NEW YORK, NY, Jan. 11, 2021: It will be an all-Caribbean inauguration celebration this Sunday, January 17, 2021, from 7 p.m. EST, as top Caribbean regional and Diaspora entertainers and public figures join hands across the waters to celebrate the first black and female, Caribbean-American US vice-president – Kamala Harris.
Invest Caribbean, the global private sector, investment agency of the Caribbean, has initiated the event with the Caribbean American Action Network, (CAAN), a collective of Caribbean American and Caribbean organizations, have joined together to present the live, virtual, Caribbean inauguration party under the theme: “Celebrating #CaribbeanAmericanKamala.”
Tykari, 9-year-old rising star set to perform
This dynamic, virtual celebration is set to feature signature performances from some of the Caribbean’s top entertainers, including Jamaican-born dancehall star, Flourgon; Barbados soca king Edwin Yearwood; Jamaican reggae star Nadine Sutherland; Jamaican gospel singer Joan Meyers; Antigua & Barbuda’s Soca diva Claudette Peters of Antigua; Barbados Gospel singer Toni Norville; Bajan soca star Kirk Brown; and 9-year-old rising star, Tykairi Sargeant also of of Barbados. Others on the bill include independent Jamaican artiste Janine Jkuhl of ‘Sway’ fame; Owen Dalhouse who recently released ‘Heal the Soul of America;’ Guyanese Menes De Griot and Shanto along with St. Vincent and the Grenadines Frankie McIntosh, Maxie Gouveia and Rashid Thorne.
The Caribbean American inauguration party, to be held ahead of the 59th inauguration, will be hosted by the first Black Bond girl, Trina Parks, whose roots extend to Barbados, through her mother, and to Antigua through her grandparents.
The star-studded Caribbean event, the brainchild of ICN CEO and CAAN’s founder Felicia J. Persaud, will be live streamed by One Caribbean Television on its Facebook at facebook.com/onecaribbeantelevision/; YouTube – and Twitter – @onecaribbeantv as well as picked up across the Caribbean including by ABS TV on their digital platform and Demerara Waves and Radio 102.9FM radio.
It will feature remarks from Caribbean-born US Congressman Adriano Espaillat of NY; Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness; the Vice Chancellor of the University of the West Indies, Sir Hilary Beckles; and Chair of the CARICOM Consular Corps of New York, Counsel General of Barbados to NY, O. St. E. Mackie Holder.
Holness has called Harris a “daughter of the Caribbean,” while Sir Hilary pointed out that Harris’ “values and roots” are a part of “a long Caribbean journey.”
Caribbean American frontline workers, Guyanese-born Dr. Michelle Chester the corporate director Employee Health Services at Northwell Health, who administered the first COVID-19 vaccine in the US; and Jamaican-born nurse, Sandra Lindsay, who became one of the most famous nurses in the United States after receiving the first COVID-19 shot in the US, will deliver remarks on behalf of health care workers.
Representing the Caribbean Diaspora will be some of its strongest advocates including the ICN CEO and Founder who also spent 12 years lobbying and securing a means for Caribbean nationals in the US to count on Census forms; long-time immigration advocate and Caribbean Immigrant Services founder, Irwine Clare, Sr., O.D.; President of ICN and CAAN co-founder, Antigua & Barbuda-born Dr. Sheila Newton Moses; Bajan advocate and Global Village Book Publishing LLC’s Aubry Padmore; the Jamaican-born Coalition for the Preservation of Reggae Music’s Carlyle McKetty and Esther Austin of Esther Austin Global and the UK Diaspora.
In commenting on the event, Persaud, the ICN CEO and CAAN Co-Founder, said: “The event is a labour of love to celebrate a pivotal moment of history where Caribbean American voters also worked hard, campaigned and donated to help make the Joe Biden/Kamala Harris win a reality.”
“We hope, that unlike past administrations, the Caribbean and Caribbean American voters here in the Diaspora, will not continue to be ignored, dismissed and our votes taken for granted as history has shown too often,” she added.
The live stream will kick-off at 7 p.m. EST on January 17, 2021 on the Facebook, Twitter and YouTube platforms of One Caribbean Television, (OCTV), as well as on Radio 102.9FM in Antigua & Barbuda. On Inauguration Day, OCTV will air the event on broadcast television across the Caribbean.
CAAN, The Caribbean American Action Network, and an initiative of Invest Caribbean, marks the coming together of several Caribbean Diaspora organizations to country 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. Invest Caribbean matches funders with funding for specific projects in the Caribbean and globally.
Presenters 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 and Hard Beat Communications.
