VANESSA CLARKE PLEADS HER CASE
(EDITOR’S NOTE: When I read this feature that was published in the Nassau Guardian on Thursday, December 6, 2018, I immediately decide that I had to repost it in BAHAMAS CHRONICLE. As I noted in response to a post about it on Facebook, Vanessa Clarke is one of the very gifted and talented young journalists I had the pleasure of working with when I was Managing Editor of The Guardian in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and I am extremely proud of her accomplishments as a journalist and a remarkable singer. So, it is a pleasure to share this article with the many followers of BAHAMAS CHRONICLE across the United States, Great Britain and, of course, The Bahamas and the wider Caribbean.)
NASSAU, Bahamas — Two days before she left Grand Bahama to record her new single, Vanessa Clarke slipped and fell. As she fell, she screamed, “No, no, no!” The only thing on her mind was being able to get on the plane to New Providence to record her song. She would not let an injured leg stop her. So, she donned a knee brace rather than visit the hospital; at the airport, she asked for wheelchair service; and when she got to the studio, she asked for a chair to sit in while she sang. The only problem she encountered, the notes she wanted would not come out.
She was pushed to near tears as she thought about not being able to complete the work that she knew the Lord had for her. She had already dedicated the entire week to completing the project in New Providence. She thought about having to return to Grand Bahama without getting anything done. When depression could have set in, resilience kicked its way in instead.
She recalled saying to herself, “I will just have [to] stand up and bear the pain. I am not going home until this is done.”
She said her producers, Junior Scott and Frederick Seymour, showed no mercy as they endeavored to make the song one of their brilliant works.
Clarke said on that first day she stood for hours, with pain in her legs to belt the powerful, anointed and beautiful, “Plead My Cause (Psalm 35)”. Ironically, it’s a prayer song that invokes the presence of God, the healing of God and an open invitation to experience the power of God.
“It’s a simple song … but yet so powerful,” said Clarke who is also known as the ‘Divine Lady’, and is the host of the Morning Glory Show on the Light 810 am at ZNS Northern Service in Grand Bahama.
“There are times when things get so rough that you don’t know the words to say when you pray – but you can just say simply, Lord, plead my cause. We need your healing. We want to feel you power. Pour out your spirit.”
Clarke said people just need to listen, as wherever his spirit is, the atmosphere is going to change, and their situation would experience his power.
“You will see God work things out in the supernatural that you’ve been trying to fight by yourself,” she said.
The song was inspired by the scripture Psalm 35 which indicates that God is the avenger of his people. It also features one of the country’s most anointed and premiere gospel groups, Shaback – whose crisp, clean, harmonies saturate the song with power.
The psalm says, “Plead my cause, O Lord, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me. Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for mine help. Draw out also the spear, and stop the way against them that persecute me: say unto my soul, I am thy salvation.”
Clarke said the premise here is that as a child of God, you are already in a war, however, you have the authority to fight back by inviting God into the ring. She said it’s a tag team through prayer, fasting and faith.
“I know that there are many Christians out there who are going through a Daniel experience. Out of all the good that you’re doing, people look at your good and try to find something that will destroy you, your reputation and your favour – but you’re only praying in the window like Daniel. Well, let’s make praying in the window against the law, then,” she said sarcastically.
She said Psalm 35 is an important read when it comes to scripture. She said that beckons the Lord to fight on your behalf, and as believers, people ought to know that they are never in a war.
“We have modern day Daniels living amongst us today. There are just some folks who are out there just to get you because you’re you and because of your anointing. You did nothing wrong. But they just keep beating you down because the anointing on your life is too heavy. They can’t stand the light. I always say, if my light is too bright, then put on some shades. We are commanded to let our light so shine before men so that the Father would be glorified. There is nothing that can put out God’s light. They can try, but they can’t put that out. Jealousy is a serious thing,” she said.
“As believers, it’s not always going to be a bed of roses all the time. We are in a war but this is one war, we don’t have to fight. This Psalm deems God our avenger – the one who will vindicate you and protect you, and won’t let the enemy get the best of you. And all you have to say is plead my cause,” she said.
Clarke said the message is clear and that prayer still changes things.
“Prayer is still a lifeline. Prayer still works. God wants us to bring everything that troubles us to Him,” she said. “It could be issues on the job, issues in your homes, health problems, financial problems … He wants us to know that the line of communication is always open. And He is the right one to talk to. He is the right one to give our business to. He is the only one who can fix the issue and fix it for good. So plead your cause before the Lord and trust in the Lord to deliver you. Go and read Psalm 35 and pray.”
Plead My Cause ( Psalm 35) can be found on major digital sites like iTunes, CDbaby, Tidal, Spotify and more.
HARRIET TUBMAN: THE CHOSEN ONE – GWENDOLYN BRILEY-STRAND
By ELISABETH ANN BROWN
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Many people know the name Harriet Tubman, but how many of us really know the story of this brave woman who saved so many lives at great risk to her own? Thanks to the wonderful talents of award-winning actress Gwendolyn Briley-Strand, thousands are now learning Harriet’s amazing story. Ms. Briley-Strand travels around the country with her one-woman show, and has performed it over one thousand times.
On Sunday June 24, 2018, the community of Southwest DC was invited to the Westminster Presbyterian Church at 400 I Street SW, Washington DC, 20024 at 3:30 pm to see her performance. The event was hosted by the Southwest Neighborhood Association (SWNA) Education and Scholarship Task Force as a benefit to raise funds for the Scholarships for SW Youth. It was also an opportunity for the students of Amidon-Bowen Elementary School to showcase their talents and learn more about the history of the community and the role Anthony Bowen played in helping slaves get to freedom.
The event was chaired by Thelma D. Jones of Thelma D. Jones Breast Cancer Fund, who gave the acknowledgements and closing remarks after the play. Before the performance began, there were opening remarks by the Mistress of Ceremonies, Ms. Bonita V. White, who also introduced the Chairwoman of SWNA ESTF, Ms. Vyllorya Evans, and Treasurer Joe Paul. There followed a brief video presentation by the children of Amidon-Bowen Elementary School in which they performed a little piece about Anthony Bowen, and then David Smith of the Pearl Coalition spoke about the project to build the Spirit of the Pearl schooner. The Pearl dates back to 1848, and the project to reconstruct it, which is being done by youth and volunteers, is also recognized by the District of Columbia City Council. More information on the Pearl Coalition can be found at their web site http://pearlcoalition.org/
Remarks were then given by a very special guest, Ernestine (Tina) Martin Wyatt, the great-great-great grandniece of Harriet Tubman. Ms. Wyatt, an artist who lives in Washington DC, has also been an activist for Civil Rights and promoting the memory of her Aunt Harriet.
Then came the performance by Gwendolyn Briley-Strand. For me, this was my first experience of a one-woman show. I wasn’t sure what to expect or how one person would convey so much about the person they were portraying. I very quickly realized that Ms. Briley-Strand is an extremely talented and professional actress, as her portrayal of Harriet Tubman from a young girl to a brave young woman unfolded. She used very simple props — such as a shawl, a hat, a pipe – and yet was able to change characters in the blink of an eye. Over the next forty-five minutes, Ms. Briley-Strand took her audience from Harriet Tubman’s youth as a young slave on the Brodas plantation to the time when she was 14 and was hit in the head by an overseer, an injury that caused her to have periods of excessive sleepiness and dizziness. Harriet also experienced visions, which as a devout Christian she attributed to God. As a young girl she had endured beatings and was rented out at the age of six. She was so familiar with the cries of slave men and women being whipped, and by 1849 she had made up her mind that she wanted freedom, not just for herself but for as many of her fellow slaves as she could help.
As the audience was taken through the life of Harriet Tubman, I felt that we were not watching an actress, but that she was totally transformed into her character. The performance was absolutely riveting. We learned the code of the Underground Railroad, felt the fear of the runaway Harriet, the pain of the overseer’s whip, the yearning to be free. After seeing her own sisters sold to the chain gang, Harriet Tubman decided to trust in God and ran away. After she gained her freedom through the help of those who ran the Underground Railroad, she became determined to dedicate her life to helping ‘pieces of human property’ make it to Canada. She made 19 trips over 10 years, helping over 300 slaves escape to freedom, and became known as the ‘Moses of her people’.
Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad is one of the most important stories of the pre-Civil War era, beautifully told in the performance of Gwendolyn Briley-Strand. Harriet risked everything, her freedom, her own life, to help others escape the tyranny of slavery. She worked alongside many brave men and women who worked together in absolute secrecy. Harriet Tubman was born in 1820 in Dorchester County, Maryland. She died in 1913, one of the most heroic women of her time.
Gwendolyn’s performance will really connect you to this amazing and courageous woman.
THE BENEFITS OF PUBLIC ART
By ELISABETH ANN BROWN
WASHINGTON DC — Public art is not a new concept. It has been around for many years and is a wonderful way to brighten up public space and raise funds for community projects. Purcellville, Louden County, Virginia, is a good example of how this works. Local businesses sponsor artists to paint park benches, planters and wooden wine barrels which are then placed around the town to be enjoyed by everyone. Later in the year the pieces are auctioned off and the funds are used to help pay for other projects such as the town’s Christmas decorations.
It also gives artists an opportunity to showcase their abilities and support themselves financially – bringing the community together to plan what to put on display – its relevance to the community, and how to use the art work to generate funds for much needed projects. For visitors, public art is another attraction – an experience for them to take away and remember the enjoyable time they spent in your community. Art is also important to our well being. It brings joy and impacts our social and mental well being. Just as we enjoy decorating our homes with paintings, photographs and ornaments, extending art displays to our outdoor environment will have tremendous benefits and instill pride into the community.
As well as the smaller pieces that could be auctioned off, murals and sculptures also have their place and function in our public spaces, bringing colour, design and texture to our visual experience. Large boring expanses of wall space become vivid canvases and can be used to depict local culture that will help visitors to learn more about us and really experience what we are about. Art should not just be displayed in galleries, but also put out there for everyone to see, to be encouraged by, to enjoy, and to participate in.
VANESSA CLARKE RELEASES NEW SINGLE: “LIKE THE DEW”
FREEPORT, Grand Bahama — Sometimes in life, you just have to start over. That’s exactly what multi-award-winning Bahamian gospel singer, author and journalist Vanessa Clarke had to do to launch the immensely beautiful “Like the Dew” Project.
Her sojourn to this point was heart-breaking, however, and there were times when she just wanted to give up.
“The only reason I did not give up was the fact that I knew the Lord gave me this project to do. All of the songs were inspired by Him and that is why I pushed so hard… I don’t care how good you are in this business, if you could not give me your best – even in your attitude, I had no problem starting over. And I did that in some cases without any regrets,” commented the ZNS radio personality, who is fondly known in the Grand Bahama community as Divine Lady.
“There is a spiritual component at work. I needed my producers to treat this project like anything that belonged to God. So I could not settle for mediocrity. This was a special mandate given to me by God to remind believers that He is always around… that they are never alone in battle – whatever the perplexities of life that seek to uproot and make them weary – He will make His presence known. He is there to give them strength and to make His presence felt in their situations,” Vanessa passionately shared.
“This song is about welcoming the presence of the Lord into your space to fight your battles in the supernatural realm, and thwart all of the enemy’s intentions regarding you. This is good news that should bring comfort to every believer. Daddy, is still in the fight and if He is still fighting, you can’t give up! I was ready to give up on this entire project but this song ministered to me and I knew I had to keep going. Now it’s done,” she beamed.
Vanessa explained that the song “Like the Dew” was not planned to be the first release from this project but it was God’s will, and she had to change producers and the song and take the project to Nassau.
“I sat on a plane… not knowing the producers at all. I had never met them. I had never been in their studio before . We were utter strangers. I had no reason to trust them,” she paused. “But I trusted God.”
“I got off from work one day, bought a ticket to Nassau at 1:45 p.m. and was on the plane the same day to Nassau. I said God, this is on You. I am here. I am on the plane. Whatever happens from here is on You.”
Like the Dew was produced by Junior Scott and Freddie Seymour, whom she said completed the work in approximately two months since being engaged.
“I could not believe it. That’s what I needed. They were who I needed,” Vanessa beamed!
On New Year’s Day, she launched the music single Like the Dew, which has already gained much acclaim and positive reviews from local and international radio DJs, as well as members of the public.
The project will include a women’s devotional bearing the same name and a full length CD with about 10 songs. Like the Dew, the devotional, will be her second book, as Vanessa released her first book, Ready for Repositioning in the summer of 2014 on Amazon.com. She recently released the Like the Dew music video on ZNS , but a global launch is also in the works.
Vanessa has dedicated the music project to the memory of her best friend and singing companion of over 20 years, Dedrie Hanna, who passed away in January, 2018. The Women’s devotional will be dedicated to her two beautiful and talented daughters, V’ajha and V’lori.
Like the Dew can be found on iTunes, Amazon.com, CD Baby, Spotify and all of the popular download sites.
Vanessa Clarke is celebrating her 20th year in the field of journalism – having worked in print and broadcast journalism. She has served as Lifestyles editor of The Nassau Guardian, Tribune News reporter, Grand Bahama correspondent for JCN News, Dove 103.7 radio personality and is also a freelance writer for the Bahamasair inflight magazine – Up and Away! She is currently the host of the very popular Morning Glory Show on the Light 810 am/ ZNS 3 in Grand Bahama.
Vanessa is also a very accomplished singer. She made history in The Bahamas as the winner of the Best Female Vocalist Award at the Bahamas Gospel Music Marlin Awards in 1996. She is a 4-time Caribbean Gospel Music Award winner and won the Cacique Award in 2005 with her musical colleagues from Da Fam. She was recently honoured at the Image Awards in Nassau for her 28 years in gospel music ministry.
Carbon Footprints in the Sand?
By ELISABETH ANN BROWN(published in thehummingbirdpapers.com)
I have just read a very interesting article on Smithsonian’s Smartnews by Jason Daley (at https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/) and Matt McGrath of the BBC about carbon emissions and how tourism is responsible for a fairly high percentage. There is a greater interest in so called Eco-tourism vacations nowadays, which is great for raising awareness about the environment but still has an impact on carbon emissions which affect climate change. Approximately 8% of carbon emissions worldwide come from tourism, according to a study done at the University of Sydney, Australia, by the Integrated Sustainability Analysis supply chain research group over a four year period from 2009-2013 and published in the journal Natural Climate Change.
The group used data from 160 countries and about 1 billion supply chains, and spent over a year studying it to produce their results. They examined the cost of travel, food and souvenir production, and found that wealthier countries where people could afford to choose high-end vacations, in particular the US and China, where they would opt for more luxurious air travel and activities, and more city oriented vacations with spa activities and fancy restaurants, accounted for the largest proportion of carbon emissions as opposed to less wealthy countries. Lower income people would be more likely to choose public transportation and spend less on meals and souvenirs.
The results concluded that the tourism industry emits 4.5 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide each year and that it is increasing at such a rate that by 2025 it will have reached 6.5 gigatonnes. As mentioned previously the US is one of the highest producers of carbon emissions as this relates to tourism, from both domestic and foreign travel. China also accounts for an increasing amount of global tourism. Small island nations also have much larger carbon footprints because of the distances involved in travelling to them and the fact that they are so dependent on tourism. This actually accounts for 30-80% of emissions from tourism.
So what can be done to reduce these carbon emissions? According to Rochelle Turner of the World Travel and Tourism Council in the Smithsonian article, there is a need to educate people about the impact that they have on travel destinations and how they can make lower-impact choices. “There is a real need for people to recognize what their impact is in a destination,” she says, “and how much water, waste and energy you should be using compared to the local population. All of this will empower tourists to make better decisions and only through those better decisions that we’ll be able to tackle the issue of climate change.”
Manfred Lentzen of the University of Sydney suggests that the use of carbon abatement credits can help to offset emissions. Travellers would purchase the credits which are then used to subsidize reforestation efforts, wind farms and infrastructure improvements. Some airlines already offer them, but they are voluntary and have not really caught on, so the thinking is now that they should be made mandatory.
WHAT CAUSE SHOULD I BE AWARE OF TODAY??
By ELISABETH ANN BROWN (published in thehummingbirdpapers.com)
What is the cause of the month this month??
Every cause nowadays seems to have a special day, week or month allocated to bring awareness to it or to celebrate it. There are so many now that it is just about impossible to keep up and often we may feel guilty for having missed the special day for a cause that is dear to our hearts. For instance, May has been designated as Lupus Awareness Month (I always thought it was October!) and the second week of May is Teacher Appreciation Week.
I decided to do a Google search and find out which months are designated for which causes, and found a list that is very comprehensive and useful for anyone who wishes to make sure that their favourite cause is not missed out. I figured that with only 12 months in the year there would be multiple awareness drives for each month, but I really did not know just how many I was going to find. The list is quite comprehensive and for those who like to keep up to date here is the link to a PDF version that you can download and keep handy.
http://www.uct.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Cause-of-the-Month-Calendar1.pdf
http://4agoodcause.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/2018-Cause-Awareness-Day-Calendar.pdf
I am not sure that every cause is listed but these pages are pretty comprehensive and I think most people will be able to find what they are interested in. And of course, if your cause is not on the list there is always Google!
WEST STREET HOME OF WEIRS REMARKABLY RESTORED
By OSWALD T. BROWN
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Noted Bahamian architect Monte A. Pratt, principal partner in M.A. Pratt & Associates, has made an observation that I hope the powers-that-be would take the necessary steps to follow through on his excellent suggestions.
Commenting on a post by Rosemary Clarice Hanna on the remarkable restoration “of The Weir house on West Street (just south of meeting Street),” Mr. Pratt said it was his understanding that the Government owns some 60-plus derelict buildings, most of which can be restored, and suggested that maybe the Government can accomplish this via The Antiquities, Monuments and Museums Corporation, the “premier keepers of Bahamian heritage and tradition.”
“Hopefully, they can form a ‘Special Bahamian Heritage’ committee that can take a page from the Weir’s book and commence a crucial realistic campaign to SAVE these traditional ‘Bahamian’ homes and buildings in historical downtown and the Over da’ Hill District,” Mr. Pratt writes. “It should NOT be the Cabinet Ministers, Central Bank Officials and Permanent Secretaries deciding on demolishing buildings and/or what the design of what Historical Nassau and the Over da’ Hill District should look like.”
The structural object of Rosemary Hanna’s post is the house on West Street Hill, where the late Gaspar Weir, a successful land surveyor, and the late Eunice Weir, grew up their four children. The Weirs were long-term Methodists who placed a great deal of emphasis on their children receiving a good education. Their oldest child is Rev. Dr. Emmett Weir, one of The Bahamas’ well-known theologians; their other son, Dr. Roger L. Weir, has had a distinguished career in the field in medicine, including more than four decades in some capacity at historic Howard University Hospital and its predecessor Freedman’s Hospital in Washington, D.C.; and their daughters Miriam and Sheila have also carved out successful careers in their chosen fields.
Dr. Weir, who was born in the two-story wooden West Street house 1941, was Chairman of Howard Hospital’s Department of Neurology from 1990 to 1995. In 1973 he became an assistant professor of neurology and subsequently an associate professor, which is his current position at the university.
Dr. Weir’s distinguished career was the topic of the first BAHAMIANS IN DIASPORA feature, which I introduced when I was Press, Cultural Affairs and Information Manager at The Bahamas Embassy in Washington, D.C.
In that article, he recalled that the “home atmosphere had some academic qualities that were reinforced by a grand-aunt Lillian Weir, a former librarian, and her brother Charles Weir, who spoke glowingly of his days at Tuskegee Institute.”
During his teenage years, young Roger Weir developed an interest in brain functions and psychiatry and at the age of 18, he left The Bahamas to finish advanced high school and later enter training at London University.
“My medical schooling was at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, one of the oldest hospitals of the English-speaking world,” Dr. Weir recalls. “I did a medical and surgery internship in the United Kingdom and in 1967 began a psychiatry internship at Harlem Hospital in Manhattan, New York. In 1968 I began a three-year neurology residency at Kings County/Downstate hospitals in Brooklyn, New York.”
In her Facebook post on the refurbishment of the home where the Weir siblings were born, Rosemary Hanna says, “Happy to say that my grandparents’ Market Street house (later occupied by my Aunt Lois Wilson and family) is also being repaired. I pray that this trend to revitalize Over-The-Hill will continue.”
Following up on that comment, Monte Pratt suggested to Rosemary, who is an avid photographer: “Just the other day I was driving on Meeting Street, and I noticed a ‘pink and white’ stucco house — I think it is the last house, or second to the last, before you get to Nassau Street — on the south side, just across from the Ministry of Health parking lot. It appears nobody is living there but it is properly fenced in. You probably know the house and the owners. If you get to go by, take a picture because this house must be restored. It is a beautiful house!”
I hope that those who are in the position to “make things happen” to restore this building and others like it, especially Over-the-Hill, make a commitment to follow through on what Monte Pratt is suggesting. There could not possibly be a better time than now to make such a commitment, considering Prime Minister the Hon. Dr. Hubert Minnis’s “designation of the Over-the-Hill community as an empowerment zone” aimed the revitalization of this impoverished, high-crime area.