Commentary by Black Kos editor JoanMar
Hurricane Melissa sat in the Caribbean Sea for six long days. It sat there gathering strength and biding its time. On the seventh day, it unleashed all its pent-up fury on the little dot of an island known as Jamaica. Jamaica, the land of wood and water. Jamaica, the home of the fierce warrior queen Nanny of the Maroons. The home of Bob Marley, of Marcus Garvey, of Claude McKay, of Michael & Norman Manley, of Harry Belafonte, of Usain Bolt, of Shelly-Ann Frazier-Price, and of thousands of other iconic names — and millions more whose names will never appear in a history book.
Jamaica, birthplace of reggae; land of jerk chicken & jerk pork (a fiery legacy of the indomitable Maroons); land of ackee and saltfish, curry goat, and flaky patties. Jamaica with its lush beauty, white-sand beaches, and people of unconquerable spirit.
Roughly the size of Connecticut and home to fewer than three million, Jamaica bore the brunt of Melissa’s wrath. The hurricane did some serious damage to Haiti and Cuba, but it saved its worst for Jamaica. Today, our hearts are also with our brothers and sisters in Haiti and Cuba.
From 10/29/2025 NPR:
Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica Tuesday as the strongest storm in the island's history. The Category 5 hurricane tore a path of destruction across the island, causing major flooding and power cuts. Prime Minister Andrew Holness declared the country a "disaster area."
And this is a monster of a storm that meteorologists say will be in the history books. Only six other Atlantic storms have done that since record-keeping began.
From USA Today:
In Jamaica, local authorities said crews and residents were working to assist with relief support. Desmond McKenzie, the country's minister of local government and community development, previously said over 170 communities across six parishes were moderately or severely affected by the storm.
"We have never had a Category 5 hurricane in our country. The devastation in the west is unimaginable," said Jamaican Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and Information Dana Morris Dixon at a news conference Friday.
From 10/30/2025 NPR:
"The entire Jamaica is really broken because of what has happened," Education Minister Dana Morris Dixon said.
Police said at least 14 people have died in Jamaica, and they expected the death toll to keep rising. In one isolated community, residents pleaded with officials to remove the body of one victim tangled in a tree. More than 13,000 people remained crowded into shelters, with 72% of the island without power and only 35% of mobile phone sites in operation, officials said. People clutched cash as they formed long lines at the few gas stations and supermarkets open in affected areas.
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Thank you.
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News round up by dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor
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The Trump administration is restricting the number of refugees admitted annually to the United States to 7,500 and they will mostly be white South Africans, a dramatic drop announced Thursday that effectively suspends America’s traditional role as a haven for those fleeing war and persecution.
The move cements a major shift in policy toward refugees that aligns with the Republican administration’s broader goals of keeping out foreigners whom it deems a risk to the nation’s security or a threat to U.S. jobs. That shift has meant increased immigration enforcement, in cities and at borders and entry points, in what’s become a vastly changed landscape in a country long seen as a beacon for migrants.
No reason was given for the new numbers, which were published in a notice on the Federal Register and are a steep decrease from last year’s ceiling of 125,000 set under Democratic President Joe Biden. The Associated Press previously reported that the administration was considering admitting as few as 7,500 refugees and mostly white South Africans.
The notice said the admission of the 7,500 refugees during the 2026 budget year, which began Oct. 1, was “justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest.” It made no mention of any other specific groups to be admitted besides the white South Africans, known also as Afrikaners.
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Hurricane Melissa left at least dozens dead and caused widespread destruction across Cuba, Haiti and Jamaica, where roofless homes, toppled utility poles and water-logged furniture dominated the landscape Wednesday.
A landslide blocked the main roads of Santa Cruz in Jamaica’s St. Elizabeth parish, where the streets were reduced to mud pits. Residents swept water from homes as they tried to salvage belongings. Wind ripped off part of the roof at a high school that serves as a public shelter.
“I never see anything like this before in all my years living here,” resident Jennifer Small said.
The extent of the damage from the deadly hurricane was unclear Wednesday as widespread power outages and dangerous conditions persisted in the region.
“It is too early for us to say definitively,” said Dana Morris Dixon, Jamaica’s education minister.
Melissa made landfall Tuesday in Jamaica as a Category 5 hurricane with top winds of 185 mph (295 kph), one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record, before weakening and moving on to Cuba, but even countries outside the direct path of the massive storm felt its devastating effects.
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Serena Williams has been through a lot when it comes to rivals on the tennis court—from fights to feuds, and even at one point, accusations of witchcraft.
On a recent episode of “Stockton Street,” the newly launched podcast Serena co-hosts with her sister Venus, the 44-year-old tennis legend recalled the bizarre claim while chatting with guest Ciara about the wildest things they’ve heard about themselves.
“The craziest thing I ever heard about me was that I did witchcraft, black magic, because I was beating some girl a lot,” Serena shared. “And so she claimed that we did black magic to beat her.”
And while Serena didn’t name the former rival, Venus had her own memory of just how far the superstition went.
“From what I understand, someone on her team consulted a black magician to beat you,” Venus, 45, added.
Together, the sisters redefined tennis and inspired generations of Black women athletes worldwide without the use of magic. Serena, a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion and a four-time Olympic gold medalist, has dominated the sport for decades alongside Venus, who boasts seven Grand Slam singles titles and five Olympic medals of her own.
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