Donisha Prendergast

Last updated

Donisha Prendergast
Born
Donisha Prendergast

(1984-12-29) 29 December 1984 (age 40)
Kingston, Jamaica
Alma mater Howard University (BA), Toronto Metropolitan University (BFA)
Occupation Filmmaker (Documentary)
Relatives Bob Marley, Ziggy Marley, Sharon Marley, Peter Prendergast, Cedella Marley, Stephen Marley, Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers, Lauryn Hill
Website hovnow.com

Donisha Prendergast (born December 29, 1984) is a Jamaican filmmaker, activist and actress. Her on-screen acting work includes female lead in Canadian Screen Award-winning films Akilla's Escape (2020) alongside co-star poet Saul Williams as well as Black Bodies (2020) alongside her husband, visual artist Komi Olafimihan. [1] Her documentary work includes The Story of God - Season 2, Ep2 (2018) with Academy Award winner Morgan Freeman, and Rasta, A Soul's Journey (2013). [2]

Contents

Career

Early life

Prendergast is the eldest granddaughter of reggae singers Bob Marley and Rita Marley and daughter Sharon Marley and Peter Prendergast. [3] As a child, she toured with her mother Sharon Marley, a member of Ziggy Marley & the Melody Makers. [4]

Prendergast began her career acting and the theatre, studying at Howard University where she majored in Theater Arts before continuing studies in Film & Digital Production, earning a BFA in Fine Arts from Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University).

In 2005, her grandmother Rita Marley introduced her to another kind of stage in Ethiopia as a youth ambassador for the Bob & Rita Marley Foundation's Mission: Bob Marley's 60th birthday celebrations and the Africa Unite Youth Symposiums. [5] She began a career as a speaker and cultural ambassador taking her much of the Caribbean, Europe, Africa and North America. With Free the Children, she built a school for girls in the Mara Masaai region in Kenya. [6] [7]

In 2010, Donisha became one of the founding directors of NGO Manifesto Jamaica, [8] an organization committed to global community work with special focus on healing works in Jamaica, especially with the youth of Faces of Tivoli Gardens Youth Organization, who mentored since the violent incursion of May 2010. [9] She later joined the I Am the Change World Tour with Ndaba Mandela, Nelson Mandela's grandson and Jasmine Rand to discuss the power of international collective action. [10]

In 2014, she formed a strategic alliance with civil rights attorneys Benjamin Crump and Jasmine Rand to forward social justice movements and causes including Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice and Mario Deane. [11]

Film work

Her on screen acting credits includes Savannah, which she also wrote and executive produced TVJ, The Story of God with Academy Award winner Morgan Freeman, [12] Disney Plus Rasta, A Soul's Journey [13] City TV, OMI Jury Prize SXSW, Canadian Screen Award-winning films Akilla's Escape Netflix and Black Bodies Bell Media which also won much acclaim at Sundance. [14] [15]

Her screenwriter’s credits are also growing with projects like Jamaican TV movie Savannah (2017), Earthworm (2016), Awaking Sankofa (2018), shot Cape Coast dungeons, Ghana and was story co-creator and associate producer on When Morning Comes (2022). As a director, recent work includes directing the music video for her mother’s Sharon Marley single, “Steppah”. [16]

Philanthropy and activism

In 2014, she become involved in a campaign to protect the site of Jamaica's first Rastafarian community, a Rastafarian place of worship - near the village established by Leonard P Howell in the 1930s. [17]

In 2018, Prendergast became an advocate for police reform after she was reported to be breaking into a southern California AirBnb she had rented while on a work trip. [18] She was with two other Black colleagues and a white assistant when they were surrounded by seven police cars. [19] [20] [21]

In 2019 she made headlines, after she publicly commented that she was thinking of entering political office in Jamaica. [22]

In 2021, Prendergast created an organization [23] and campaign [24] to support finalist Syesha Mercado [25] in fighting the Manatee County Sheriff's department after they took away her newborn baby daughter.

Prendergast started non-profit organization the Humanity Ova Vanity, [26] an organization and studio supported by the Rita Marley foundation that seeks to deliver social interventions through educational, art, film and community development initiatives.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rastafari</span> Religion originating in 1930s Jamaica

Rastafari is an Abrahamic religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion. There is no central authority in control of the movement and much diversity exists among practitioners, who are known as Rastafari, Rastafarians, or Rastas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ziggy Marley</span> Jamaican reggae musician (born 1968)

David Nesta "Ziggy" Marley is a Jamaican reggae musician. He is the son of reggae icon Bob Marley and Rita Marley. He led the family band Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers until 2002, with whom he released eight studio albums. After the disbandment, Ziggy launched a successful solo career, releasing eight solo studio albums on his own label, Tuff Gong Worldwide. Ziggy continues his father's practice of recording and self-releasing all of his music. Marley is an eight-time Grammy Award winner and a Daytime Emmy Award recipient.

Roots reggae is a subgenre of reggae that deals with the everyday lives and aspirations of Africans and those in the African Diaspora, including the spiritual side of Rastafari, black liberation, revolution and the honouring of God, called Jah by Rastafarians. It is identified with the life of the ghetto sufferer, and the rural poor. Lyrical themes include spirituality and religion, struggles by artists, poverty, black pride, social issues, resistance to fascism, capitalism, corrupt government and racial oppression. A spiritual repatriation to Africa is a common theme in roots reggae.

Jamaican culture consists of the religion, norms, values, and lifestyle that define the people of Jamaica. The culture is mixed, with an ethnically diverse society, stemming from a history of inhabitants beginning with the original inhabitants of Jamaica. The Spaniards originally brought slavery to Jamaica. Then they were overthrown by the English. Jamaica later gained emancipation on 1 August 1838, and independence from the British on 6 August 1962. Black slaves became the dominant cultural force as they suffered and resisted the harsh conditions of forced labour. After the abolition of slavery, Chinese and Indian migrants were transported to the island as indentured workers, bringing with them ideas from their country.

Leonard Percival Howell, also known as The Gong or G. G. Maragh, was a Jamaican religious figure. According to his biographer Hélène Lee, Howell was born into an Anglican family. He was one of the first preachers of the Rastafari movement, and is known by many as The First Rasta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rita Marley</span> Jamaican singer-songwriter and entrepreneur (born 1946)

Alfarita Constantia "Rita" Marley OJ OD is a Cuban-born Jamaican singer-songwriter and entrepreneur. She is the widow of reggae legend Bob Marley. Along with Marcia Griffiths and Judy Mowatt, Rita was a member of the reggae vocal group the I Threes, the backing vocalists for Bob Marley and the Wailers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shashamane</span> City in Oromia Region, Ethiopia

Shashamane is a city in southern Ethiopia. Located in the Oromia Region with a 2007 Census population of 100,454, but with an estimated 208,368 inhabitants in mid 2022; the town is known for its Rastafarian community. A couple of years ago, the current town administration made a determined move to speed up the development of the town and answer the questions of the residents and is one of the fast urbanizing urban centers in Oromia Regional State and has seventeen (17) sub-cities. Namely Abosto, Alelu, Arada, Awasho, Dida boqe, Bulchana, Burqa Gudina, Kuyera, Awasho Dhenqu, Aleche Harebate, Edola burqa, Alelu Ilu, Bute filicha, Kerara filicha, Ilala Qorke, Meja Dema, and Bulchana Deneba. The resort of Wondo Genet lies near Shashamane, as does the Senkele Wildlife Sanctuary.

Mortimo St George "Kumi" Planno, was a Rastafari elder, drummer and a follower of the back-to-Africa movement founded in the 1910s by Marcus Garvey. He is best known as the Rasta teacher and friend of Bob Marley, and as the man who commanded the respect of a chaotic crowd during the arrival of Emperor Haile Selassie on his visit to Jamaica in 1966. He is referred to by other Rastas as a teacher and a leader within the context of the faith, given his life's work.

Grounation Day is the most important Rastafari holy day, It is celebrated in honour of Haile Selassie's 1966 visit to Jamaica.

Cynthia Jean Cameron Breakspeare is a Canadian-Jamaican jazz singer, musician and beauty queen. Breakspeare was crowned Miss World 1976. Breakspeare is the mother of reggae musician Damian Marley, through her relationship with Bob Marley, who remained married to Rita Marley until his death.

The Smile Jamaica Concert was a reggae concert held on 5 December 1976 at the National Heroes Park in Kingston, Jamaica, aimed at countering political violence. Bob Marley had agreed to perform, but, two days before the concert, he was shot in his home. He recovered and, with The Wailers, played a 90-minute set for the 80,000 people in attendance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers</span> Jamaican-American reggae family group

Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers were a Jamaican-American reggae family group whose line-up consisted of the children of musicians, Bob Marley and Rita Marley, which includes lead singer Ziggy Marley with Sharon Marley, Cedella Marley, and Stephen Marley. Formed in 1979 in Brooklyn, New York, Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers members began their musical endeavours in their pre-teens under the name the Melody Makers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Marley</span> Jamaican singer (1945–1981)

Robert Nesta Marley was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive vocal and songwriting style. Marley increased the visibility of Jamaican music worldwide and became a global figure in popular culture. He became known as a Rastafarian icon, and he infused his music with a sense of spirituality. Marley is also considered a global symbol of Jamaican music and culture and identity and was controversial in his outspoken support for democratic social reforms. Marley also supported the legalisation of cannabis and advocated for Pan-Africanism.

Cedella Marley Minto is a Jamaican singer. She is the daughter of reggae singers Bob Marley and Rita Marley and the mother of Skip Marley. She was in the group Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers along with her siblings. With the group, she has won three Grammy awards.

Sharon Marley is a Jamaican singer, dancer, and curator. She is the biological daughter of Rita Marley and was adopted by Bob Marley when the two married. She was in the group Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers along with her younger half-siblings. With the group, she has won three Grammy awards. Her daughter Donisha Prendergast is a filmmaker and activist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Syesha Mercado</span> American actress, model and musician

Syesha Raquel Mercado is an American singer-songwriter, actress, and model. Mercado placed third during the seventh season of American Idol. Prior to American Idol, Mercado was on The One: Making a Music Star and she won Florida Super Singer. Her musical influences are Whitney Houston, Etta James, Alicia Keys, Zap Mama, Lauryn Hill, and Aretha Franklin.

Abuna Yesehaq, was a leader of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in the Western hemisphere.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Bob Marley:

<i>Akillas Escape</i> 2020 Canadian drama film

Akilla's Escape is a 2020 drama film, directed by Charles Officer, his final feature prior to his death in 2023. The film stars Saul Williams as Akilla, a marijuana dealer retiring from the business following legalization, who tries to rescue a young boy from being drawn into a life of crime.

<i>Black Bodies</i> (film) 2020 Canadian short film

Black Bodies is a 2020 Canadian short film, directed by Kelly Fyffe-Marshall, and produced by Tamar Bird and Sasha Leigh Henry. Inspired by a real-life incident when Fyffe-Marshall, Komi Olaf and Donisha Prendergast were travelling in California, and a woman in the neighbourhood called the police on them because she wrongly believed they were burglarizing their Airbnb rental, the film features Olaf and Prendergast performing spoken word pieces about the trauma of being victimized by anti-Black racism.

References

  1. ↑ "'Black Bodies': Film starts conversations on racial profiling and anti-Blackness - National | Globalnews.ca". Global News.
  2. ↑ "Donisha Prendergast Photos et images de collection - Getty Images". www.gettyimages.fr.
  3. ↑ "Photos from Bob Marley's Family Tree".
  4. ↑ {https://jamaicans.com/jamaican-donisha-prendergrast-listed-as-breakout-star-at-sundance-film-fest/
  5. ↑ https://ritamarleyfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Harambe-Newsletter-Jun-Aug2012.pdf
  6. ↑ "About Us – Kenyan Boys Choir".
  7. ↑ https://allafrica.com/stories/201208200418.html
  8. ↑ "Home - MANIFESTO JAMAICA".
  9. ↑ McCallum, Selina (April 10, 2020). "Donisha Prendergast — Using art and activism from Jamaica to the world".
  10. ↑ "Nelson Mandela's grandson, Bob Marley's granddaughter speak at WVU". April 2024.
  11. ↑ "Prendergast gears up for battle - Top civil rights attorneys to represent Bob Marley's granddaughter in case against US police". jamaica-gleaner.com. May 11, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Donisha Prendergast, Morgan Freeman for National Geographic series". jamaica-gleaner.com. March 24, 2019.
  13. ↑ "Bob Marley's activist granddaughter in MTL for world premiere of her new Rasta doc at FNC | Montreal Gazette".
  14. ↑ "Bob Marley's Granddaughter Donisha Prendergast Stars in Sundance 2021 Film 'Black Bodies' About The Realities of Being Black in the 21st Century – Contrast Magazine".
  15. ↑ Korney, Stephanie (February 19, 2021). "Jamaican Donisha Prendergrast Listed as Breakout Star at Sundance Film Fest".
  16. ↑ "SHARON MARLEY's new single 'STEPPAH' with BIG YOUTH radiates heartfelt vibes - Out Now". February 9, 2024.
  17. ↑ "Jamaica: Row over status of first Rasta village". BBC News. February 3, 2014.
  18. ↑ Andone, Dakin (May 10, 2018). "Woman says she called police when black Airbnb guests didn't wave at her". CNN.
  19. ↑ Meschino, Patricia (May 15, 2018). "Bob Marley's Granddaughter Donisha Prendergast Demands Police Protocol Changes After Airbnb Run-In". Billboard .
  20. ↑ Wills, Cortney (May 10, 2018). "After police detainment over Airbnb checkout, Donisha Prendergast, speaks out "What happened to us is an indignity"". TheGrio.
  21. ↑ https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/programs/metromorning/black-airbnb-guests-detained-california-1.4658941
  22. ↑ https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/bob-marley-s-granddaughter-thinking-of-entering-political-office-in-jamaica-119012200335_1.html
  23. ↑ Mendoza, Jay Handelman and Jesse. "Manatee County authorities take newborn of 'American Idol' finalist Syesha Mercado". Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
  24. ↑ https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/2022-05/RTBR.pdf
  25. ↑ "Former 'Idol' Contestant Syesha Mercado Holds Emotional Press Conference After Her Children Were Removed By Authorities". BET.
  26. ↑ "Humanity Ova Vanity - Exploring Creation in pursuit of a greater overstanding of Humanity and ourselves". www.humanityovavanity.org.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.