Angella Reid, Jamaica – Caribbean-American Woman of Influence
Angella Reid, the first woman appointed as Chief Usher of the United States White House, was born in St. Thomas Parish in Jamaica. She attended high school in Kingston prior to migrating to the US. She is just the ninth individual to be named Chief Usher in the history of the White House. Reid started […]
Colin Powell, Jamaica – Caribbean-American Man of Influence
Colin Powell was born in New York City in 1937 to Jamaican parents. He attended public schools in New York and earned a geology degree from the City College of New York, where he participated in ROTC. He was commissioned an Army second lieutenant when he graduated in 1958 and served as a professional solider […]
Former Miss Jamaica World Contestant among Cast Members of “Real Housewives of Dubai” TV Series
Lesa “Milan” Hall, a contestant in the Miss Jamaica World pageant of 2009, is featured in the new reality television series, “The Real Housewives of Dubai” on Bravo. The website for the program describes Hall as “a successful fashion designer and entrepreneur living out her dreams in Dubai.” She will join five other cast members […]
Jamaican Appears as Contestant on NBC Game Show “The Weakest Link”
Jamaican interior designer Marsha McDonald will appear on the hit NBC game show “The Weakest Link” on June 13, 2022, at 10/9 CST. McDonald traveled to Los Angeles in 2021 to meet with the other contestants and the show’s host Jane Lynch. She described her experience with the production team as “stellar” and that everything […]
Dothlyn ‘Joyce’ Campbell OD – Saluting 60 Jamaican Women Pioneers
Dothlyn Joyce Campbell OD was a lady of firsts: A founding member and principal dancer of Jamaica’s world-renowned National Dance Theatre Company (NDTC) founded in 1962; the first Coordinator for the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) established in 1963 – formerly the Jamaica Festival Commission- and the Jayteens Dance Troup which she established, also in […]
Celia Cruz, Cuba – Caribbean-American Woman of Influence
Celia Cruz, who has been called the “Queen of Salsa,” was born in the Santos Suárez neighborhood of Havana, Cuba, in 1925. She was one of the oldest of 14 children and used to sing to put her younger siblings to sleep. Her homemaker mother, who said Celia began singing when she was no older […]
A Film by Jamaican-Born, Diane Robinson, Selected by The American Black Film Festival
The American Black Film Festival celebrating its 26th anniversary announced “The Young Vote”, a film by Jamaican-born Diane Robinson, as an Official Selection. ABFF will take place in Miami Beach from June 15-19, followed by virtual events on ABFF Play from June 20-30. “I made this film because I wanted to find out why young […]
Marcus Garvey, Jamaica – Caribbean-American Man of Influence
Marcus Mosiah Garvey was born in St. Ann’s Bay, Jamaica, to an Afro-Jamaican family. He worked in the print trade as a teenager and became involved in trade union activity. In 1914, he founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), and in 1916, moved to the US to establish a branch of the organization in […]
Jamaican Diaspora Engagement, A Two-Way Street
While Jamaicans in Jamaica work to be the best they can be, Jamaicans in the Diaspora do the same. Some of us have a little more resources, others with a lot more, yet pound-for-pound, we all work hard to sustain life, family, and lifestyle. Many Jamaicans leave the original “soil” to foreign lands to find […]
Jamaican American Shelly Flash Makes “MasterChef” Top 20
Jamaican American home cook Chef, Shelly Flash, who first appeared on Season 6 of the popular competitive cooking show, has made it through three rounds of auditions by previous contestants to make the Fox Network show’s Top 20. In the third episode of the head-to-head battles of “MasterChef: Back to Win,” the top 40 contestants […]