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The person I interviewed is Mike Reed. I have known Mike for a few months now. Mike is a single dad

of seven children. He adopted four children and had three of his own. He has two children left at home. Mike

is serves in the Utah National Guard. Mike is from Portland, Jamaica (referred to as Port Antonio, Jamaica).

Portland is located on Jamaica's northeast coast. Portland, Jamaica is known for its complex landforms and has

several caves and rivers throughout the area. The famous Blue Mountains and Blue Lagoon are also located in

Portland. “The population of Portland is an estimated 82,000, 15,000 of whom live in the capital town. Its

people are 89.8% black, 1.2% white, 5.3% Asians, 2.6% mixed race, and 1.1% other”.(en.wikipedia.org)

Portland, Jamaica is a large tourist spot which caters to people in all classes. Tourism flourishes because of its

beautiful beaches and famous landforms. Portland, Jamaica has a farming community and has many factories

which are used to produce bananas, coconuts, breadfruits, coffee, mangoes and ackee for export as well as local

consumption.

Mike came to the United States when he was twelve years old. His grandmother on his mother’s side

came over to the United States first and then sent for all seven of her children. His mother came to the United

States and left Mike behind with his father’s parents. He lived with them until they passed. Within weeks of

Mike’s grandparents passing he was sent to live with his mother’s mom here in the United States because his

mom was remarried and they wanted to introduce him into her family slowly. Jamaican families often consist

of one parent, usually the mother. “According to the UNICEF publication “Situation Analysis of Jamaican

Children,” over 45% of the households in Jamaica are female-headed.” (www.whatispsychology.biz) This

family structures is viewed as the main reason for the problems the people face in Jamaica.

In Jamaica, the traditional family is the model they see as ideal. The man is the head of the house and is

the main decision maker. He runs the children in a very military way. The mother takes care of the home, but

also is an authoritarian. The authoritarian parenting style is due to forms of discipline and communication

patterns engaged by the parents. It has been stated many times that the child rearing methods are highly

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repressive, severe, abusive, and developmentally inappropriate. Even though it’s been said the parenting style

is abusive it is still viewed as the norm and is supported by all family members, teachers, and some religious

leaders. Corporal punishment has just recently been banded in Jamaican schools. However, it is still widely

accepted in the community. Children are not allowed to ask questions. Children are viewed to be seen and not

heard. Children are expected to do as their parents say right away without a word.

Both the mother and father works outside the home. However, the man is the main provider. Siblings

have different roles; girls do the house work like their mother. The boys do whatever the dad does around the

house. However, everyone is expected to learn how to cook and clean. Some of the best cooks on the island

are men.

Extended family usually live together. Siblings move back into the parents’ home to take care of their

parents in their elderly age. Elders always live with their children when they no longer can care for themselves.

They are never put in a rest home. The oldest sibling in turn inherits their parents’ home. The oldest sibling is

in charge and it is understood if any other sibling and their family wants to move in they are welcome.

Mike and his family celebrate Christmas. However, they didn’t use the traditional Christmas tree. They

used several attached branches of an Erythrina tree that bloom red flowers once a year in December. They

decorate these branches with cotton, lights, and whatever the children made to go on it. When Mike’s family

got together for Christmas they stayed true to the way they ate in Jamaica. The families enjoy making and

eating rum cake, jerk chicken, rice and peas, ackee and slatfish, curry goat, stew peas and rice, and yellow

yams.

They also celebrate New Year’s and Independence Day. Independence Day in Jamaica is celebrated on

August 6, 1962, which is the declaration of the colony of Jamaica’s independence from the United Kingdom.

Jamaica was first settled by the Arawak and Taino people, who came from South America. After Christopher

Columbus discovered Jamaica in 1494 he claimed the island for Spain. The Spanish Empire took over Jamaica

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in 1509. When the Spanish Empire took over in 1509 they enslaved many of the Jamaican people and sold

them to plantation owners to work the sugarcane fields. The slaves labored under extremely harsh conditions.

To the Spanish Empire the resources in Jamaica were disappointing. They mainly used Jamaica as a

military base to supply the colonizing efforts in America. The Spanish ruled for 146 years until the British

came to shore on May 10, 1655 and the Spanish forces surrendered without incident a day later. The British

took over the island quickly and set up an elected legislature. At the same time the Spanish forces where

surrendering, many of the slaves fled to the mountains to join the rebellion alongside the surviving Taino

villages. The two groups interracially married and their children are known as the Jamaican Maroons. The

Jamaican Maroon were considered skilled fighters and was said they were hard to defeat. Mike is a descendant

of the Jamaican Maroons. Mike told me about a leader in the eighteenth century named Queen Nanny Maroon.

There isn’t a lot of written history on Nanny Maroon. Most of the information gathered was from the local

people. Nanny was born in 1686 in Ghana, Western Africa, and was brought to Jamaica as a slave. She and her

two brothers ran away from their plantation and hid in the Blue Mountains. While in hiding, they organized

several Maroon communities across Jamaica. One of the communities was named Nanny Town, after Nanny

Maroon. It was located in the Blue Mountains on 500 acres. Nanny Town’s community survived by trading

and exchanging food for weapons and cloth. They raised animals, hunted, and grew crops. They were also

known for raiding plantations for weapons and food, burning the plantations, freeing the slaves and leading

them back to Nanny Town. Nanny freed over 800 slaves, and helped them to resettle into the Maroon

communities. The Maroons were also skilled at concealing themselves as bushes and trees. The Maroons used

surprise attacks on the British by using a non-disguised Maroon as a decoy to run out into view of the British;

then ran in the direction of the fellow Maroons who were disguised as bushes and trees. These attacks were

effective but only worked until the British caught on. The British realized they couldn’t defeat the Maroons in

the forest so the British attacked the Maroons in their communities while they slept.

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Between 1728 and 1734, Nanny Town was regularly attacked by British forces. Nanny Town only had

one entrance/exit and was positioned on one of the highest mountains on the island. Its steep, rocky location

made it practically impossible to invade. Nanny Maroon set up designated warriors to be look–outs and

designated warriors that could be summoned by the sound of a horn, called an Abeng.

Nanny always had an organized plan to protect the town and to free the slaves that were successful. Her

community attributed Nanny’s leadership skills to her African religion, Obeah. It is associated with bad and

good magic, charms, luck, and mysticism. Nanny also was considered a physical and spiritual healer to her

community by using her knowledge of herbs and other traditional healing methods that was practiced by

Africans and native islanders.

Queen Nanny Maroon’s death remains a mystery. Some say she was killed in 1733 by “Black Shots”.

“Black Shots” were hired soldiers who would receive reward money if they killed any slave that was known for

escaping from the plantations. Others claim she lived to an old age and died of natural causes in 1760. Some of

the confusion is that there were many “Nanny Maroons” who were high ranking women in their town.

However, the Maroons were adamant that there was only one “Queen Nanny”. Queen Nanny’s grave is located

at “Bump Grave” in Moore Town, located in Portland Parish, Jamaica.

After Queens Nanny’s death the Maroons continued to cause disturbances in the colonies by invading

plantations to free slaves and conquering parts of the inner island. The Maroons gave the British government

hell for seventy-six years until the First Maroon War started in 1728. The British couldn’t overtake the Maroon

so the British granted them semi-autonomy within their five towns as long as they lived under the British laws.

Then in 1795 a Second Maroon War broke out between the Maroons and the British Empire. This war did not

go in the Maroon’s favor. After many deaths and the British pushing the Maroons back in defeat in January of

1796. The Maroons accepted an open discussions in March which just ended in the Maroons being deported to

Nova Scotia and Sierra Leone.

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An act of Parliament in 1834 abolished slavery in the British Empire. The African Jamaican people

were granted the right to vote. They were even allowed to hold public office in the 19th century. However, the

White population was considered the ones who held all the power. There was a Caucasian native-born man

named Alexander Bustamante. He had the support of many African Jamaican youth workers because

Alexander protested against inequalities of wealth between African Jamaicans and the British residents.

Alexander held a protest in September 1940 which landed Alexander in jail for two years. Alexander’s cousin,

Norman Manley, then set up a Peoples National Party (PNP), which was created because of the gaining support.

However, it became a socialist party that became too radical for Alexander so he resigned his position in 1939.

A few years later in July 1943 Alexander created the Jamaican Labor Party (JLP), which defeated the PNP by

an 18 point lead in the House of Representatives. Which in the following year launched a new constitution that

overturned the British leader’s high voter eligibility standard to a granted universal adult suffrage. The new

constitution was made official on November 20, 1944 which put into place a two-chamber legislature, a ten

member legislature Executive Council, and a Premier which would be the head of the government. Alexander

also put into place a checks and balance system for this council just for precaution.

After World War II Jamaica was turned from a crown colony to an independent state. In the 1950’s

there continued to be a political battle between the PNP and the JLP. The PNP did take over in 1955. Norman

Manley who was elected Chief Minister put amendments into place that gave greater self-government and

Minister’s administration as a cabinet under the a premier. Premier Manley tried to unite the Caribbean entities

with the ten British territories into a single, independent state. However, the idea was unpopular with the

Jamaicans so the result was the referendum was withdrawn from the union in 1962. That same year, the JLP

defeated the PNP, putting Alexander Bustamante as the first Premier Minister of Jamaica in April of 1962. On

August 6, 1962 Jamaica became an independent country. The Union Jack flag was replaced by the Jamaican

flag throughout the country and Jamaica spent its first ten years of autonomy under conservative government.

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Even though the Jamaican got their independence, the issue of class inequality was still very prevalent. The

time was short lived because the PNP once again gained power in 1972. The economy was in trouble well into

the 1980’s. Even though the Jamaicans went on to have a fourth Prime Minister who was the son of Norman

Manley, Michael Manley. Michael Manley maintained the PNP status and Jamaica never really recovered. In

2011 a survey was taken and 60% of Jamaicans said they would push to become a British territory because they

felt the PNP has only pushed them into years of social and fiscal mismanagement.

The style of music that best describes the Jamaican culture in Mike’s opinion is Reggae music. The

popular Reggae groups are Bob Marley, Sean Paul, and Shaggy. The piece of music that Mike felt addressed

his culture was “One Love” by Bob Marley. The point of view of “One Love” is peace and love, and the

uniting of people. In Mike’s opinion the United States was influenced by Jamaican music not the other way

around. “DJ Kool Herc is the father of Hip Hop.” (Mike Reed) DJ Kool Herc is from Jamaica and is the

original hip hop producer. Mike believes Hip Hop would not have existed if DJ Kool Herc wasn’t born.

Mike is the head of the house hold and runs his family in a very structured military way. He teaches his

son the ways of a man and his daughter the ways of a women. However, he keeps his kids busy with chores. He

believes chores will teach them how to be responsible adults. His daughter and son have their distinct chores

and they both have a night they cook with their father. Mike cooks traditional Jamaican foods for his family

and friends. They celebrate a traditional Christmas as we do here in the U.S. They get a traditional Christmas

tree to decorate every year. I find Mike has found a healthy combination of teaching his children the Jamaican

culture and the American culture they live in. Mike makes sure the Jamaican culture is not forgotten.

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Bibliography

1. Reed, Mike2. "Portland Parish." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 2015. Web. 28 Mar. 2015.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Parish3. "Parenting and Family Structure in Jamaica and the Wider Caribbean." What Is Psychology. Smith, D.

E., & Mosby, G., 24 Jan. 2012. Web. 28 Mar. 2015.http://www.whatispsychology.biz/parenting-family-jamaica-caribbean

4. "Nanny of the Maroons." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2015.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanny_of_the_Maroons

5. "Independence of Jamaica." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2015.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_of_Jamaica

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