Black History Month in Florida Includes Miss Lou Reading Festival

Jamaicans in South Florida in the United States of America,will celebrate the life and legacy of the late cultural icon, Louise Bennett-Coverley O.J., with the staging of the second annual Louise Bennett-Coverley Reading Festival on Sunday, February 1, at the South Regional Broward Community College Library in Pembroke Pines starting at 1.30 p.m.
Titled “Defining Miss Lou and Her Impact on Jamaicans”, the festival forms part of the Broward County Library Division’s Black History Month activities in February.
It will feature discussions on issues such as: “Miss Lou and Pantomime”; “The Evolution of Jamaican Patois”; “The Impact of Louise Bennett-Coverley on the 60’s Generation”; and “Out of Many, One People.”
Panellists for the discussions will include playwright/journalist, Mrs. Barbara Gloudon; author and poet, the Rev. Easton Lee; and educators, Dr. Susan Davis and Dr. Hyacinth McBean. The moderator will be Dr. Marcia Magnus of Florida International University (FIU).
The event will also feature Jamaican talents based in South Florida, including the Jamaica Folk Revue, the Tallawah Mento Band, Jean Powell’s Labrish and poet Sophia Nicholson.
According to library branch manager, Ms. Valrie Simpson, the institution continues to honour world renown figures for their outstanding contributions to international development. One such person, she pointed out, was the late Jamaican cultural ambassador.
Miss Lou died on July 26, 2006, in Toronto, Canada, where she had resided for more than a decade. She was 86 years old. The event is free to the public.