Month: August 2024

Marsha Massiah, the Trinidadian-born founder and executive director of the Brooklyn Caribbean Literature Festival (BCLF), says that this year’s festival, themed “Faces of the Caribbean,” promises to be a “vibrant celebration of Caribbean culture and literature”, featuring a remarkable lineup of authors, scholars and cultural figures. Massiah told Caribbean Life on Tuesday that BCLF is set to “illuminate Brooklyn” with its sixth edition, scheduled for September 5-8, 2024. “Faces of […]

Seething with rage, Trinidadian Prime Minister Keith Rowley has blamed what he called an irresponsible opposition for driving away an Indian company which had signaled an interest in reviving a mothballed, lifeline oil refinery, thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions in downstream investments. Naveen Jindal, Chairman of Jindal Steel and Power Limited had visited the southern Caribbean federation state with Tobago earlier this year, reciprocating a trip by Rowley […]

“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” star Dominique Thorne has been honored with the inaugural Diaspora Award in Trinidad, a recognition celebrating her accomplishments and representation of the Caribbean in Hollywood. The award ceremony, which took place during Thorne’s visit to her parents’ homeland, underscored her deep connection to her heritage and the significance of her achievements for the Caribbean community. The National Entrepreneurship Development Company Limited (NEDCO) hosted the event in Port of Spain […]

Lexy Brooks, executive producer of Jamaica Independence Foundation, Inc., a New York-based charity organization, says that Federal Reserve Bank Executive Vice President and General Auditor Clive Blackwood will be the keynote speaker at “Jamaica People’s Ball” this Saturday, August 10, at Terrace on the Park in Queens. “We are elated to welcome Clive Blackwood, a Jamaican-born New York resident as our keynote speaker,” Brooks told Caribbean Life on Tuesday.   “Not […]

After previewing in early April, to wide acclaim, “Chromatic Kingdom” during its Spring Tea Social, the Brooklyn-based Mas Productions Unlimited says its ready to portray its production this Labor Day. “It’s a fantasy mas – just based on the blending of colors,” Band leader and designer Wesley Millington told Caribbean Life in an exclusive interview at the mas camp at 1504 Remsen Ave. in the Canarsie section of Brooklyn.  “We’re […]

Mayor Eric Adams told Jamaican nationals on August 5. “We are who we are because of the contribution of Jamaica and the other Caribbean diasporas and other groups that have come here to say we want to be part of this American Dream and this American experience.” The politician, who joined emigrants at Manhattan’s Bowling Green Square for a flag-raising ceremony to celebrate the Island nation’s 62nd Anniversary of Independence, […]

Jamaica on Tuesday celebrated 62 years of independence from Britain with one eye on its legendary athletes at the summer Olympics in France and another on the 2024 storm season following the devastation wrought on the northern Caribbean nation by superstorm Beryl early last month. Saying that the country has systems in place to deal with most crises, Prime Minister Andrew Holness told the nation that the one the island […]

The 134-year-old Fenimore Street United Methodist Church (FSUMC) in Brooklyn on Saturday continued its quarterly mission of providing lunch and entertainment, with donations of food, clothing, toiletries and toys, to families at three homeless shelters in New York City. Marlene Ferguson, the Trinidadian-born chairperson of the church’s Family Life Committee, told Caribbean Life that 65 men, women and children from Boulevard Family Residence in Queens, Hospitality House in Staten Island […]

Caribbean-American Democratic Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke on Monday condemned what she described as “prolonged violence against protestors and escalating human rights violations in Bangladesh,” expressing concern for growing national instability following Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s sudden resignation and departure. “I am deeply concerned by the violence and human rights abuses in Bangladesh that have marked a severe effort by the governing Awami League Party to crack down on the peaceful […]