Caribbean American Passport News Magazine - Sept 2018 by caribbeanamericanpassport

FREE Your Passport to the Caribbean American Community

Sept/Oct 2018

NAOMI OSAKA'S HAITIAN HERITAGE

Andrew Gillum wins Democratic Primary Gillum Announces Chris King as Lt. Governor Pick

CPL T-20 Champions 2018 Tennis champ, Naomi Osaka Photo Credit: Margot Jordan Naomi Osaka's stunning victory at the US Open is "an achievement of which all Haitians should be incredibly proud." Speaking in the euphoric aftermath of the 20-year-old's 6-2, 6-4 upset of 23-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams last weekend, Le Plaza Hotel's General Manager Marc Pierre-Louis congratulated the first-time champion, whose father, Leonard Francois, is Haitian. Continued on Pg 13

Trinbago Knight Riders won the 2018 CPL 2018 as Trinbago Knight Riders. T20 with an amazing performance by Colin Munro - 68 runs in just 38 balls. The Knight Riders had a pretty straightforward target thanks to an excellent bowling performance led by Khary Pierre (3/29), which restricted Guyana to 147/9.

This was the sixth season of the CPL, and teams from Trinidad and Tobago have won it thrice, first in the T&T Red Steel Avatar in 2015, and then in 2017 and The Guyana Amazon Warriors loss on...Cont on Pg 5

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L I F E S T Y L E

Guenet Gittens-Roberts, Publisher/Editor

Your Vote, your Voice...Use It If you live in the state of Florida and have the ability to Vote...this is not an election to sit out. Caribbean American Passport and our team are going to be engaging in voter education and voter registration efforts leading up to the November election. Samuel J. Roberts, Publisher/Editor

We heard Andrew Gillum speak months ago and we were very impressed with both him and Chris King. These are two bright young people who chose to live and work in Florida. Florida is not just an old backwater state that doesn't deserve respect. We are a vibrant state with more young people who want to make this state the best place to live, work and raise a family. Therefore, we have to put in the work to create a state that we are proud to call home. It means undoing the mess that Governor Rick Scott created with medicaid...according to the Sun Sentinel "Since Scott took office in 2011, Florida has ranked near the bottom on access to basic health coverage. It gets worse. The Commonwealth Fund just ranked Florida above only Louisiana, Oklahoma and Mississippi, based on a study of 43 health care metrics. Commonwealth ranked Florida below average in the South, which was by far the worst region." The main reason for Florida’s poor performance is that Scott has refused to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Though Scott expressed support for Medicaid expansion in 2013, he quickly backed off. Two years later, he sided with the Florida House against a Senate proposal that could have provided coverage for about 800,000 of the state’s working poor. Every credible survey has shown that Medicaid expansion benefits those who obtain coverage and the states themselves. The Kaiser Family Foundation found that the roughly 15 million new Medicaid enrollees nationwide had fewer out-of-pocket medical expenses, lower medical debt and better credit. They also were less likely to face bankruptcy." Let's not even talk about High speed rail or that the GOP nominee DeSantis has already engaged in name calling and defamatory language. Florida is better than that and it's time to prove it. We don't intend to wait...we know that we endorse the Gillum-King ticket for Governor.

DeSantis is a continuation of Rick Scott and certainly a puppet of President Trump, which is enough to take him out of consideration for me. The crass level of leadership that President Trump displays is not one that I want emulated in any other leader. So for a candidate to want my vote and present themselves as a clone of Trump is enough to earn a resounding no in my book. Sometimes we do have to vote based on how much we dislike a candidate, but in the case of the Gillum-King ticket there is almost so much about these two candidates to admire and like. They are young but their records of work speak for them. Take a deeper look at the issues of both candidates and then we encourage you to share your opinion on the candidates for our next issue. Email your opinion to: info@CaribbeanAmericanPassport.com by October 10th. Andrew Gillum www.andrewgillum.com Ron DeSantis www.rondesantis.com

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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 publicationgo to http://caribbeanamericanpassport.com and click on the 'Print Archive'. Editor & Publisher............................................................... Sam Roberts Publisher ........................................................... Guenet Gittens-Roberts Graphic Design & Layout .................................................Samuel Roberts Contributing Writers: ............................................................ Tony Dyal ................................................................................................Ryan Davis .............................................................................................Sandra Fatmi ...............................................................................................Gail Seeram ...........................................................................................Sasha Watson ..........................................................................................Kamal Abdool Contributing Photographers ............ ...................................Ted Hollins ..................................................................................................Dilia Castillo .............................................. .......................................Nancy-Joe Brown Central Florida Distribution...................................................Roy Benn South Florida Distribution ...........................................Norman Williams NorthFlorida Distribution ......................................................Theo Jack Jr. Tampa Distribution ...........................................................Kadeem Roberts Copyright (C) 2016 GGR Marketing & Public Relations. All rights reserved.

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DrumStrings Art Gallery - Michelle Drummond

ichelle S. Drummond a Jamaican expatriate came to the United States in 1995 as an international student to pursue her education at St. Lawrence University in Upstate, New York. While pursuing a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Mathematics at St. Lawrence, she decided to explore fine arts as a creative outlet. After dabbling in the different offerings of fine arts, Michelle discovered that manipulating multicolored strings using glue and acrylic paint on canvas was a different and exciting take on expressing her creativity. Her work has evolved over the years into creative expressions that exude a mélange of her experiences living here in the United States and the exuberance of the Jamaican culture she grew up in. She creates artwork that is thought provoking, leaving viewers to their own interpretation. Drummond is one of 29 artists selected to show her work at SOCIAL CODE a juried exhibition of new works by local, state and national artists selected by guest curator Nichole Hickey. Social Code exhibition is varying interpretations of the idea of Art versus Social Media. Works selected encompass all a variety of mediums, both 2D and 3D pieces making her a natural fit for the exhibition.

The concept of the show is to demystify Art vs. Social Media as written about by Ben Davis, to create a social networking art show, and to provide artists an opportunity to show their work Michelle Drummond "DStrings Artist" at the Arts Warehouse at 313 NE 3rd St, Delray Beach. The exhibit has been on view since August 20th and will run through September 29th. The opening reception of the exhibition took place on Friday September 7th during Delray Beach First Friday Art Walk. Within the same Arts Warehouse facility hosting the exhibition, Drummond has also secured a space under the name of her art business DStrings to showcase her body of original artwork and subsets of the original artwork, such as framed prints and embroidered polo shirts. Art enthusiasts are welcomed to stop by to view and purchase products. Drummond has also achieved a Masters in Project Management and established her own business, The Drummond Group, LLC, along with DStrings, LLC.

DStrings artwork, “Vogue” collection DStrings Pop Up Store at the Arts Warehouse in Delray Beach, FL

Show piece of DrumStrings artwork during the Social Code exhibition

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- Getting Ready for VOTE 2018 As we get ready for the General Election, here are a few things to know: Florida’s General Election is November 6, 2018. Eligible voters can vote-by-mail, vote during early voting or vote at the polls on Election Day. Who can vote in the General Election? All registered Florida voters, regardless of party affiliation or no party affiliation, may exercise their right to vote for candidates and public measures on the General Election ballot. When is the deadline to register to vote in the General Election? The registration deadline for the 2018 General Election is Tuesday, October 9, 2018. Voter registration applications submitted electronically no later than 11:59 p.m. by October 9 through RegistertoVoteFlorida.gov will be accepted. ...Cont. on page 14

The Caribbean Bar Association presents its 22nd Annual Scholarship and Awards Gala (the “Gala”) The Gala will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 13, 2018, at The Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort, 321 N. Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304. The event will begin with a terrace cocktail reception followed by their award presentations, dinner, entertainment, and dancing. They have extended invitations to the gubernatorial, judicial, and local candidates to attend and--for the gubernatorial candidates--to share their individual campaign platforms with their guests. This year’s honorees are: President’s Award – John Kozyak, Esq. • Corporate Citizen Award – White & Case LLP • Civic Advocate Award – Commissioner Dale V.C. Holness, Broward County • Community Guardian Award – Nadege Green The CBA’s mission and its Scholarship Program, would not be possible without the generosity and support of Gala sponsors and attendees. If your company is interested in sponsorship opportunities for the gala, please reach out to the organizers at (478) 390 8372. The CBA looks forward to celebrating with you on October 13, 2018 the achievements of outstanding law students and the commitment of their partners to provide consistently exceptional service to the legal profession and the Caribbean-American community.

Political advertisement paid for and approved by Dean Mosley.

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SENATOR LINDA STEWART PSA: HURRICANE MARIA EVACUEES STILL NEED HOMES State Senator Linda Stewart Senator (D-Orlando), is calling on citizens of Central Florida to take action in assisting families displaced by Hurricane Maria in finding homes. “With the end of the federal aid program for temporary housing for these families expiring today, we call on our Central Florida neighbors to help the vulnerable families who have been unable to find long-term housing to date.” Currently as many as twenty-five families need longterm places to live, including families of elderly people living on fixed income, with disabilities, and with small children. These families have been unable to come up with an alternative and they are out of time. With the end of housing aid, they need to leave the hotels September 14, 2018. If you can donate or assist in securing housing for these families, please call: Father Jose Rodriguez at Jesus de Nazareth Episcopal Church at (407) 706-7313.

CPT T20 Champions...Cont from Front Page1

on Sunday, 16 September was their fourth in the final of the competition – they have now lost in 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2018, without winning it a single time.

The Knight Riders only suffered two defeats in the early part of the tournament, which included a loss to Guyana in Qualifier 1“A lot of teams came hard at us – we (Trinbago players) always had the talent, we have the hunger too. We lost a few games in the middle but saved our best for last,” said Simon Katich, the team coach. The CPL T20 2018 'Player of the Match' in the final was Pierre, with his 3 wickets for 29 runs but Colin Munro did set the chase alight towards the end with three sixes in one over from Rayad Emrit as he knocked off his sixth halfcentury of the tournament. In a rain-hit final, which included a major stoppage and delay caused by the heavy rain. Its all started with when Dwayne Bravo won the toss and opted to bowl first, the stage was set for a clash of the 2 power-house teams.

However, the Warriors never really got going, with aLuke Ronchi top score of 44 runs. Khary Pierre was phenomenal with the ball picking up three wickets which triggered a collapse as the Warriors went from 79/2 to 109/8. Romario Shepherd and Rayad Emrit then chipped in to take the scorecard to a respectable 147/9 in 20 overs. In reply, the Kiwi pair of Brendon McCullum and Colin Munro helped the Knight Riders get off to a flyer. While Baz smashed 39 off 24, Munro brought up his 50 from just 33 balls. It was the southpaw who hit the winning runs in the 18th over as the stadium erupted in wild celebrations. Colin Munro was also adjudged as the Man of the tournament as he scored more than 500 runs including six half-centuries.

We look forward to CPL T20 2019 for another amazing level of Caribbean professional level cricket and fanfare with the enthusiastic crowds that come out in support of their players and teams.

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Generation X - Miami-Broward Carnival 2018

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Central Florida Black Nurses Association of Orlando, Inc.

Central Florida Black Nurses Association of Orlando, Inc. 2018 membership photograph taken at the CFBNA 34th Annual Scholarship and Awards Luncheon on September 15th, 2018 at the Rosen Plaza Hotel. Front (seated) my left to right: Eloise Abrahams, June Robinson, Karen Purnell-Engram, Lois Wilson, Susie Forehand, Bernice Edwards, Constance Brown, Juanita Green, Arlinda Phills, Karen Jones-Newman, Monica Akins Back (standing) my left to right: Latoya Glaude, Wendy Garcia, Inez Green, Rose Lee, Ingrid Philpott, Mattie Ely, Yvonne Coleman, Kiara Hicks, Daniela Gonzalez, Linda Lygene, Emris Nurse Ferraro, Tatiana Coleman, Dorothy Jackson, Debra Perdue, Cassandre Jean-Antoine, Jasmine Sutherland, Precious Robinson, Nycole Graham, Jannae White

Caribbean Health Summit 2018 - Presented by Center for Multicultural Wellness & Prevention

The Caribbean Health Summit was held on September 8, 2018 at the Central Florida Fair & Exposition Park (Fairgrounds), The event Co-chairs were City of Orlando Commissioner Regina Hill and Orange County Commissioner Victoria P. Siplin, and the event was planned and implemented in collaboration with the Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce of Florida Inc., the Greater Haitian American Chamber of Commerce of Orlando, and Florida Department of Health in Orange County.

Caribbean Passport Publisher Sam Roberts with Caribbean Health Summit Founder Dr. Marie Francois

This year's theme â&#x20AC;&#x153;Healthy Body, Mind & Spiritâ&#x20AC;? emphasizes taking care of not only your body but your mind and spirit as well. It was a free event where health experts shared important strategies to embrace your health through prevention of diseases; improving wellness and quality of life.

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Non-politican Affiliation for Orange County Sheriff

NAOMI OSAKA'S HAITIAN HERITAGE Cont'd from pg 1 "Haitians all over the world, including here in Port-auPrince, were watching the match and cheering throughout. Naomi played brilliantly to beat one of the greatest tennis players of all time, somebody whom she has idolized since childhood. That took nerves of steel," he said, while also highlighting the lifetime grit, tenacity and brilliance of Serena Williams, one of his favorite players. "Naomi competed with confidence and all people of Haitian descent should be celebrating her victory," Pierre-Louis asserted.

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- Getting Ready for VOTE 2018 Vote-by-Mail: Vote-by-mail refers to voting a ballot received by mail or picked up by, or for, a voter. The deadline to ask for a ballot to be mailed is 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 31. Generally, vote-by-mail ballots must be received by the Supervisor of Elections’ office no later than 7:00 p.m. on Election Day; vote-by-mail ballots from overseas voters shall be counted if they are received within 10 days of the General Election, provided they are postmarked no later than the day of the election. Early Voting: Early voting is defined as “casting a ballot in person prior to Election Day at a location designated by the

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Continued from Pg 7

Supervisor of Elections.” The voter uses the same type of voting equipment that is used at the polls on Election Day. All 67 Florida counties will be offering early voting from October 27 – November 3. In addition, each county Supervisor of Elections may, at his or her own discretion, offer additional days of early voting. Election Day Voting: On Election Day, polls will be open statewide from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. Any voters waiting in line at 7:00 p.m. will have the opportunity to cast a ballot. You can find your precinct and polling place on your county Supervisor of Elections’ website.

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It’s all in the family for the Nelsons Tallahassee—It was a reunion Grace Nelson looked forward to. The brunch with old friends in Tallahassee was a welcomed stop through the panhandle in July. The wife of US Senator Bill Nelson has quite a following throughout the state brought about by her curiosity, quick wit and honesty. But this visit to Tallahassee brought together old and new friends who wanted to share their concerns about a nation divided by hate and fear.

women of the tribe who had a big hand in bringing an end to the violence and hatred. She learned about their solution. It was a message to women about women who resolve issues every day on every level. Nelson said the women brought the warring factions together with the wronged families. They forgave and are still forgiving today. Grace Nelson travels the state campaigning the oldfashioned way by actually talking to people. The conversation is about problem-solving and the guiding principles that have helped Senator Nelson and Grace serve the people of Florida.

Grace Nelson was greeted by old and new friends at the University Center Club in Tallahassee. L-R Auriela Alexander, Tammy Hamlet, Lucille Alexander, Grace Nelson and Andrea Frial, MD.

Nelson spoke from experience in addressing these concerns like those of Rachael Pratt who said, “I have a young son, and I’m concerned about his future and the future of this nation.” When she told the story about her trip to Rwanda, it was a chilling tale. She arrived after the genocidal assault by the Hutus against the Tutsi in the 90’s. The devastating bloodshed seemed irreversible she said. After talking to government leaders, Nelson turned her attention to the

Grace Nelson takes questions and hears concerns of women leaders in Florida’s capitol city.

"Bill has always believed that a public office is a public trust and it's his honor and privilege to serve the people of Florida and I am proud of the work he's done for our great state," Grace Nelson said. "It's about waking up every single day, willing to put Florida first - that's what Bill has done and I will continue to do."

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ImmigrationINFO

Immigration News For Our Community Notice to Appear with no time and place for Removal Proceedings or Immigration Court Appearance is Invalid By Attorney Gail S. Seeram, Gail@GailLaw.com 1-877-GAIL-LAW

appear that, at the very least, ‘specif[ies]’ the ‘time and place’ of the removal proceedings.”

The Supreme Court observed that “in the case of any change or postponement in the time and place of [removal] proceedings,” the Government shall give the noncitizen “written notice . . . specifying . . . the new time or place of the proceedings.” The Supreme Court stated: “By allowing for a ‘change or postponement’ of the proceedings to a ‘new time or place,’ presumes that the government has already served a ‘notice to appear’ that would need to be amended with the new time or place of the proceedings.

If the Government serves a noncitizen with a document that is labeled “notice to appear,” but the document fails to specify either the time or place of the removal proceedings, does it trigger the stop-time rule? The answer is as obvious as it seems: No. A notice that does not inform a noncitizen when and where to appear for removal proceedings is not a “notice to appear” and therefore does not trigger the stoptime rule.

Finally, the Court stated that common sense supported its ruling. The Court stated: “If the three words ‘notice to appear’ mean anything in this context, they must mean that, at a minimum, the Government has to provide noncitizens ‘notice’ of the information, i.e., the ‘time’ and ‘place,’ that would enable them ‘to appear’ at the removal hearing in the first place.”

@GailSeeram n its June 21, 2018, decision, the Supreme Court reversed the First Circuit Court of Appeals. Justice Sotomayor, writing for the 8-Justice majority, began her opinion by stating what the majority viewed as the narrow question in the case and the simple answer:

The Supreme Court stated that the cancellation of removal stop-time rule provides that “any period of . . . continuous physical presence” is “deemed to end . . . when the alien is served a notice to appear. The Court concluded: “Thus, based on the plain text of the statute, it is clear that to trigger the stop-time rule, the Government must serve a notice to

Remember, if you get a notice to appear in immigration court, contact GailLaw immediately for a FREE consultation so we can discuss how to defend you in immigration court! Copyright © Law Offices of Gail S. Seeram, 2018. All Rights Reserved.

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Monday Night for Rum - by Tony Deyal "She gone stark raving crackers," said one of my friends. "Who?" I asked. "Kamla," he replied, referring to the former prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago and now leader of the Opposition. "What happen? What she do now?" Pause. "She call de prime minister of the country an 'oreo'." I got it immediately. According to Wikipedia, "Oreo is a commercial brand of cookie (or biscuit) usually consisting of two chocolate wafers with a sweet creme filling in-between ... . Oreo has become the best-selling cookie in the United States." Had the comment been about Prime Minister Rowley's sweetness, popularity and appeal, it would have been taken as a compliment. However, and rightly in this instance, the comment was not seen as complimentary and reference was immediately made by Mr Rowley's supporters, and others, like me, who want the country to vote on principle rather than personality, reason rather than race, to the Urban Dictionary. The Urban Dictionary is a 'crowd-sourced' and open online reference for slang words and phrases. It tells you how language is applied in real life and specific situations. Under the word 'oreo', I found several different meanings. One is: "A very cute dog that is black in colour and has a white stripe on its belly." I saw a picture of a shirtless prime minister at the beach, and although visibility was not 100 per cent, there was no white stripe to be seen on any part of his anatomy. A second, and I expect some supporters of the opposition leader to jump on this as a belated explanation for her referring to Dr Rowley as an 'oreo' is, "A good cookie; made up of two chocolate cookies with vanilla filling, and sometimes peanut butter and can come in double-stuffed and Halloween varieties."

Betraying roots

Where the trick or treat ends is in the third and most supported meaning. It is a "term for African Americans that the black community is generally offended with for betraying their roots usually for dating Caucasian girls, dressing too white, talking too white, etc. The term is branded OREO since they are 'black on the outside, white on the inside." Mrs Persad-Bissessar made the Oreo remark at a weekly meeting held by her party called 'Monday Night Forum'. I have often said that if I were someone accused of alcoholism, as the opposition leader has been for many years of her political life, I would not call my party gathering a 'forum', which has been twisted by many into a 'foh rum'. But in the Oreo meeting she went a step further. During a lunch with the now-deceased celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain, a local businessman, Mario Sabga-Aboud, said that the one per cent of people of Syrian descent, the majority of whom were born and live in Trinidad and Tobago, controlled the economy of Trinidad and Tobago. This immediately precipitated a massive backlash against

people of Syrian-Lebanese descent, causing one of my friends to complain bitterly, "Boy, yesterday I was 100% Trini and today I become 1%." Although it is believed that all political parties receive support from that powerful interest group, the opposition leader did not spare them in her 'Forum'. According to the Trinidad Guardian newspaper, which incidentally is owned by one of the so-called 'one per cent', the 'one per cent owns Keith Christopher Rowley." She is quoted as saying, "They tried to own Mr Manning, eh, they couldn't do that, they didn't get away with that ... . They tried their luck ... . They tried to own me, but I sent them packing ...They have their 'Oreo' now, who is their guy in Keith Christopher Rowley, and that's how the one per cent friends and family of Rowley control him."

Guilty of racist comments

Opposition supporters will inevitably claim that the government speakers at various events in the past and over the years are also guilty of statements about them that may be interpreted as racist. However, when I raised that with my friend, his immediate response was, "Two wrongs don't make a right." He also reminded me of a previous public statement by the opposition leader when she referred crudely to who did or did not "put down pipe" by her. I had no answer to that, but got lost thinking about whether any biscuit would be appropriate for describing Dr Rowley or anyone else. Oreo produces a 'Chocolate' variety that is dark inside, but although this slur lessens the political impact of what was termed 'Afro-Saxon' by the Black Power leaders in the early 1970s, it also makes it more directly racist instead of less. Would Dr Rowley's clean-shaven scalp or my lack of hair entitle her to call us 'Garibaldi'? While saying someone is a 'Boortsog' might sound like an insult, it is really a Mongolian dessert with lots of honey and sugar dipped in tea. There are people who might compare a minister in the present government to a 'Caramel Shortbread', also known as the 'Millionaire's Shortbread', because of its rich caramel and chocolate mix. A great statesman or woman would earn the accolade 'Lincoln Biscuit', but, given the level to which our politics, made even worse by blatant racism has descended, none of our leaders has yet reached this elevated status, and it would take more than four score and seven years for them to do so. There is one cookie I favour called the 'snickerdoodle' because of its cracked surface. If anybody asks me why, it is because that is the way the cookie crumbles. Tony Deyal was last seen saying it is a rum thing for an Oreo to leave a bad taste in his or anyone else's mouth.