Caribbean American Passport News Magazine - May 2021 by caribbeanamericanpassport

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May/Jun 2021

A Proclamation on National Caribbean-American Heritage Month, 2021 JUNE 01, 2021 PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS America’s diversity is and always has been the defining strength of our Nation — in every generation, our society, spirit, and shared ambitions have been refreshed by wave after wave of immigrants seeking out their American dream. Throughout our history, Caribbean Americans have brought vibrant cultures, languages, traditions, and values that strengthen our country and add new chapters to our common story. In recognition of Caribbean Americans’ countless gifts and contributions to our Nation, we celebrate National CaribbeanAmerican Heritage Month. Caribbean Americans have made our country more innovative and more prosperous; they have enriched our Nation’s arts and culture, our public institutions, and our economy. I am honored to celebrate this National Caribbean-American Heritage Month alongside Caribbean-American barrier-breaking public servants in my Administration — including Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, and Domestic Policy Advisor Susan Rice — all of whom continue to be sources of pride and inspiration for Caribbean Americans across the country. Cont'd on page 6

A MESSAGE FOR CARIBBEAN AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH DAVID MULINGS, CEO, BLUE MAHOE CAPITAL Most people do not focus on building a sensational legacy. Many are often asked to small up themselves and told that the nail that sticks out will get hammered. Don’t climb too high because you expose yourself. That is not how you inspire others. You inspire others by pursuing excellence, worthy fantasies and ignoring the naysayers. You inspire others when you think bigger and persevere. Your mindset will determine how you elevate yourself and elevate others. My brother, my parents, my wife and children, my team at Blue Mahoe Capital, my friends, Michael Lee-Chin and my wider support network have always encouraged me, regardless of the setbacks, to pursue excellence. Life is simpler than we realize but it requires a few failures, a few knockdowns, a few U-turns in order to find your true path. I kept my eyes on the prize with my 15-year plan through to age 30 and then

my 20-year plan through to age 50. Believe that you are worthy and others will too. We people from the Caribbean have a culture that allows us to punch way above our weight and that is carried with us anywhere we move to. We should be more united. We should be more collaborative and we should be more open to individuals countries of the region. UWI is unique in being a multi-country university system that allows people from different Caribbean countries to spend significant time getting to know each other and the cultures. Cont'd on page 7

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L I F E S T Y L E

Guenet Gittens-Roberts Owner/Publisher/Editor

Thank you for your support Samuel J. Roberts

Owner/Publisher/Editor

As we head back into doing events, we are thankful to the companies that support the cultural events that we create for the community. These people support the events that you would like to have, and they support the advertising that supports this newspaper. This Caribbean American Heritage Month, please support one or all of them with your business. Every Sunday we will be celebrating Caribbean American Heritage Month at the Florida Beer Company. Join us at their brewery in Port Canaveral where they now brew Carib beer. Marcus Garvey said this years ago and it is still true today “Being satisfied to drink the dregs from the cup of human progress will not demonstrate our fitness as a people to exist alongside of others, but when of our own initiative we strike out to build industries, governments, and ultimately empires, then and only then will we as a race prove to our creator and to man in general that we are fit to survive and capable of shaping our own destiny.”

1969 Alafaya Trail • Orlando, FL 32828 Office: 407-427-1800 Fax: 407-386-7925 Toll Free: 877-220-8315 For Media Information email: Publisher: sroberts@caribbeanamericanpassport.com Info: .Info@caribbeanamericanpassport.com

Should you desire to review past copies of the publication go to http:// caribbeanamericanpassport.com and click on the 'Print Archive'. Publisher & Editor................................................................................... Sam Roberts Publisher ............................................................................. Guenet Gittens-Roberts Editor & Contributing Writer................................................................Aleia Roberts Contributing Writers: ................................................................................ Tony Dyal Contributing Photographers ............ .......................................................Ted Hollins ....................................................................................................................Dillia Castillo Central Florida Distribution......................................................... .Danielle Browne South Florida Distribution .............................................................Norman Williams North Florida Distribution ...............................................................Kadeem Roberts Tampa Distribution ...................................................................................Julian Pina Copyright (C) 2016 GGR Marketing & Public Relations. All rights reserved.

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Clarke Issues Statement in Support of Biden Administration Global Vaccine Distribution Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09), Founding Cochair of the Caribbean American Caucus, released the following statement in support of the Administration’s Global Vaccine Distribution announcement. “As a Senior Member of the House Homeland Security Committee and the Founding Co-Chair of the Congressional Caribbean and House Haiti Caucuses, I applaud president Biden and his Administration for answering our calls to introduce a competent global vaccination plan to support our neighbors — particularly Caribbean nations — who have been some of the hardest hit by the devastating effect of COVID-19,” said Clarke. “Let me be very clear: As long as this pandemic is raging anywhere in the world, we are all still vulnerable. I am proud the United States is committed to bringing the same urgency to international vaccination efforts that we have demonstrated right here at home. The allocation of approximately 6 million doses to the Caribbean and Latin America is a poignant step in the right direction that will dramatically stem the tide of COVID’s deadly progression in the region.” Listed below is a summary of the Biden Administration’s Global Vaccine Distribution: Today, the Administration announced its framework for sharing these 80 million U.S. vaccine doses worldwide. Specifically, the United States will: Share 75% of these vaccines through COVAX. The United States will share at least three-quarters of its donated doses through COVAX, supplying U.S. doses to countries in need. This will maximize the number of vaccines available equitably for the greatest number of countries and for those most at-risk within countries. For doses shared through COVAX, the United States will prioritize Latin America and the Caribbean, South and Southeast Asia, and Africa, in coordination with the African Union. Share 25% for immediate needs and to help with surges around the world. The United States has received requests for vaccines from countries all over the world. The U.S. will share up to one-quarter of its donated doses directly with countries in need, those experiencing surges, immediate neighbors, and other countries that have requested immediate U.S. assistance.

Additionally, the Biden Administration announced the proposed allocation plan for the first 25 Million doses. Based on the framework above and pending legal and regulatory approvals, the United States plans to send our first tranche of 25 million doses: Nearly 19 million will be shared through COVAX, with the following allocations: Approximately 6 million for South and Central America to the following countries: Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru, Ecuador, Paraguay, Bolivia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, Haiti, and other Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries, as well as the Dominican Republic. Approximately 7 million for Asia to the following countries and entities: India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Maldives, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, Papua New Guinea, Taiwan, and the Pacific Islands. Approximately 5 million for Africa to be shared with countries that will be selected in coordination with the African Union. Approximately 6 million will be targeted toward regional priorities and partner recipients, including Mexico, Canada, and the Republic of Korea, West Bank and Gaza, Ukraine, Kosovo, Haiti, Georgia, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, and Yemen, as well as for United Nations frontline workers. “This is a timely and long-awaited step to support our Caribbean neighbors in their fight to combat COVID-19. As we honor, celebrate, and commemorate the boundless contributions of Caribbean Americans to our Nation during Caribbean Heritage Month — I would, however, like further logistical insight into which countries are included in the 6 million and the dates the vaccines will arrive. Additionally, I look forward to further vaccination allocations to Caribbean nations in the coming weeks that will ensure our neighbors in the region are supported in a manner that is on-trend with the standard of American global relief efforts,” said Clarke.

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NEKI MOHAN NAMED FESTIVAL AMBASSADOR FOR REALVIBEZ FILM FESTIVAL 2021 She has interviewed celebrities at red carpet events, interviewed world leaders, and covered some of the biggest news stories across 10 TV stations in 5 cities. The inaugural virtual Film Festival will be held this August 25 – 27. Storytellers and filmmakers who have sport and entertainment entries will be allowed to showcase their material in the three- day online event. The submissions should be 7 – 11 minutes in length and will be judged in four categories – feature, documentary, narration and musical. In accepting the role, Mohan says "I am so excited to highlight all the stories out of our diverse communities throughout the islands, the opportunity to tell our stories means they will exist long after we do!" CEO of RealVibez, Carole Beckford, who will also serve as Festival Director, said “Neki is an ideal choice. She epitomizes the best of the Caribbean and has had a global impact." Award-winning journalist, Neki Mohan based in Florida, now CEO of her own Media and Consulting company, was named the Festival Ambassador for the inaugural 2021 RealVibez Film Festival.

Films to be submitted by July 31st 2021 via www.realvibez.com and entry fees start as low as$30.

Neki, was, for over a decade, an anchor for the ABC affiliate in Miami. Over that period, her reporting has taken her across the Caribbean, the US, and the world.

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CARIBBEAN AIRLINES CARGO CARRIES COVID-19 VACCINES TO JAMAICA On May 03, Caribbean Airlines Cargo delivered 55,200 doses of Covid-19 vaccines to Jamaica. The life-saving shipment was carried through a scheduled all-cargo flight, originating in Miami. Over the past two months, the carrier has shipped a significant number of vaccines to Guyana, Barbados, Dominica and Trinidad. These to contribute to Covid-19 recovery efforts,” said Marklan shipments included temperature-sensitive Moseley, General Manager – Cargo and New Business, vaccines such as Astrazeneca and Sinopharm, Caribbean-Airlines. transported via the airline’s gateways in Toronto and Miami. The carrier recently expanded its weekly all-cargo service “Caribbean Airlines salutes health care in Jamaica, increasing capacity to serve rising demand in professionals for their tireless work, rolling out the country. Caribbean Airlines Cargo also currently inoculation programmes while meeting the provides cargo services to and from Guyana, Trinidad, heightened demand of the health care system. We Barbados, New York, Antigua and Bahamas and can are also grateful to each and every frontline facilitate transport to several other destinations through its worker for their essential service and are humbled cargo charter service.

A Proclamation on National Caribbean-American Heritage Month, 2021 cont;d from page 1

Caribbean-American intellects and artists like James Weldon Johnson, the poet who gave us the anthem, Lift Every Voice and Sing; celebrated neo-expressionist painter Jean-Michel Basquiat; and John B. Russwurm, the first Caribbean-American editor of a U.S. newspaper, have left a lasting impact on our country. Caribbean-American jurists like Constance Baker Motley, the first Black woman appointed to the Federal bench, and the Nation’s first Latina Supreme Court Justice, Sonia Sotomayor, have made innumerable contributions to the American justice system. Shirley Chisholm, the daughter of Caribbean immigrants, blazed new trails as our Nation’s first Black Congresswoman — and the first Black woman to launch a major-party bid for the Presidency. Public servants like Antonia Novello, our Nation’s first female Surgeon General, and Colin Powell, our first Black Secretary of State, have followed in her footsteps, charting new paths of their own in service to the American people.

do hereby proclaim June 2021 as National CaribbeanAmerican Heritage Month. I encourage all Americans to join in celebrating the history, culture, and achievements of Caribbean Americans with appropriate ceremonies and activities. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-one, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-fifth. JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

Despite the powerful legacy of achievement of Caribbean Americans, many members of the Caribbean-American community continue to face systemic barriers to equity, opportunity, and justice. Systemic racism has uniquely impacted Black and Latino immigrant communities, including Caribbean Americans, leading to disparities in health care, education, housing, criminal justice, and economic opportunity. My Administration is committed to addressing those entrenched disparities — and to bringing our Nation closer to its promise that all people are created equal and deserve to be treated equally throughout their lives. That is why I have launched a whole-of-government approach to advancing racial justice and equity. During National Caribbean-American Heritage Month, we celebrate the legacy and essential contributions of Caribbean Americans who have added so much to our American fabric. NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States,

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A MESSAGE FOR CARIBBEAN AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH Cont'd from page 1

My time as a member of the Caribbean Students Association at the University of Miami made me realize that when we come to America, we need to be united because we are seen as one group.

In order to achieve, you’ve got to take the chance...You can because you grow your dreams as if life is a field in which you plant your seed. You cultivate it into your realitree then reap the fruits of being who you want to be.

Limited power means limited voice and we cannot contribute to changing the world for the better if we One Love, continue the silo mentality that has prevailed in the Caribbean David Patrick Alexander Mullings for generations. Unity is also required between locals and their respective diaspora groups. True unity would double the population of the people speaking truth to power to ensure that the atrocities of colonialism are never repeated. Caribbean people are smart and resourceful. The Caribbean Diaspora needs to ensure that we do not look down on our brothers and sisters. Also, we in the diaspora need to be seen differently. We are not merely a source of capital to send back via remittances. We are not merely a market to be exploited and pushed to buy locally-made products. We should be more than consumers of products and services. We should be owners by investing into Caribbean companies and helping to improve the region, to transplant our knowledge, capital and networks. My life goal is to play my part in strengthening ties between Caribbean countries and between the Caribbean and the Caribbean Diaspora because I firmly believe that we are a great people with an even greater destiny. I am just one person and this goal may seem distant to many people but once you know your purpose, you should embrace it fully. My close friend Cezar Cunningham wrote a song titled ‘Rule your destiny’ that says:

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MAYOR HAZELLE P. ROGERS RESIGNS AS PRESIDENT OF THE CARIBBEAN DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS OF FLORIDA

After a tenure distinguished by the strengthening of the political engagement of Florida’s Caribbean Americans, Lauderdale Lakes Mayor Hazelle P. Rogers stepped down as President of the Caribbean Democratic Caucus of Florida.

In announcing her resignation effective June 1, Rogers said that in the face of the unprecedented assault on voting rights and on the Democratic process, a diverse group of leaders are ready to take the organization to the next level of political activism. “It has been an honor and a privilege to steer my fellow Caribbean Americans in Florida into greater participation in the democratic process. I believe the organization will be in good hands as we take on these new challenges in the months and years ahead,” Mayor Rogers said. Mayor Rogers said she remains committed to her democratic principles and to her advocacy on behalf of the diverse immigrant and native Caribbean population of the state. She pointed out that one of this nation’s founding fathers, Alexander Hamilton, was a son of the Caribbean. He worked on the Federalist papers, which later became the U.S. Constitution, and he was the first Secretary of the Treasury of the United States of America. It is incumbent on us to sustain that legacy. June is National Caribbean American Heritage Month and I call on the Caribbean community to increase our advocacy and civic engagement, and continue to educate children about their heritage. Mayor Rogers is a proud democrat and cannot remember

missing a vote since becoming a citizen. Her tireless advocacy on behalf of the community received many awards and accolades and has been showcased not only in her hometown of Lauderdale Lakes but through her direct work in Tallahassee, where she served as a State Representative from 2008 to 2016. She is most gratified that during her years as President, the organization strengthened its statewide presence with active and effective affiliate groups in Broward, Miami-Dade, Hillsborough, Clay and Orange counties. The diverse members of the board are from Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Guyana, USA, and India. Succeeding Mayor Rogers is Glenn Joseph, who hails from the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and has spent decades in South Florida as a political consultant. He has managed many political campaigns while remaining active in several political and community organizations.

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Victoria Mutual Building Society (VMBS) Florida Representative Office continues to serve its members (existing and new) in the diaspora communities, including those Jamaicans and Friends of Jamaicans who wish to do business in Jamaica by providing valuable information on VM’s savings and loan products and services; accept documents for the processing of mortgage applications for purchasing property in Jamaica and handle general queries.

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JOOK, CHOOK, JAB OR POKE I TONY DEYAL He was so scooted up to the very top of a ‘Banga’ or ‘Grugru Bef’ tree, which is a palm covered with extremely sharp thorns or ‘pickers’. You can get to the fruit but not by climbing, unless you want to get ‘jook’ or ‘bore’ as they say in Guyana. After the police eventually left, the man’s friends and family advised him that it was safe to come down. The When I was growing up and people of East Indian, man looked at them and demanded angrily, “What? For Grenadian, Vincentian or even Jamaican descent walked into picker to jook me?” a medical facility and said they were looking for a “jab”, I knew that the person was seeking paid employment. Now, I’m not sure what Brer Rabbit was doing in this example from Richard Allsopp’s Dictionary of Caribbean Usage, “Brer that has changed drastically. Bookie pulled Brer Rabbit’s hand away from the barrel saying A Jamaican newspaper recently reported, “Over 100,000 ‘Boy, stop juicking yer finger in dat crack!’” We tended to use Jamaicans receive first COVID-19 vaccine jab.” A Jamaican ‘chook’ not just for knife wounds or even sexual movements government source stressed, “Health Minister Reminds but if a batsman was blocking instead of hitting the ball we Persons to Still Observe Protocols After First Jab.” The would say, “He chooking”. Or if you decided to try your Barbados Nation News announced, “Visitors with jab invited hand at a poker or other card game, or make a small bet, you under new protocol.” Clearly, if you want people to come to would say hesitantly, “I will take a chook.” Maybe if the your country, they should not be “jabless”. Then I COVID injection was not so much a jab as a jook, many remembered Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Caribbean people would not have hesitated in making a Wonderland and its sequel, Through the Looking-Glass. If booking for a jooking or a chooking. you look back into the mirror of times past and books read, you will find the “Jabberwocky”, a terrible and formidable Interestingly, in New Orleans the word ‘juke’ developed in dragon who symbolises threat, danger and evil and who is almost the same way. First, it meant “disorderly, rowdy or eventually killed with a ‘vorpal’, a deadly or sharp sword. wicked” but now ‘juking’ describes the movements made in These days, a hypodermic has become our sword, and teen parties when a girl dances against her partner with her medication our shield, but what has become of our language? back to his front. Some of us are not so violent, so instead of ‘jook’ or ‘chook’, we prefer the word ‘poke’, which is how my In dealing with COVID-19 in the Caribbean, you need to get grandfather pronounced ‘pork’. It would have been really two jabs. However, if you use the term ‘jab-jab’ in Trinidad, difficult for him to say or understand the American warning you are referring to a person playing a ‘devil’ in a carnival about not ‘buying a pig in a poke’. I remember my reaction band. And if you don’t get the injection and remain jab-less, when I first entered Canada Hall in UWI, Trinidad, and like my wife and daughter, your situation might be more heard the many Jamaican boys referring to one of their extreme than not having a job. You might actually be a countrymen as ‘Pokey’. While in America it means ‘jail, cell genuine ‘jabless’ or ‘female devil’. Worse, if you get even one or calaboose’, in Trinidad, Barbados, Guyana, most other jab only, you are likely to develop absurd curiosity about who Caribbean countries, even Jamaica, it is a common term for got jabbed and whether it was from Oxford, India or the the female sexual organ. The other students, especially the United States of America; and show clear symptoms of Trini girls, were appalled and questioned one another, “You boastfulness, so extreme, that you start conveying the news, hear what they calling him?” It turned out that ‘Pokey’ was as loudly as possible, to every Tom, Dick and Harrylall, as really ‘Porky” because the fellow had worked on a pig farm. However, what saved him from even more ‘fatigue’ or Trini well as to all and sundry. ‘jokes’ was that he was studying agriculture and not just It is why, when one of my friends called and announced, animal husbandry “Boy ah get Jab today.”, I responded, “You very lucky you didn’t get jook.” “How you mean?” he queried. The fact is *Tony Deyal was last seen saying he loves the Caribbean that, while a jab might be considered a jook, the term word ‘cuss’ for ‘curse’, especially when a man charged with ‘jook’ (also ‘chook’) is one of those that all of us in the using obscene language was reported to be in police Caribbean use, understand and identify, regardless of the ‘cusstody’. context. When the great Gabby, the premier Barbadian calypsonian, sang "Dr. Cassandra" about the female doctor who, between her ministrations, kept telling him to be quiet, he described the action as “Jook, jook, jook, jook” and every West Indian knew exactly what he meant. We also easily worked out the maths or mats that underlaid Sparrow’s "Jook for Jook" in which “Theresa and she man playing jook for jook” and she eventually begs, “Doh jook so hard …” Then there is Becket whose calypso might be a wry comment on Theresa’s man, “Small pin does jook hard” as well as Jamaicans like Aidonia singing "Jook so, jook so," and Desi Ranks "Wine and Jook." They pose no problems in appreciation, interpretation and what we in the entire Caribbean know as “follow fashion”. When an Englishman refers to someone as "Old Chap" he is referring to a man who has been a friend or close acquaintance for a while. When we say "Old Chap" we are referring to a wound from a cutlass (a.k.a. "pooyah") which we got some time ago and has now healed.

Miami Carnival Returning Columbus Day Weekend

JOOKING BOARD In her classic Dictionary of the English/Creole of Trinidad and Tobago, Lise Winer points to the African origin of the word ‘jook’ and also some of the non-sexual usage. When I was growing up, every house had a ‘jooking board’ and it was not a wooden bed. We have one still but, unfortunately, it is no longer in use. As Ms Winer explained, “Following the ‘soaping down’ was the ‘jooking’ of every piece with bare hands on a ridged plank that was lodged in the tub for that purpose.” (Readers are advised that extreme discretion is advised and they are warned not to try this at home). Ms Winer also included as an example the classic joke about the man who was gambling when the police raided and he got hit with a bull-pistle by a policeman.

It's official, the 37th Annual Miami Carnival is returning to South Florida Columbus Day Weekend 2021. The Miami Broward One Carnival Host Committee (MBOCHC) and the South Florida Carnival Bandleaders Association made the announcement and are in the planning process to have the best Carnival comeback. "We invite you all to the 2021 Miami Carnival Showcase (Band Launch) on June 5th, 2021, where you will be the first to see the pageantry to be displayed for 2021," stated Joan Hinkson-Justin, Chair, Miami Broward One Carnival Host Committee.