Praise for Accompong book ‘My Father Said’

Colonel Ferron Williams of the Accompong Maroons and professor Verene Shepherd of the University of the West Indies have both lauded the book ‘My Father Said’, written by Deputy Colonel Norma Rowe-Edwards of Accompong.

Colonel Williams has described the book as ‘a most important piece of work that must be read by all who have an interest in Maroon history.’ Professor Shepherd has said that the account by Rowe-Edwards is one that ‘destabilizes and corrects myths about Jamaica’s Maroons and African ancestors’.

“This book corrects historical inaccuracies”, said Shepherd. “It also serves to inspire and instill pride in other Maroons, in a similar way that the author’s parents have inspired her. They anchored her to a black identity by properly educating and socializing her.”

Professor Shepherd is a long-time advocate for the writing of Caribbean history from a Caribbean perspective. She states that early descriptive accounts by early non-Caribbean authors have not all been the result of truthful and objective research. Much of these writing, according to Shepherd, were meant to support European imperialism and justify the slave trade.

‘My Father Said’ is an account of the Accompong Maroons from the year 1655 through 1738. The author, Deputy Colonel Norma Rowe-Edwards, was motivated to write the book by the struggles that her forefathers went through. “This book tells the experiences of my African ancestors. It is not told from the perspective of world history as is written by Eurocentric scholars. The story I write is personal, it is not political,” Rowe-Edwards has said.