Mark Clarke (left), winner of The Gleaner's Silver Pen Award for the month of February, smiles yesterday as he accepts a copy of his letter entitled 'Finding freedom from mental slavery" from Byron Buckley, acting editor for The Sunday Gleaner. - RUDOLPH BROWN/CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
MARK CLARKE, maintenance technician at APM Terminals in Kingston, says he is concerned with the growing cases of skin bleaching among Jamaican men and women.
It was this concern that prompted Mr. Clarke to write a letter to the editor in February. He bested 27 other competitors to win the prestigious Gleaner Silver Pen award, which is presented to the author of the letter to the editor adjudged to have written the best 'Letter of the Day' for each month.
"I have been working for this (the award) since 1998. I feel elated," Mr. Clarke said yesterday, after being presented with the award.
"In a month designated for the celebration of Black History, a history that was wrought and marred in sub-human treatment and inferior labels, one finds the roots of much of this bleaching epidemic," read part of Mr. Clarke's letter which was titled 'Finding freedom from mental slavery'.
He continued: "However, it may be argued that our history is past us, and currently, there is a new appreciation for our newly-found selves."
