I’ll be honest and admit I was on edge Tuesday as Hurricane Melissa approached Jamaica.
Like lots of Atlantans, I have Jamaican family, mostly centered around Kingston. I’ve been up in the mountains of St. Catherine Parish eating goat head soup, swimming in the teal blue water tumbling down Dunn’s River Falls, up and down Norman Manley Boulevard in Negril and in Montego Bay, nursing a hangover with Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee a morning or three, back in my wild and crazy 20s.
I love Jamaica. I could feel my stomach gripping all Tuesday morning. Keeping distracted with work helped, but once Melissa made landfall it was hard to focus on much of anything. Not for nothing, I found out a few minutes after the storm hit that I have a crew of cousins in Montego Bay on a girls’ trip, right now.
Thankfully the family rode out the storm safely. They’re hoping (praying too) to get a flight back to Atlanta ASAP, but they’re being told the earliest that could happen is Sunday.
Things hit different when they hit you.
From Stone Mountain to Douglasville, up, down and all around the city, Caribbean and West Indian people are a major part of Atlanta’s larger family and cultural fabric. That’s why in this week’s featured story, written by UATL’s Ernie Suggs, we hear from Atlanta’s Jamaican community about how they’re responding to the hurricane and its chaos.
Read it, and don’t miss other great new stories. We’re continuing to talk up Outkast as they prepare for their Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction next week. A new episode of the “It’s UATL” podcast just dropped and the hosts talk about a dating app that’s literally all about the ‘Tea.’
CNN’s Abby Phillip granted us an interview, “Sinners” is back on the big screen for Halloween and a new exhibit at Museum of Design Atlanta is all about hoodies.
Become a UATL supporter; it helps UATL keep bringing Black culture stories worth sharing.
And if you’re the praying kind, keep all of Atlanta’s Jamaican family in yours.
About the Author
The Latest
Featured
