The Political Weaponization of Toni Morrison’s Beloved
In 1968 the Jamaican government banned books with “radical” content, including the Autobiography of Malcom X. Not long after my elder cousin Vivia Heron, an avid reader since early childhood and then a college student on the island, immigrated toRead the Rest »
Blessed Are the Peacemakers and Other Heroes
Kudos to Pope Leo for holding his ground on opposing the war in Iran, conceived of and waged by a group of knuckleheads who neither read nor understand history. As the Pope told reporters yesterday, “I have no fear ofRead the Rest »
Nothing from Nothing Leaves Nothing: Melania Addresses the Nation
I don’t know what to call her. Bride of Frankenstein, but that would insult the Macabre fictional creatures, Melanoma, as many Black comedians have dubbed her or the most beautiful, elegant First Lady of all time according to her MAGARead the Rest »
Welcome Back to Hell
I’ve been back in the United States from overseas for three weeks. (More on why I am here now on another post). And it has been three weeks of hell. I arrived in NYC during the second week of theRead the Rest »
Have Questions on How You Can Help with Jamaica’s Recovery?
Catch me on the podcast Free Thinking with Montel tonight January 27 at 7 pm: https://youtu.be/k7tpqaqHo6k?si=Z3xbu7XsjHI1hE_b If you have more questions about how you can get involved in bringing this beautiful island back to itself, hit me up at mccourtiec@gmail.com.Read the Rest »
A Jamaican-American Calls for Continued Support for Jamaica After Hurricane Melissa
When I fulfilled a lifelong dream to move to Montego Bay, Jamaica, I did not envision the Category 5 Hurricane Melissa that would decimate much of the island on October 28, 2025, killing more than four dozen people, wiping outRead the Rest »
Jamaica Dispatch III: The Road Home from Kingston to Montego Bay
The road from Kingston to Montego Bay was laced with fallen power lines. Many of the poles that once held them were twisted at strange angles—as if they couldn’t decide whether to lie down or just tilt over for rest;Read the Rest »
Jamaica Dispatch II
My heart dropped to my feet as the building manager of my new apartment in Montego Bay told me that the plant had been ravaged by the storm. There was, in his words, “lots of damage,” and most of theRead the Rest »
A Jamerican Reflects on Melissa Wreaking Havoc on Her Island
By the time you read this Hurricane Melissa will have clobbered the beautiful island of Jamaica. I repatriated here, if you can call it that—seeking refuge earlier this year from a mean, bigoted and incoherent America that is now unrecognizableRead the Rest »
American Runaway, Part II: the Caribbean
On Thursday morning I was doing laps in the pool, trying to get back into my exercise routine after a bruising several weeks. A few minutes in, I was stopped by an older white man in the next lane, whoRead the Rest »
How the Ugly American Became President—Again
Donald, who made his image as a reality star, looms large in a number of scenes: 1) May 2017: He shoves NATO leader Prime Minister Dusko Markovic of Montenegro out of the way before a picture taking session at theRead the Rest »
