In this episode of Dis A fi mi History, Professor Clive Forrester explores how English and Creole coexist in the Caribbean and how language shapes power, identity, and access to justice.

We discuss language advocacy, bilingual education, courtroom interpretation, and cultural movements that uplift Creole languages as tools for social justice and community empowerment.

Bio:

Professor Clive Forrester is a Jamaican linguist, educator, and scholar whose work explores the intersection of language, identity, and communication. His academic journey led him to investigate how judges in Jamaican courtrooms interpret and translate the speech of witnesses who speak Jamaican Creole, a subject that became the focus of his PhD dissertation and reflects his longstanding interest in language and social justice.

Since relocating to Canada in 2008, Professor Forrester has been a passionate advocate for Jamaican language and culture. At York University, he developed and launched two courses dedicated to Jamaican Creole, helping to bring scholarly attention to one of the Caribbean's most vibrant linguistic traditions. In addition to his work at York, he has taught academic writing at Seneca College and Sheridan College, where he encourages students to express their ideas clearly, critically, and creatively through writing.

A dedicated educator and mentor, Professor Forrester is committed to fostering a deeper understanding of language as a tool for communication, cultural preservation, and empowerment. His work continues to inspire conversations about the value of Jamaican Creole, the complexities of translation and interpretation, and the role of language in shaping personal and collective identity.

Website:

https://www.cliveforrester.com/

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This episode was recorded at Waterfront Studio

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Dis A fi mi History Season 9 explores memory, archives, and cultural preservation across the Caribbean and its diaspora. Episodes examine language, music, archives, genealogy, spirituality, and the stories that shape identity.

Featuring conversations with scholars and community storytellers—from linguistic forensics and ancestral healing to archival silences and genetic genealogy—this season highlights how we remember, resist, and preserve our past for the present and future.

#MemoryArchive #CulturalPreservation #OralTradition #StorytellingMatters #LanguagePreservation #HeritageMatters #CaribbeanHeritage #LivingHistory #PreservingOurStories #VoicesOfTheCaribbean

On this episode of the Dis A fi mi History Podcast, Dr. Ryan Persadie explores Indo‑Caribbean identity through music, family memory, and the legacy of indentureship. The conversation centers on Chutney and Soca as sites where masculinity, queerness, language, and migration histories are performed, contested, and reimagined.

Through personal stories, intergenerational memories, and cultural analysis, the episode shows how music and dance preserve marginalized histories, unsettle archival silences, and offer practices of joy, resistance, and belonging across generations and geographies.

Bio:

Dr. Ryan Persadie is a scholar, writer, and Course Instructor at the University of Toronto whose work explores Indo-Caribbean identities, masculinity, diaspora, performance, sexuality, and cultural memory. Holding a PhD, his research examines the intersections of chutney music, genealogy, colonial history, and Indo-Caribbean subjectivities, with a focus on how communities negotiate belonging, identity, and representation across the Caribbean and its diasporas. Through his scholarship and teaching, Dr. Persadie contributes important perspectives on Indo-Caribbean cultural expression, postcolonial studies, and the evolving meanings of identity within Caribbean society.

Link:

https://www.academia.edu/44790043/_Meh_Just_Realize_Is_Ah_Coolie_Bai_Indo_Caribbean_Masculinities_Chutney_Genealogies_and_Qoolie_Subjectivities

In this episode of the Dis A fi mi History Podcast, host and guest Professor Kristen Block explore the lives of ordinary people in the early Caribbean—maroons, sailors, Quakers, and enslaved individuals—revealing how religion, empire, and survival shaped their worlds.

Using archival records and personal stories, the conversation considers identity, resistance, family, and the complex ties between church and state, showing how everyday experiences challenge elite narratives and continue to echo into the present.

BIO: Kristen Block is an Associate Professor of History at the University of Tennessee (Knoxville). A historian of the Atlantic World, her research has focused geographically on the Caribbean–arguably the epicenter of colonial competition in the early modern Americas. Religion and slavery were two cornerstones of early modern life and thus figure prominently in her teaching and writing about the colonial Americas, where Africans, Europeans, and Native Americans fought and collaborated with one another to shape social norms.

Link:

https://www.amazon.ca/Ordinary-Lives-Early-Caribbean-Competition/dp/0820338680

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Host Wendy Aris engages with Alyssa Green, founder of the Cayman Heritage Guide, in a deep dive into preserving Caribbean history and family genealogy through community efforts in the Cayman Islands. They explore the rich oral storytelling tradition, the impacts of colonialism, and the essential roles of women and language in shaping Caymanian identity. This episode highlights the challenges of safeguarding cultural heritage amid modern changes while turning community memory into a living archive.

Listeners will gain valuable insights on why accessible heritage work matters for family history enthusiasts and those interested in Caribbean heritage preservation.

Bio:

Alyssa Green is a Caymanian cultural storyteller, creative, and founder of Cayman Heritage Guide, a platform dedicated to documenting and sharing the rich cultural history of the Cayman Islands. Through her work, she highlights the everyday spaces, traditions, and stories that often exist beyond formal archives, helping to preserve Caymanian identity in a rapidly changing environment.

Born and raised in Grand Cayman, Alyssa’s connection to the land and community informs her approach to storytelling—one that centers lived experience, local knowledge, and the importance of remembering. Her work reflects a growing need to safeguard cultural heritage, especially as development and environmental change continue to impact historical sites and traditions across the islands.

In addition to her heritage-focused work, Alyssa is also a multidisciplinary creative with a background in fashion media and visual storytelling, bringing a contemporary lens to how history is documented and shared.

Through Cayman Heritage Guide, she is creating a living archive—one that connects people not only to place, but to memory, ancestry, and the stories that shape Caymanian identity across generations.

Links:

https://www.facebook.com/people/Cayman-Heritage-Guide/61566334754391/ https://www.youtube.com/@caymanheritageguide/featured https://www.instagram.com/caymanheritageguide/

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Follow:

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Morning Journal Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CXMTL3NV

Genealogy Workbook: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09NRHG3M3

Prayer Journal: https://a.co/d/bfSdIl0

Devotional Journal: https://a.co/d/8K3C8Hk

Support The Podcast https://ko-fi.com/disafimihistory/tip

Great Research Resource https://www.ancestorsofparadise.com/

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Reservations for Barbados https://diaspora-discoveries.com/reservations

Opus Clip: https://www.opus.pro/?via=74ffcf

Cultural Roots: https://www.skool.com/cultural-roots-reconnection-8301/about?ref=62a97470644b496897d06254e6796add

Theme Music "Africa" is modern ethnic track with fresh chords, African vocal, orchestra. License Creative Commons Attribution license (reuse allowed)

#CaymanIslandshistory #caymanisland #oralstorytelling #oralhistory #culturalheritage #migration #identitypreservation #history #podcast #caribbeanpodcast #caribbeandiaspora #education #blackhistory #caribbeanhistory #heritage #culturalheritage