In addition to pleasing palates since ancient times, chocolate has played an integral role in culture, society, religion, medicine, and economic development across the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Europe.

Good leaders are able to asses a situation and foreshadow its future. They take what is in front of them and create a blueprint that will enable them to stay relevant.

The Black diaspora refers to the communities throughout the world that are descended from the historic movement of peoples from Africa, predominantly to the Americas, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, among other areas around the globe. Jamaica's majority population is predominantly Black, so how does their presence impact their communities worldwide?

In this edition, we highlight some of our contemporary Jamaican authors.

Why is Jamaica a unique place? It is the birthplace of reggae, which is the only music genre that is played on every continent. Thanks to our reggae ambassador. We created the world's fastest man ? Usain Bolt. However, there is much more to Jamaica than sports and music. Explore our publications to learn more about this Caribbean island.

As a nation, we should preserve our social memory by honoring those who paved the way for us to exist, recognizing those who etched their indelible mark on our lives, and remembering those who went to the great beyond before us as expressed in the Salute to the Dearly Departed segment (People); our regions, areas, and territories; our locales, hotspots, and hangouts and places we love to visit and events we constantly attend in (Places), and the happenings and the things that we cherish to death - items, commodities, artifacts, and products (Things). So dear readers, enjoy the mind "triggers" and heart-wrenching "diggers" you will find in this book honouring the 55th year of celebrating Jamaica's independence and the tantalizing trip down memory lane with this unofficial reference/resource guide by your side. You will recollect who is who (people), where is where (places), and what is what (things) in both the Jamaican and the Diaspora/Global context.