The return of National Caribbean American Heritage Month in June also marks the return of “Caribbean Week in New York,” the annual international event of tourism-related activities coming to Manhattan’s InterContinental Times Square from June 16 through 21, presented by the Barbados-based Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO).
Beginning with a Sunday morning service on June 16 at Brooklyn’s Lenox Road Baptist Church, the week continues with government and travel industry officials attending a business and tourism marketing symposium focusing on AI technologies and marketing issues, plus other activities.
Under this year’s special theme, “Connecting the Globe, Celebrating Diversity,” the future of Caribbean aviation will be highlighted, “emphasizing innovation and connectivity.” The “Caribbean Airlift Forum” — addressing “route development, aviation competitiveness, partnerships, infrastructure investment, regulatory frameworks, and market demand strategies” — is one of the events exploring the role and evolving potential of aviation and its vital airline connections to the region.
From Puerto Rico’s bustling Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport servicing more than 4 million flights a year, to the recent renovation of St. Maarten’s Princess Juliana International Airport after 2017’s Hurricane Irma, aviation provides a vital lifeline for the tourist-reliant economies of the Caribbean.
New York area-centered events at the conference include the “Gateway Connections: Exploring Caribbean-New York City Tourism Dynamics” session delving into New York’s important role in Caribbean tourism, and the “Building Bridges: Caribbean and African American Marketing” luncheon” focusing on Black American travelers visiting the region.
“There’s always business in the New York tristate area, and we have a burgeoning diaspora that we must connect with,” said Caribbean Week spokesperson Rosa Harris, who is also chairman of the CTO board of directors and the director of tourism for the Cayman Islands. For information, visit onecaribbean.org, or email [email protected].
Colossal contributions
With several other national commemorations in June, it may seem that Caribbean American Heritage Month doesn’t get the respect it warrants. But don’t fear. The immeasurable contributions Caribbean Americans have made to the U.S. is so expansive that it’s evident in its category and beyond.
“Above all, Caribbean Americans are leaders — they are our beloved doctors, nurses, teachers, athletes, artists, community organizers, entrepreneurs, and our service members and first responders, who put their lives on the line to keep the rest of us safe,” said President Biden in his 2024 proclamation for national Caribbean American Heritage Month.
Among the many notable figures are Alexander Hamilton, the first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, who came from Nevis, as did the parents of Emmy Award-winning actress Cicely Tyson. Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman elected to the U.S. Congress and the first Black major party candidate for president, was born to immigrant parents from British Guiana (present-day Guyana) and Barbados. Colin Powell, the first African American appointed as the U.S. Secretary of State, had Jamaican immigrant parents, and civil rights activist Stokely Carmichael was born in Trinidad.
And among the performing artists is hip hop’s “founding founder” DJ Kool Herc, who hails from Jamaica; rap music’s “Human Beatbox” Doug E. Fresh, who was born in Barbados, and singer-songwriter Nicki Minaj who immigrated from Trinidad.
The official commemoration of Caribbean American Heritage Month in 2006 followed a national campaign by Claire Nelson of the Institute of Caribbean Studies think tank to give proper recognition to the generations of Caribbean connected people who toiled to better their adopted homelands in a myriad of ways.
And with so many contributions, Caribbean American heritage overlaps into other areas. So when “LGBTQ Pride Month,” “African American Music Appreciation Month (aka Black Music Month) hold their respective celebrations in June, note that Caribbean-rooted singer Harry Belafonte and songwriter Irving Burgie’s creation of “Calypso,” America first million-selling album, is a hallmark moment of Black Music Month history, while iconic Harlem Renaissance poet Claude McKay, whose “Home to Harlem” novel was dubbed the first commercially successful novel by a Black writer, is considered a prominent figure in LGBTQ history.