CITIZENS OF COOPER'S PEN, TRELAWNY — ENFORCEMENT OF INDIGENOUS AND HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTIONS UNDER ILO CONVENTION 169 AND THE UNITED NATIONS CHARTER Your Excellency, We write to you as the citizens of Cooper's Pen, Trelawny, whose homes were recently demolished, together with the Maroon leadership of Furry Town who stand with us in this appeal. We come to Your Excellency not out of disrespect for the institutions of the State, but out of trust that the Office of the Governor-General still stands as a guardian of the rights and dignity of every Jamaican — including those of us descended from the Maroon and indigenous peoples who have occupied and defended these lands for generations. The Harm Done In recent days, bulldozers moved thro...