AMERICAN a cappella ensemble, Sweet Honey In The Rock, is set to headline this year’s staging of the annual Black History Month concert Blues on The Green set for Emancipation Park in St Andrew, on Friday. The Grammy-winning all-female group is promising to bring a performance that will both entertain and stimulate thought through their rich musical tones, artistic style, and delivery, which includes the use of sign language. Sweet Honey In The Rock has been producing music for more than three decades.

Though the membership of the group has evolved over time, their music continues to weave together contemporary rhythms and narratives. The group has performed in Australia, various parts of Africa, numerous cities across the United States, and will come to Jamaica immediately following a multi-city tour of Peru. “Every year, the [US] Embassy always looks for world-class musical ambassadors for Blues on the Green. This year, we also sought an artiste with a commitment to the social justice we remember as part of Black History Month.

Sweet Honey In The Rock brings together both elements,” said Joshua Polacheck, the embassy’s counsellor for public affairs. Now in its 23rd year, Blues on The Green is the US Embassy’s signature cultural event, held as part of celebration commemorating African-American History Month. During this month, Americans reflect on their ongoing advances towards social inclusion and the elimination of racial inequality.

As part of our commitment to equal citizenship, the Embassy invites patrons to donate educational tools to the Nathan Ebanks Foundation, which promotes inclusion, participation, empowerment, and equal opportunities for children with disabilities and special educational needs aged zero to 18. “We, of course, want everyone to enjoy themselves while also remembering that the struggle for social justice — for the disabled, for women, for the poor, for minorities — continues to this day in both Jamaica and the United States,” Polacheck added.

On the evening of the event, the foundation’s representatives will be on hand to collect teaching aids such as crayons, play dough, building blocks, and colouring books. Also on the evening’s bill is local band Othniel Lewis and Friends and United Kingdom-based Jamaican singer Brina.