The history of West Indian immigration can be traced back to the 17th century when enslaved Africans from Barbados, Jamaica, and Antigua were brought to the British North American colonies to work on plantations. The Haitian Revolution (1791-1804) sparked another wave of immigration with thousands … Read MoreWest Indian Immigration to the United States (1900- )
Ayana Elizabeth Johnson is a marine biologist, environmental strategist, and policy expert. Born on August 23, 1980 to a teacher and an architect, Johnson was raised in Brooklyn, New York. Johnson earned a BA in Environmental Science and Public Policy from Harvard University in 2002. … Read MoreAyana E. Johnson (1980- )
Ambassador Theodore Roosevelt Britton, Jr. was born on October 17, 1925 in North Augusta, South Carolina. In 1936, he and his family migrated to New York City, New York. Britton was drafted into the U.S. Marine Corps out of high school soon after the attack … Read MoreTheodore R. Britton Jr. (1925- )
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” On November 1, 2011, President Barack H. Obama appointed Larry L. Palmer the United States Ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean. On March 30, 2012, the U.S. Senate confirmed Palmer’s nomination and he reported to his post in Bridgetown, Barbados. … Read MoreLarry L. Palmer (1949- )
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Roland Wentworth Bullen was born on Carriacou, one of the six islands that comprise the nation of Grenada. The product of a prominent family that owned several businesses, including the popular restaurant “Callaloo,” Bullen arrived in the United States in 1966. … Read MoreRoland Wentworth Boniface Bullen (1944- )
The Church of St. Mark in Brooklyn, New York was originally established by a group of black Episcopalians in 1838. The next year, Dr. Samuel M. Haskins was asked to be rector (pastor), the role he would maintain for 60 years. By April 1841 the … Read MoreThe Church of St. Mark, Brooklyn, New York (1838- )
Reverend Mahlon Van Horne was a community leader in Newport, Rhode Island and a pioneer in African American politics. As U.S. consul to St. Thomas, Danish West Indies, he advocated for the U.S. to purchase the territory in the early 1900s. Born on March 5th, … Read MoreMahlon Van Horne (1840-1910)
The University of the West Indies (UWI) is a public regional university unique in the world of higher education. The university is supported by and operating for the benefit of the people of 17 nations and territories in and around the Caribbean. These nations include … Read MoreUniversity of the West Indies (1948- )
Writer Jamaica Kincaid was born Elaine Potter Richardson on the Caribbean island of Antigua on May 25, 1949, when it was still under British colonial rule. At age three, Kincaid was taught to read by her mother but was later neglected when three boys were … Read MoreJamaica Kincaid (1949- )
George Alexander McGuire was a bishop and founder of the African Orthodox Church, as well as chaplain-general of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). McGuire was born on March 26, 1866 at Sweets, Antigua, in the Caribbean. He was educated in the local school system, … Read MoreGeorge Alexander McGuire (1866-1934)
