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Welcome to Strictly Facts , a guide to Caribbean history and culture , hosted by me , alexandria Miller . Strictly Facts teaches the history , politics and activism of the Caribbean and connects these themes to contemporary music and popular culture . Waquan Strictly Facts family , we are back for another year of the show . I am so excited to not only be celebrating a new year , but also five years of my Baby . Strictly Facts , a guide to Caribbean history and culture , next week . As well as the many things we have in store for this year , we have some long awaited episodes to share and so much more in store for this year . We have some long-awaited episodes to share and so much more in store . My word for the year is discipline , which means over here on the production side of Strictly Facts , we had a ton up to take , so that's something to definitely be on the lookout for . Best of all , as I hope you could tell , in our last few episodes of 2024 , we'll be taking a deeper dive into the arts and addition .

Speaker 1 1:08

We are amplifying the stories and histories that exist between the lines . You may know the saying history is written by the victors and , simply put , that phrase has a lot about power , positionality and who has typically had the ability to tell our stories . Historically , that has often meant people who don't look like us or don't consider the myriad of factors one must really take into account when writing history . Well , this next year of Strictly Facts is all about sharing the histories between the lines . You may be wondering what do I mean between the lines ? You may be wondering what do I mean . Of course , we're continuing to share and discuss Caribbean history and current events , especially as they relate to our evolution and growth and development . Additionally , though , there are always stories within stories . For instance , a story many of us are familiar with through our national pride and even , maybe even , in your schools , is of our , you know , individual Caribbean nations' independence movements , but you might not have known , prior to even maybe listening to Strictly Facts , that before many of the particularly Anglophone Caribbean nations became independent , there existed the West Indian Federation , the Anglophone Caribbean's short-lived attempt at creating a political union that existed from the late 50s to the early 60s . So these are precisely the stories within the stories that we're focusing on this year .

Speaker 1 2:40

So , with this focus , this next year of Strictly Facts isn't just about telling the stories that exist between the lines , but also sharing the things that have largely been overlooked or omitted from broader publications . Sharing these histories offers us new treasures that are not only crucial to our understanding of where we come from individually , but also helps us forge greater alliances amongst ourselves , who are quite literally all over the globe . There's just so much we don't know , and that little space in between the lines can kick open the door . So , as I said , this year is all about reading between the lines , and I welcome any of our listeners who may have their own between the lines stories to send us an email or DM and share your story with the Strictly Facts family . We also have a bunch of milestones coming up this year , including our 100th episode and so much more .

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So , as always , stay tuned , subscribe to the show , follow us on social media , share with a friend and a friend and another friend , leave a comment and continue to be a part of this growing thing we've got going . I am so grateful to have you be a part of the family and looking forward to sharing with you in 2025 . Till next time , little more , and happy new year .