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Caribbeans make
up a significant segment of the population in England and Canada.
In the US, they number over 22 million (Strategy Research Corporation).
In New York City, they make up almost 25% of the population. And
within the tri-state area - New York, New Jersey and Connecticut
- they number close to five million. In the United States, Caribbeans
are more socio-economically mobile than African-Americans and
Hispanics (New York's Newsday Newspaper Survey). Their penchant
for entrepreneurship is quite evident in many parts of New York
City (Richmond Hill, Flatbush, Hillside Avenue, South Bronx, Washington
Heights, Crown Heights and other areas) as well as in other states
such as Atlanta, Florida, Washington, Texas, California and elsewhere.
Thus they represent not only very significant spending power (over
one billion dollars annually), but they also generate jobs and
contribute to the economic development of areas where they choose
to reside - usually depressed and/or inner city areas.
The Caribbean
impact in politics is quite evident in the tri-state area and
other parts of the US, in the numbers of state and city legislators
of Caribbean heritage, the increasing representation in Capitol
Hill and the rush to court voters of Caribbean heritage during
national elections. Note that the first African-American woman
to sit in Congress and to run for the presidency was a Caribbean
- Shirley Chisolm. The first non-white chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff and Secretary of State was a Caribbean - Colin Powell.
The first Black to make it big in Hollywood was Caribbean
Sidney Poitier. And Caribbeans have been in the forefront of the
civil rights movement - Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, Stokley Carmichael,
and the controversial Louis Farrakhan among others.
Elsewhere around
the world Caribbeans are also quite impactful also. Sir Shridath
Ramphal is a former Secretary General of the Commonwealth. Mohammed
Shabudeen is a judge on the World Court. Rudy Narine was a pioneer
of the civil rights movement in England; Sir Arthur Lewis (Nobel
prize in economics), Dr. Bishnoodat Persaud (internationally recognized
tourism economist), Avinash Persaud (prize winning financial analyst),
Wendy Fitzwilliam, Shakira Caine and a host of others (international
beauty pageants) are only a few of the legions. Caribbean music,
especially reggae, calypso, chutney and salsa have become international
and have influenced the rhythms of many other genres. Rock and
Roll Hall of Famer, Bob Marley, Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, Sundar
Popo and Harry Belafonte lead a long and distinguished list of
acclaimed musical greats. Carnival has become a major outdoor
celebration with the Brooklyn Carnival (USA), Notting Hill Carnival
(England) and Caribana (Canada) being the largest outdoor, televised
activities in those countries - attracting millions of spectators
and participants. In fact, Caribbean style carnivals are a feature
of the landscape in Florida, Boston and other parts of the US
as well as a number of other countries around the world.Already
a major force in American baseball, with an influx of great players
from Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico (Orlando Hernandez,
Sammy Sosa and company) Caribbeans are beginning to impact in
other sports as well - Patrick Ewing, Shaquille O'Neal, Felipe
Lopez , Rick Fox, Tim Duncan, Mario Ellie and a host of others
in basketball; Felix Trinidad, Lennox Lewis and a long line of
boxing luminaries; Ato Bolden, Merlin Ottey, Donovan Bailey, Deon
Hemmings, Marion Jones, Marie Jose-Perec et al in athletics; Patrick
Husbands, Emile Ramsammy and Shaun Bridgemohan in horse racing;
chess grandmaster, Maurice Ashley; Dwight Yorke and an array of
soccer stars, not to mention cricket and its impressive range
of superstars from Sir Garfield Sobers to Ramnaresh Sarwan, Vivian
Richards to Courtney Walsh.
And the list
goes on. Caribbean cuisine (curry, beans and rice, jerk chicken)
is increasingly making its way into the mainstream. In fact companies
like Golden Krust, Caribbean Food Delights, Simeus Foods and Tower
Isles Patties are million dollar concerns. And restaurants and
catering halls like Nakisaki, Chateau Royale and Henry House are
carving their own niches in a highly competitive marketplace.Caribbean
writers - V.S. Naipaul, Edwidge Danticat, Derek Walcott, Kamau
Brathwaite, Marijse Conde, Junot Diaz, Jamaica Kincaid, Julia
Alvarez, Judith Ortiz, Sasenarine Persaud, Samuel Selvon, Lakshmi
Persaud etc. - are making a name for themselves. And slowly but
surely Caribbeans are invading fashion and entertainment - Oscar
de la Renta, Karl Kani, Vanessa Williams, Wyclef Jean, Lauryn
Hill, Gloria Estefan, Lynn Whitfield, Mike Robles, Naomi Campbell,
Carlos Acosta, Sidney Poitier, Chita Riveria, Jennifer Lopez,
Garcelle Beauvaix, Ricky Martin, Jose Feliciano et al.In the employment
sector, Caribbeans (in the US tri-state area) dominate parts of
the health care industry (nursing and health aides) and the power
service industry (Con Edison especially). They are significant
in the media, construction, domestic service, sales and teaching.
They are increasingly climbing the ladder of management - Eric
Holder, Deputy US Attorney General; Roger Enrico, former Chairman
of the Board and CEO, Pepsico; Paula Madison, Vice-President and
News Director at WNBC TV; Aida Alvarez, head of the Small Business
Administration; Angela King, deputy UN secretary-general to name
a few. And they are increasingly launching out into the world
of business and allied services - Ashook Ramsarran and RAMEX,
the Hernandez Mets Supermarket empire, Goya Foods and so on.
More than anything
else, Caribbeans' penchant for upward mobility ensure the revitalization
of communities, the increasing tendency towards seeking higher
education and the propensity for risk taking in search of their
dreams - American, Canadian, English whatever.Given their multicultural
and multiethnic backgrounds, Caribbeans are not only a cementing
force in the host societies, but they also add many strands to
the fabric of the cultures. And, as a group, Caribbeans' rate
of growth is faster than the national average. In effect, Caribbeans
are now a very visible feature on the American, British, Canadian
landscape especially, but elsewhere also. Indeed the Caribbean
community has been a sleeping behemoth that is beginning to awaken.
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