Community News
The loss of a Literary Giant, Juneteenth celebrations heard around the world, and Kim’s backside damages an iconic dress
BY SIMONE J. SMITH
A Giant in post-colonial literature transitions at the age of 94
We have lost another creative genius, but not before he gifted us with his iconic work.
George Lamming is a giant of post-colonial literature whose novels, essays and speeches influenced readers and peers in his native Barbados and around the world.
It was recently released that he has died at age 94. His death was confirmed by Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, who said, “Wherever George Lamming went, he epitomized that voice and spirit that screamed Barbados and the Caribbean.” No cause of death was given.
Lamming was among a generation of post-World War II writers from the West Indies who came of age as British rule in their region was being challenged. Lamming returned home and became a moral, political and intellectual force for a newly independent country seeking to tell its own story.
In novels such as “In the Castle of My Skin” and “Season of Adventure” and in the nonfiction “The Pleasures of Exile,” Lamming explored the Caribbean’s complicated legacy as a destination for enslaved people abducted and shipped from Africa, as a colonial proving ground for England and as an uneasy neighbour of the United States. Lamming received his greatest acclaim for “In the Castle of My Skin,” its title drawn from an early poem by Nobel laureate Derek Walcott. Published in 1953, the novel is a semi-autobiographical narrative based in a Caribbean village uprooted by colonialism and profit taking.
Lamming revisited and reinvented not just his personal history, but the distant past, which he saw as a battle for decolonization of the mind. “Natives of My Person” was an imagined voyage on a slave ship whose captain no longer believes in their mission. In a novel he was working on late in his life, he imagined Christopher Columbus arrested by natives in the West Indies, “stripped naked” and his hands and legs in chains.”
We have lost a legend, but his work remains with us.
Juneteenth celebrations heard around the world!
What a weekend it was as celebrities used their platforms to celebrate, reflect and educate the world about the importance of Juneteenth.
June 19th, known as Juneteenth, became an official holiday only last year. It marks the date the enslaved people of Galveston, Texas, became aware of the freeing of the enslaved in secessionist states by the Emancipation Proclamation, more than two years after it was issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1st, 1863.
It has mainly been celebrated in Texas but has taken on greater national significance following the renewed racial reckonings in the summer of 2020.
Former first lady Michelle Obama posted a video message on June 19th, 2021 encouraging Americans to register to vote. “Juneteenth is a day of power—a chance to celebrate our history and our triumphs, our resilience and our struggle,” she captioned the post.
“Today is about coming together and honouring those before us who reached for progress, who helped build this country with their bare hands, who marched, fought, and protested—who did everything they could so that we might have a voice and a vote.”
There was also a musical celebration of Black freedom and excellence at the Hollywood Bowl titled, “JUNETEENTH: A Global Celebration for Freedom” featuring performances by: Khalid, Earth, Wind & Fire, The Roots, Chaka Khan, Lucky Daye, Robert Glasper, Billy Porter, Mary Mary, Anthony Hamilton, Michelle Williams, Mickey Guyton, the Debbie Allen Dance Academy, and more.
Thomas Wilkins and Derrick Hodge lead the Re-Collective Orchestra, marking the first-ever performance of an all-Black symphony orchestra in the Hollywood Bowl’s 100-year history.
There were guest appearances and special presenters (both live and pre-recorded) that included: Michelle Obama, Yolanda Adams, Miles Brown, Cari Champion, Jordan Chiles, Deon Cole, Affion Crockett, D Smoke, Michael Ealy, David Gross, Jemele Hill, Lil Rel Howery, Leslie Jones, Opal Lee, Marsai Martin, K. Michelle, Kendrick Sampson, Jill Scott, Amanda Seales, Gabourey Sidibe, Algee Smith, Raven-Symoné, Terrence J, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, and Susan Kelechi Watson.
Kim’s backside damages an iconic dress
Would it really be celebrity news if we didn’t have a little Kardashian in it? Well, Kim Kardashian with her extra self-decided that she wanted to wear the historic dress once worn by Marilyn Monroe, and somehow seemed to have damaged it. Of course!
Marilyn Monroe wore the bedazzled dress when she sang “Happy Birthday Mr. President” in 1962 to then-President John F. Kennedy. It was reported that after Kim debuted it, the dress appeared to be missing a few crystals, and others seemed to be hanging by a thread.
When the dress was loaned to Kim, she vowed to not make any alterations to the dress, as it has been declared a “national treasure,” so instead, she altered herself. She now admits that she lost 16 pounds in three weeks in order to squeeze into the dress. She was finally able to fit it over her famous derriere, but was unable to zip it — hence why she draped herself with a white fur shawl while on the carpet.
“I tried it on and it didn’t fit me,” Kim retold the tale of her first fitting. “It was such a challenge. It was like a role, I was determined to fit in it.”
In 2016, Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum in Orlando bought the dress for $4.8 million. After taxes and fees, the total price was valued at over $5 million. It is now reported as the “world’s most expensive dress” ever sold at an auction. The dazzling gown is now valued at over $10 million.
Kim only wore Monroe’s artifact for a matter of minutes. She slipped into the gown in a dressing room near the Met Gala carpet and changed into a replica gown as soon as she made it up the steps.