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Makeda Cheatom

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Makeda Cheatom Makeda ‘Dread’ Chatom, an entrepreneur.[1][2], civil activist, and icon [3] in San Diego’s African-American community, is the founder of the WorldBeat Cultural Center in Balboa Park [2][4], creator of the George Washington Carver EthnoBotany Peace Garden [5], and co-founder of Casa del Tunel in Tijuana, Mexico [6]

Early life

Marianne Makeda Cheatom was born in 1942 in Paducah, Texas.[4] Her father was in the Air Force there and then transferred to the San Diego Naval Air Station when Makeda was a baby.[7]

Education

Makeda graduated from San Diego High School (c. 1962). As an experimental cook, she studied food services and culinary arts at San Diego City College and telecommunications at Mesa Collage[4]. She also studied Transcendental Meditation, which she attributes to her continued ability to rise above prejudicial behavior.[1] [4]

Accomplishments

  • As a restauranteur, Cheatom founded Prophet International Vegetarian Restaurant (1971-1985)[4], which was the first vegetarian restaurant in San Diego[8]. George Harrison, Gloria Swanson, Dick Van Dyke, Dyan Cannon, and Dick Gregory were clientele.[1]
  • As an entrepreneur, Cheatom founded The Baobab, an African crafts/cultural center in Golden Hill area starting in 1981.[1]
  • As a reggae music promoter, Cheatom staged her first reggae concert in 1980[1]; previous to that, she had befriended Bob Marley which led to Cheatom organizing Bob Marley Day Festival concerts, which attracted most of the famous Reggae artists; all tolled, she produced 35 annual reggae festivals.[2][4][9]
  • As a radio show host of Reggae Makossa, Cheatom has been on the air for 25 years as of 2016.[2][10]
  • As the founder of WorldBeat Center in Balboa Park[4] since its lease in 1989, Cheatom’s non- profit business incorporated c. 1996 and received LEED Silver Certification in 2012 [11]. The WorldBeat Center highlights music, dance, arts and World Peace [11] for the African diaspora which includes African-Americans, Afro-Caribbean, and Africans. The Center is housed in one of the old water towers in Balboa Park [2][12]. In 2015, she was honored with a 2015 Balboa Park Sustainability Award.[13]
  • As a cultural ambassador, Cheatom is recognized for highlighting that San Diego and Balboa Park are the ancestral Kumeyaay Indian territory and sharing Kumeyaay culture.[13]
  • As an award-winning garden creator, Cheatom created the George Washington Carver EthnoBotany Peace Garden at the WorldBeat Center[5][14]. The garden’s functions include collaborating with nutrition and gardening programs in San Diego schools [14]; planting endemic and indigenous plants that are part of Kumeyaay traditions [15] and using seeds of heirloom food plants [5]. The garden also uses plants to attract Monarch butterflies, and creates a space for a spiritual pathway surrounded by these many different labeled plants. The garden has been recognized [15] as: The first sustainable edible garden in Balboa Park; certified Earth Friendly Garden by San Diego Master Gardeners; Pollinator Habitat by Xerces Society; Certified Monarch Waystation by Monarch Watch; Certified Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation; Winner of Balboa Park Sustainability Award 2015; Winner of the 2015 Del Mar Horticultural Fair Award; Home to two Multinational Peace Poles; co-recipient of a four-year National Science Foundation grant with Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology to incorporate African American and Latino students.[16]
  • As a co-founder, Cheatom helped create Casa del Tunel in Tijuana, Mexico[2], as an art and cultural center to teach, perform, and present traditional forms of art; philanthropically, its focus is also to help Haitian and African refugees in Tijuana.[6]

Recognition and awards

  • Inducted in 2012 into the San Diego Women’s Museum Hall of Fame as a Cultural Competent Bridge Builder.[17]
  • Received awards from Television Channel 10 Leadership Award, Project Concern International, Palava Tree for Arts and Culture (India), Water for Africa Foundation, and International Rescue Committee.[10]
  • Named as 2018 Woman of the Year for the the 53rd Congressional District, presented by Councilman Todd Gloria.[5]
  • Received in 2019 the President’s Award from the NAAXCP San Diego chapter[3]
  • Highlighted as one of the 2020 Phenomenal Women of San Diego.[2]
  • Honored in 2020 as a local legend being portrayed on a City mural[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e DeWyze, Jeannette, 1981, Marianne Makeda Cheatom – reggae matriarch of San Diego vegetarians; https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/1981/may/21/cover-prophet-sharing/. Retrieved 8 January 2021
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Munoz Ryan, Pam, 2020, “Makeda Dread” in Phenomenal Women of San Diego, San Diego Union-Tribune, Sept. 27, p. 3
  3. ^ a b c Kragen, Pam, 2020, Mural Honors Local Legend, San Diego Union Tribune, Nov. 17, p. B1
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Salaam, Elizabeth, 2012, Your Child is my Child; https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2012/apr/04/feature-your-child-my-child/. Retrieved 8 January 2021
  5. ^ a b c d Berenice, 2018 Highlights at WorldBeat Center; http://www.worldbeatcenter.org/archives/30174. Retrieved 8 January 2021
  6. ^ a b Pollack, Mimi, 2016, Nurturing Immigrant Art and Giving Back; https://sandiegofreepress.org/2016/12/makeda-dread-cheatom/#.XwIayyhKg2w Retrieved 8 January 2021
  7. ^ Prince Sefa-Boakye, n.d., Princes Daily Journal, Makeda’s Story and her Legacy for Peace; https://princesdailyjournal.com/interestingpeopl/makeda-dread-founder-and-ceo-of-the-world-beat-center/makedas-story-and-her-legacy-for-peace/. Retrieved 8 January 2021
  8. ^ Arnold, T.K., 1985, Prophet Vegetarian Restaurant shuts doors; https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/1985/jan/10/one-veggie-combo-go/#. Retrieved 8 January 2021
  9. ^ Varga, George, 2016, 35th Bob Marley Day Festival the Last for Makeda Dread; https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/entertainment/music/sdut-makeda-reggae-lends-fest-end-of-an-era-2016jan30-htmlstory.html. Retrieved 8 January 2021
  10. ^ a b “Makeda ‘Dread’ Cheatom”, 2018; www.worldbeatcenter.org/about-us/people. Retrieved 8 January 2021
  11. ^ a b World Beat Center, https://www.balboapark.org/museums/worldbeat-center. Retrieved 8 January 2021
  12. ^ KUSI Newsroom, 2015, Honoring Dr. King’s Dream; https://www.kusi.com/honoring-dr-kings-dream/. Retrieved 8 January 2021
  13. ^ a b Davis, Rose, 2015, WorldBeat Center’s New Kumeyaay Indigenous Garden: Indian Voices, August 2015, p. 1; www.indianvoices.net/archives. Retrieved Retrieved 8 January 2021
  14. ^ a b World Beat Productions, 2014, WorldBeat Children’s Garden; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCAyHj1X2To. Retrieved 8 January 2021
  15. ^ a b George Washington Carver EthnoBotany Peace Garden; http://www.worldbeatcenter.org/programs/childrens-peace-garden. Retrieved 8 January 2021
  16. ^ The Stone that the Builder Refused: Indian Voices, Oct. 2015, pp. 3,11; www.indianvoices.net/archives. Retrieved 8 January 2021
  17. ^ Women’s Museum of California; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_Museum_of_California. Retrieved 8 January 2021
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