On January 17, 2021, Invest Caribbean, the top global private-sector investment agency of the Caribbean will join with the Caribbean American Action Network (CAAN), a group of Caribbean American and Caribbean organizations, to present a live, virtual inauguration party themed “Celebrating #CaribbeanAmerican Kamala” to mark the inauguration of the first female Caribbean American Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris.
The virtual celebration will feature performances from some of the top Caribbean entertainers, including Jamaican-born dancehall artist Flourgon. One of the hosts of the celebration will be Trina Parks, the first black woman in a James Bond film who has roots in Barbados through her mother and in Antigua through her grandparents.
Other performers will include Edwin Yearwood; Krosfyah; as well as rising stars Toni Norville and Kirk Brown; Jamaican gospel singer Joan Meyers; Jamaican artist Janine Jkuhl;, Owen Dalhouse; the famous Fab Five Band of Jamaica, and Guyanese Menes De Griot and Shanto, along with Frankie McIntosh, Maxie Gouevia and Rashid Thorpe.
De Griot, who is an African spiritual leader, an herbalist, and a master drummer who performed at the Million Women March and Tribute to The Ancestors, will open the event with a pouring of libation to the ancestors with a group drumming performance to follow.
Speakers at the event will include New York Congressman Adriano Espaillat, one of the few Caribbean-born US Congressmembers; the Vice Chancellor of the University of the West Indies, Sir Hilary Beckles; Chair of the CARICOM Consular Corps of New York, Counsel General of Barbados to NY, O. St. E. Mackie Holder; and Dr. Michelle Chester, the corporate director Employee Health Services at Northwell Health who delivered the first COVID-19 vaccine in the United States. Several leaders from the Caribbean Diaspora community will also speak, including ICN CEO and CAAN’s founder, Felicia J. Persaud; President of ICN and CAAN co-founder, Dr. Sheila Newton Moses; Caribbean Immigrant Services founder, Irwine Clare, Sr., O.D.; Global Village Book Publishing LLC’s Aubry Padmore; Coalition for the Preservation of Reggae Music’s Carlyle McKetty and Esther Austin of Esther Austin Global.
Kamala Harris herself is also expected to deliver her own message to the Caribbean people and the Diaspora.
Felicia J. Persaud, the creator of the event and a Caribbean-American immigrant, journalist, entrepreneur and advocate, noted that this is a historic moment for the Caribbean people in the US. She added that “we are convinced that VP-elect Harris represents the best interest of all Americans, inclusive of those who share her Caribbean ancestry.” She added that the US and the Caribbean have long had a positive working diplomatic relationship, which is likely to be reinforced with Harris as a strong ally in the White House. ” We are proud that she is one of us,” Persaud said.
Dr. Sheila Moses Newton noted that “Not only did Caribbean voters help to elect the first female, Caribbean American US Vice-President, but now we are marking this moment, in the history of the Caribbean Diaspora memorable, and making it known globally, that she is not only, African American, Indian American, but Caribbean American with a rich heritage.”
The live-streaming of the celebratory event will begin at 7 pm EST on January 17, 2021, on the Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube platforms of One Caribbean Television (OCTV) and on Radio 102.9FM in Antigua and Barbuda. On Inauguration Day, the event will air on OCTV on broadcast television across the Caribbean.
The Caribbean American Action Network, an initiative of Invest Caribbean, marks the coming together of a number of Caribbean Diaspora organizations to serve the millions of Caribbean Americans in the US in the areas of civic engagement, civil rights and immigration, business funding and grants and health. Its sponsors include Team Jamaica Bickle, Coalition For The Preservation Of Reggae Music, Global Village Book Publishing, LLC, Esther Austin Global, One Caribbean Television, News Americas News Network, CaribPR Wire, Hard Beat Communications, The Haitian Times, and Radio 102.9FM.
Source: Carib PR
