On Wednesday, June 24, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and Deputy Borough President Yvonne Graham joined the Caribbean Heritage Event Planning Committee and members of Brooklyn’s Caribbean community, civic leaders, dignitaries, authors, artists and others for a full day of festivities, readings, exhibitions and colloquia in honor of National Caribbean-American Heritage Month. Home to the renowned West Indian American Day Carnival and Parade and our nation’s largest Caribbean population, Brooklyn is known as the “Caribbean Capital of the USA.”

For this unprecedented gathering of islands and cultures at Brooklyn Borough Hall, a wide array of events were held that embraced the sounds, sights, tastes and richness of the diverse cultures of the Caribbean, including the symposium “The Caribbean Diaspora in the Americas: The Case of Panama.” An awards luncheon kicked off the day’s events, honoring Faye A. Rodney, president of New York Carib News; the Honorable Sylvia O. Hinds-Radix, administrative judge for civil matters for the Second Judicial District; Dr. Lamuel Stanislaus, ambassador-at-large and deputy United Nations envoy to Grenada; and Slinger “The Mighty Sparrow” Francisco, “The Calypso King of the World.” An exhibit of Caribbean art entitled “A Tribute to Caribbean Heritage” was on display in the Borough Hall Community Room. The public also enjoyed an outdoor Caribbean market place, a restaurant food tasting featuring Caribbean delicacies and performances of steel band, calypso, reggae and creole music.