Deborah A. Thomas
Thomas is Professor and Chair of the Graduate Group in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania. She is the author of "Modern Blackness: Nationalism, Globalization, and The Politics of Culture in Jamaica", "Exceptional Violence: Embodied Citizenship in Transnational Jamaica", and co-editor of the volume "Globalization and Race: Transformations in the Cultural Production of Blackness". Prior to her life as an academic, she was a professional dancer with the New York-based Urban Bush Women.
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Bad Friday: Rastafari After Coral GardensDeborah A. Thomas & John L. Jackson, Jr. & Junior “Gabu” Wedderburn
Producer: Deborah A. Thomas, John L. Jackson, Jr., Junior “Gabu” Wedderburn, & Junior “Ista J” Manning
2011, 63 min., Color, Jamaica
For many around the world, Jamaica conjures up images of pristine beach vacations with a pulsating reggae soundtrack. The country, however, has one of the highest per capita murder rates in the world, and the population is actively grappling with legacies of Western imperialism, racial slavery, and...
Four Days in May: Kingston 2010Deanne M. Bell, Deborah A. Thomas & Junior “Gabu” Wedderburn
Producer: Deanne M. Bell, Deborah A. Thomas & Junior “Gabu” Wedderburn
2018, 41 min., Color/BW, Jamaica
In 2010 Jamaican military and police forces declared a state of emergency in West Kingston to apprehend Christopher “Dudus” Coke—who had been ordered for extradition to the U.S. At least 75 civilians died as a result. This doc juxtaposes the harrowing testimonies of the survivors with footage from t...
