Former publisher and editor of Spectrum newspaper, Ewart Walters reached another milestone in his illustrious career with the launching of his book: We Come From Jamaica: The National Movement 1937-1962. This historic event took place at the Parkdale United Church on Friday 14 March, 2014, attended by hundreds of admirers and supporters, many of whom had been touched in one way or another by Ewart’s community engagement. The book was introduced by Professor V. Seymour Wilson, Emeritus Professor of Carleton University.
According to the formal announcement regarding the launch: the book covers political, union, sports and cultural developments from 1943 to 2012, but focuses on the years of national development 1937-1962 with Osmond Fairclough, Norman Manley, Bustamante etc; it deals with the role of music, sports, social workers and the remarkable Chinese contributions in the development of the nation (naming, for instance, Herb McKenley, Merlene Ottey, George Headley, Lawrence Rowe, Michael Holding, Usain Bolt, Shelley-Ann, Asafa, Michael Lee-Chin, Tessanne Chin, Jessica Yap, Bob Marley, Yellowman, Buju Banton, along with several others), and chronicles the life and activities of people like Una Marson, Eddie Burke, Thom Girvan, Amy Bailey, Dr. TP Lecky, Bishop Percival Gibson, Edna Manley, Sir Philip Sherlock, Father Sherlock and Boys Town, Cobbla, 4-H Clubs, co-operatives, and many other individuals and facets of Jamaican life. Both Ottawa’s Millicent Byrne, who as Millicent Norman was playmate of Rachel Manley and was often at Drumblair, and Toronto’s Keith Ellis, Professor Emeritus of Modern Languages at the University of Toronto, have written sparkling entrees by way of introduction/preface to the book, and retired journalist and lawyer Errol Townshend says it is “an absolutely stunning piece of journalism.”
Photos by Sarah Onyango
