By Howard Campbell–  Linton “Kwesi” Johnson– IN 1970s Britain, the sounds of Marley, Burning Spear and Linton Kwesi Johnson were the soundtrack for militant black youth protesting racism in that country. On October 20, Johnson will receive the Order of Distinction for his contribution to the development of Jamaican music. The OD, Jamaica’s fifth highest civic honor, will be awarded during the annual National Honours and Awards ceremony at King’s House. Johnson was born in Clarendon but moved to Britain as an 11-year-old in 1963. Widespread racism and social indifference toward blacks inspired his recordings in the early 1970s, which many musicologists cite as the genesis of dub poetry. Some of Johnson’s most potent work such as Five Nights of Bleeding (For Leroy Harris), Doun De Road, Song of Blood and It Dread Inna Ingland (For … Read entire article »