White Cop, Bad Cop – Racial Tension Following the Grand Jury Decision in both the Eric Garner and Michael Brown Case

Protestor Boss Bastain of St. Louis locks arms with others as they confront Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers in front of the Ferguson police station on Monday, Aug. 11, 2014. Marchers are entering a third day of protests against Sunday’s police shooting of Michael Brown. (AP Photo/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Robert Cohen)

Emotions are raw as we bear evidence to police brutality and continued racial tensions in the United States. For decades we have understood that racism is real and it is a threat to our society. This year we have had a number of incidents that have brought the issue of racial profiling to the forefront of everyday dialogue. In guiding this discourse I believe the media plays a very important role which at times seem destructive.

Behind the Scenes with Willy Chin – Jamaican Entertainer and member of Black Chiney Sound System

Willy Chin in the studio. He currently owns and operates C-Lab Studios.

A fixture in the international dancehall and reggae music scene, Willy Chin has been at the turntable for over a decade. Having started his career as a deejay with the popular sound system group Black Chiney. Born Warren Hoo to Jamaican parents of Asian decent, Willy Chin has always been surrounded by music. His cousin is grammy-award winning record producer Dwayne “Supa Dups” Chin-Quee who is the founding member of Black Chiney.

Turning Adversity into Success – A Student’s Journey to Medical School

Growing up everyone can remember playing make believe, we found any inanimate object we had and created a world around it. Once I turned my backyard into an olympic stadium. The trees became people, and the grass became the track on which

A Life Well Lived

I have faced many obstacles in my life. Obstacles that took both emotional and physical strength to overcome, yet the most challenging obstacle of all is learning to accept that death is a reality of life. It is a lesson I have tried to understand time and time again, but the answer continues to evade me. The truth is that life is filled with complexities that we may never truly grasp, like poverty in a world of rich resources, or why an all powerful God would allow humanity to endure pain and suffering, sickness and death.

College Student Committed to Motivating Others

The youth of our generation holds the key to what the future of our world will look like. In today’s society, the older generations often view the youth negatively. To many, the young are those too engulfed with their youth that they fail to understand the ramifications of their actions, good or bad. Working in academia it is always encouraging when I come across students who not only value their collegiate experience, but also those who have a strong desire to excel in all endeavors. I have always been interested in learning about what motivates others to excel. I have come to learn that each person has a story, everyone reaches a point in their life where their struggles and their success’ merge to form their belief and value system regarding the future .

Jamaican Broadcaster Salutes Hitler on Live Television

Veteran Jamaican broadcaster Rohan Daley on Sunday, July 13th, 2014 saluted Hitler by uttering the phrase “Heil Hitler” in celebration of Germany securing the 2014 World Cup title. It was inconceivable to think that a broadcaster would have uttered such a phrase on national television. In so doing, Mr. Daley single handedly tainted what had otherwise been perceived as superb coverage of the games by CVM television.

Miss Jamaica World Stirs Racial Debate

On Saturday, July 12, 2014 Laurie-Ann Chin was crowned the 2014 Miss Jamaica World, and almost immediately there were some Jamaicans who voiced their dissatisfaction with the winner of the pageant. Although I did not view the pageant, I gathered from the vitriol posted online that the dissatisfaction stemmed not from how Laurie-Ann Chin conducted herself in the pageant, but rather her perceived ethnicity. A few seem dissatisfied that a contestant with a darker complexion was not chosen.

A Letter to Mom and Dad

My parents are my biggest heroes, and while it may sound cliche, it is not meant to be. I am unable to identify a single individual who can compare to my parents regarding the sacrifices they have made just so that I may be able to realize my own dreams. I use to take the love of my parents for granted, but I learned quickly that while I had the comfort of a loving home and caring family, it was not the norm for many individuals.

In Memory of Norma Rivera

This post is dedicated to my late aunt, Norma Rivera. The post is a written copy of a tribute I gave at her memorial service. Included within the tribute are excerpts from a previous blog post (It’s a Matter of Life and Death).

In Memory of Aunt Norma
Tribute given on: April 16, 2014

No amount of emotional preparation can prepare you for a moment such as this. A moment we all know we will confront at some point in our lives, the moment of our final earthly goodbye to a close friend or family member.