IRAWMA founder Ephraim Martin never thought about honour for himself
To receive Badge of Honour for Meritorious Service
Published:Monday | October 17, 2022 | 12:07 AMYasmine Peru/Senior Gleaner Writer
When Dr Ephraim Martin, president of Martin’s International, founder of the International Reggae and World Music Awards (IRAWMA) executive producer of the Chicago Music Awards and chair of the Chicago-based Black Heroes Matter coalition, steps up to receive his Badge of Honour for Meritorious Service from Governor General Sir Patrick Allen today, he will be smiling from ear to ear.
“I am very pleased to be recognised by the Jamaican Government and I thank the people who have worked with me for the past 40 years to make this moment possible. I never think of honour for myself when doing events such as IRAWMA or the Chicago Music Awards. We have nominated more than 16,000 persons throughout the years and have had well over 3,000 winners and the aim was always to celebrate and showcase Jamaican culture in particular and creative excellence all around,” Dr Martin said.
Forty years ago, when he had his first awards show, Martin didn’t have any expectations that he would be still at the helm in 2022. However, he currently holds what is considered a noble record. As his bio states, “On October 2, 2016, at the conclusion of the 35th IRAWMA, and his 100th annual entertainment event [Martin] set a world record as the only known person alive to have consecutively produced 100 annual entertainment events (awards/festivals and special events), within a 35-year period, boasting four unbroken annual events”.
Martin is a repository of knowledge about the entertainment industry and accurately recalls every award show he has ever staged, who were the recipients, who were the hosts and exactly where each one was held.
He also fondly recalls his days as a photo-journalist at The Gleaner and going on assignments with co-worker Desmond Allen, having joined the newspaper’s editorial department in the late 1970s. It was this environment that set the stage for his future exploits. Originally from St Thomas, he migrated to Chicago, Illinois, in the 1980s and “embarked on a mission to be a voice for the voiceless peoples of the world”.
“I believed that Jamaica’s reggae was severely under-promoted internationally and established the International Reggae Music Awards with the objective of bringing nations together through music and culture. I also wanted to use music to fight againt the apartheid system in South Africa and call for the freedom of Nelson Mandela. Jamaica was leading in the fight against apartheid followed by Nigeria and, believe it or not, Australia,” Martin shared.
He speaks glowingly of artistes such as Peter Tosh, Dennis Brown, Freddie McGregor, Ras Michael and the Sons of Negus and Mutabaruka who all joined him on this glorious mission. Martin’s mission has also seen his supporting the work of National Hero Marcus Garvey; civil rights leader Dr Martin Luther King Jr; campaigning hard for the election of the first black US president, Barack Obama and “delivering the huge social justice win for Chicago’s founding father, Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable, after more than 240 years of denial”.
As the story goes, in 1779, Dusable, a black man from Haiti, established the first trading post in the place now known as Chicago, the third largest city in the United States. However, because he was black, Dusable was denied the recognition normally bestowed on white founders, such as street names, monuments and city holidays. Under the banner of the Black Heroes Matter (BHM) Coalition which Martin co-founded with his wife, retired Justice Shelvin L M Hall, Martin led the campaign that renamed the iconic Lake Shore Drive, to be the “Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable Lake Shore Drive”.
In addition to his other pursuits, Dr Martin has mentored hundreds of students in various degree programmes through the Martin’s International Foundation and he himself has been the recipient over 40 awards in areas of music, history and culture.
The Badge of Honour is a civil award presented to residents and foreign nationals of Jamaica and is awarded in the categories of gallantry, meritorious service, and long and faithful service.
“I am humbled in many ways about this award and I thank the committee for selecting me for this honour. My wife and daughter, are unfortunatley unable to be at the ceremony, but my nephew will accompany me,” Martin said.
Others from the entertainment fraternity who will be honoured today at King’s House are: Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Olivia Grange and Monty Alexander with the Order of Jamaica; Sheryl Lee Ralph Order of Jamaica (Honorary); Kwame Dawes, Order of Distinction (Commander Class); Dr Amina Blackwood-Meeks, Jeffery ‘Agent Sasco’ Campbell, Dr Myrna Hague-Bradshaw, Leonard Percival Howell (posthumous), Kenrick ‘Lord Creator’ Patrick, Anthony ‘Chips’ Richards, John Randolph Swaby with the Order of Distinction (Officer Class); and Derrick Stewart Badge of Honour for Meritorious Service.