Westindian Isthmian Journalism

Albert E. Bell, distinguished Editor and popular columnist who was attached to several of the leading Isthmian newspapers of the 1930's and 40's.

Ernest J. Jamieson, Colon news-hawk who was also Atlantic side Circulation Manager of The Nation.

by Lydia M. Reid

By the late 1940’s Panama, particularly the terminal cities of Panama and Colon, had become a magnet for some of the most gifted writers of the Anglo-Caribbean.  Many of these writers would have come from having exercised their writing abilities in newspapers and publications on the islands.  Some arrived in Panama at a very young age like Sydney A. Young, who sought to channel his intellectual prowess into a viable writing career.

The Professionals

Dr. Hubert Clarence Edwards was a graduate of the University of Western Ontario, Canada and he had Been practicing medicine in Colon since 1917.

By Lydia M. Reid

We’ve discussed at great length about the impressive contribution of the thousands of West Indian working men and laborers who were instrumental in the building of both the Panama Railroad and the Panama Canal and its continued operation into our present day.  We would like, however, to highlight the role of the many important professionals who provided many valuable services to both Westindian and Panamanian citizens alike at a time when such professionals were in low supply and high demand.

The Road to Westindian Literature- Some Thoughts

The Black Studies thinker and Writer.

The road to the placing of real Black Literature in the hands of Black and Latin American children has been paved with much difficulty and many disheartening experiences, at least in my own experience. The age for our people, the Panamanian Westindian, to gain that realization of the harm that such deprivation causes, like not having literature depicting our own stories and our own experiences available from early childhood, is something I have been observing, and lamenting, since I was a young child.

The History of the Corozal and Mount Hope Cemeteries

The United States Government Isthmian Canal Commission’s segregated Cemetery at Corozal was the only active cemetery for its “Silver Roll” Employees even before 1914 when the construction of the Panama Canal was completed. The site had been a jungle and was then established as a farm to provide work for disabled Silver laborers, who also lived on parcels of land with their families.