International Reggae and World Music Awards (IRAWMA) to reconsider hosting the 33rd IRAWMA in Florida in 2014 in support of Trayvon Martin
CHICAGO – Calls are mounting from music lovers and members of Martin’s International’s annual International Reggae and World Music Awards (IRAWMA) for producer Ephraim Martin to reconsider hosting the 33rd IRAWMA in Florida in February,
Last Saturday at a Trayvon Martin rally held at the Federal Building in Chicago and hosted by the National Action Network (NAN) and Chicago’s talk radio station WVON AM, Martin was again asked to seriously reconsider taking the 2014 IRAWMA to Florida at least for one year in support of Trayvon Martin and for an end to Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law. The rally included speeches from Congressman Danny Davis, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Father Michael Pfleger, MC Lyte and other community and national activists.
“I feel very connected to Trayvon Benjamin Martin,” said Ephraim Martin. “Not only did my late father Benjamin Martin share a name with Trayvon, but I know what it feels like to be a Black Man living in America and I want to do what’s right.” Martin will be heading to South Florida next week to meet with his Florida team and to make further announcements about the 33rd IRAWMA, normally held in the month of May.
This would be the sixth time since 1987 that Florida would host the International Reggae and World Music Awards, bringing scores of reggae and world music fans to the Sunshine State to celebrate musical achievement. In May 2013, IRAWMA returned to Florida for the fifth time. The celebration was attended by hundreds of fans from various parts of the United States, the Caribbean, Africa, Europe, Canada and other parts of the globe.
