Someone asked me what the best part of this week’s #VILivingLegends Awards event. It most certainly is the fact that as my mother Anita Bailey turned 80 she knows what she poured into me wasn’t done in vain. She knows that the lessons that herself,...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oC8gPz3UPzk&t=148s Students from some of Trinidad’s most prestigious secondary schools gathered at the University of the West Indies in St. Augustine, Trinidad at the @UWIFilm school for a screening of Bailey’s latest film “Paradise Discovered: The Unbreakable Virgin Islanders 2.0”. Educators hosted an in-depth Q &...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01_urVoZCB0 Peter Bailey kicks off his second Unbreakable tour with an advance screening of “Paradise Discovered: The Unbreakable Virgin Islanders 2.0” at the University of the West Indies in Trinidad and discusses the docu-series on Trinidad’s daytime TV show “NOW”. ...
We thank Essence for showcasing our USVI high schoolers in this Essence feature: Unbreakable: The U.S. Virgin Islands Story Of Resilience - Essence ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYPTEFfCZOk&t=3s When deciding who would be the first to view Paradise Discovered: The Unbreakable Virgin Islanders 2.0 it was hard not to think about hurricanes Irma and Maria. I reflected on how the larger world ignored our community’s pain and the divine strength we as Virgin Islanders unearthed...
https://youtu.be/SVJQrFLjrZ8 My mother often jokes, “Boi, those hurricanes does follow you.” This week my Puerto Rican friends said the same thing so I’m beginning to believe them. In the first Unbreakable film I touched on the relationship between Puerto Rico & USVI. I wanted it further...
https://youtu.be/JvTwDACryoY Back in 2018 I rang in my birthday by premiering Paradise Discovered The Unbreakable VirginIslanders; now four years later I’m inviting you to celebrate my special day with me by sharing with you this first preview of the sequel Unbreakable 2.0. ...
It troubles me to see people struggling to pay for all these subscription fees in these tough economic times limiting access to inspiration. Profit should never trump purpose. I thank my partners for agreeing. You can now watch Paradise Discovered: The Unbreakable Virgin Islanders for...
It's because there are more pressing matters in the Caribbean. At least that’s the answer given in the world according to my Uncle Lee. "You want people to think about art when dey hungry?”, he fumed in a recent conversation on the topic. “All yuh crazy, what...
As far I see it Nin is still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on. Her olive skin glowed, mirroring honey as sweet as her spirit, accentuated by long jet-black hair complimenting her angelic frame. When I held her hand and peered into her eyes,...
On the drive north to Vero Beach from South Florida you’ll forget that wars even exist. Upon entering the dreamlike beach town called the Hamptons of Florida you’ll be refreshed to find it not as pompous as Palm Beach or flashy as Miami, because in Vero...
I saw the pain in her eyes and felt the hollowness where despair lingers when she asked me: "How do you get over it?" she probed, voice cracking. “The pain, how do I get over this pain.” "You don’t,” I replied. “You learn how to live with...
When I landed on St. Croix that spring evening the familiar feeling came over me. It was the same feeling I felt when I visited during high school basketball tournaments. Imagine stepping into a building lobby to escape the sidewalk’s scorching heat and feeling the AC’s...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpTwqXUli_Y When the young waiter came...
I can still remember that punch. Abasi hit me square in the stomach knocking the wind out of me. Grunting in pain, I crouched over and clutched my mid-section. “De man wha you do da fah?! I protested, still crouched over, fists clinched. “It’s cause you playin...
Tragedy has a way of unearthing one’s potential. I know that may sound like some life coach mumbo jumbo, but it’s actually true. The universe rewards resilience and celebrates those who dare to stand tall in the fields of desperation where greatness is harvested. Grit is sexy. In...
My love for birds began with a chickenhawk although I was schooled to be a devil ray. I can still remember the magnificent creature swooping down, talons drawn then landing on the narrow street in front of the trailer in Frydenhoj where my life began. Like many...
I mean, isn’t Miami the cocaine capital? I should know because I wrote the New York Times certified Magic City and I’m currently directing a series on the lives of the dope boys who made it all possible. Yet, Andrew Fahie, a world head of state was...
Needless to say, I wish Jamari had made the news for his writing and not for being another poster child of violence in our islands. When I saw your face plastered across social media I was disappointed so consider this journal entry to be me grabbing...
My previous entry in this journal and the feedback it’s inspired has caused me to dig deeper into the fantasy that has become St. John. I’m compelled to further understand this tortured paradise that’s possibly on the brink of a Fountain Valleyesque tragedy if its local...
In all honesty, I don’t know. I’ve spent the past several years advocating on behalf of the Virgin Islands, reiterating to the larger world that we’re more than a postcard whose story matters within the geopolitical sphere. However, every time St. John is mentioned I’m at a...
When people contact me after viewing The Unbreakable Virgin Islanders they’re often overwhelmed by our community’s resilience. They stare at me wide-eyed, as if I were a real-life character from Survivor, that soulless pioneer of reality TV. The fact that someone actually thought it entertaining to document...
I've often asked myself this, but I guess the nagging frustration didn't really ask the question. It's because we in the Virgin Islands and larger Caribbean make the most of hardship, smiling our way through stone age inconveniences that would break most folks elsewhere. Well, this...
Close your eyes. Now imagine islands so enchanting that if you do believe in creation, you must know that God took His time crafting them. Don’t open your eyes yet. Dream some more with me, because given the current state of affairs we can all use an...
When jeweler RJ asked if she could design an "Unbreakable" piece for me that evokes my spirit I didn't know what to expect. After all, I'm from St. Thomas where our jewelry district on Main Street is world-renowned. The famous cobblestone street attracts the wealthiest...
I truly thank everyone who joined our inaugural #DearUSVI Town Hall series where we came together during a pandemic to engage in honest dialogue in search of the solutions that will address the most pressing issues affecting our our beloved. I also thank our partners...
On Wednesday, April 29th we held our first #DearUSVI Town Hall conversation to address the pandemic of gun violence in our beloved islands. Making the decision to launch this unprecedented series wasn’t an easy one as tourism accounts for the majority of our revenue in the US Virgin Islands. How...
Since discussing the federal government's role in addressing the coronavirus pandemic with Florida Representative Shevrin Jones I wanted to speak directly with some currently afflicted by COVID-19 so I contacted Black Press USA correspondent Stacy Brown who alongside his wife was currently diagnosed. In this...
I know we’re pass the month of January, but I’d still like to wish everyone a Happy New Year and I hope your goals for this next chapter is beginning to take shape. When I began the “Paradise Discovered: The Unbreakable Virgin Islanders” film screening tour...
After an incredible screening at the National Association of Black Journalists Convention in Miami on August 10th, the cultural tour de force that has become “Paradise Discovered: The Unbreakable Virgin Islanders” now heads to Toronto for the Caribbean Tales International Film Festival. This upcoming Canadian...