NEW YORK, CMC –Caribbean nationals in the diaspora are pushing ahead with plans to have Kamala Harris, the daughter of a Jamaican national, elected as the next President of the United States.
They have since formed the virtual group Caribbean Americans United in Support of Kamala Harris for President and say they will go all out to ensure her victory on November 5.
Vincentian-born Fadhilika Atiba Weza, the group’s convenor, told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) that Caribbean Americans United in Support of Kamala Harris for President comprises individuals who are residing in various states and that members expect Harris, the daughter of retired Jamaican economist Dr. Donald Harris, to be elected the 47th President of the United States of America on November 5.
“We are at an inflection point in this country’s history. We cannot afford another Trump presidency. His statements and proposed policies pose existential threats to the security of the country as we know it.
“Immigrants are threatened with significant disruption to their well-being, among other nefarious utterances by Trump and the MAGA forces. A Harris victory will avert that. We expect Vice President Harris to be elected to the White House,” said Atiba Weza.
Jamaican-born Una S.T. Clarke, the first ever Caribbean-American woman elected to the New York City Council, told CMC that Harris is “competent and has the qualifications for the position.
“I feel confident that she can win,” said the trail-blazing Clarke, an elected New York City delegate to the Democratic Convention in Chicago next week. “It becomes easier when we all put our heads and hearts together.
“I didn’t go into politics for politics’ sake but to make a difference for all people. Kamala Harris has immigrant roots. All immigrants, including Caribbean-Americans, should support and vote for her, if they can, in the Presidential Elections,” Clarke added.
Martin Felix, a Grenadian-born public high school teacher in Brooklyn and adjunct professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), State University of New York (SUNY), told CMC that “certain moments in history underscore the importance of voting and participating in the electoral process.
“This upcoming US election is not a choice between the lesser of two evils but a decision of profound significance, begging us to answer the question: ‘Which side are you on?'” he asked. He said environmental issues are particularly dear to Caribbean people’s hearts, both in the US and the Caribbean.
“Environmental and quality-of-life issues impact Many African-Caribbean communities. Our home countries in the Caribbean are at the frontlines of global warming. Almost every year, a hurricane destroys at least one Caribbean country’s economy and infrastructure.
“The increasing frequency and intensity of hurricanes, driven undeniably by global warming, have devastated Caribbean economies and infrastructure,” Felix said, noting that the latest example is Hurricane Beryl, which wreaked havoc on the Grenadines, parts of Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and southern Jamaica.
“The Trump administration is filled with climate change denialists, whose policy prescriptions are heavily influenced by the fossil fuel industry. If Trump is re-elected, his administration is expected to continue denying the climate crisis, pushing a ‘Drill Baby Drill’ agenda, and appointing justices who oppose reproductive rights and environmental protections.”
In stark contrast, he said Harris is “committed to continuing and expanding the Biden-Harris administration’s climate policies,” stating that the vice president cast the tie-breaking vote on the Inflation Reduction Act, hailed by environmentalists for advancing clean energy.
Addressing the UN Climate Summit in 2023, Felix said Harris “emphasized the urgent climate challenges facing communities worldwide, from droughts and floods to hurricanes and rising seas.”
Felix said Trump’s campaign is also guided by Project 2025, a Heritage Foundation blueprint aiming to dismantle democratic rights, social safety net programs, and environmental protections.
“These issues have direct implications for Caribbean people, both at home and abroad,” he warned, adding that the forthcoming election is also of significant symbolic importance.
“The US has yet to elect a woman as head of state, despite the global precedent set by many Caribbean countries to which Trump and others refer disparagingly—Haiti, Dominica, Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, to name only a few,” Felix said.
In its 248 years since independence and 46 presidents, he said the US has “never had a head of state to represent women, the majority.
“Women, especially women of color, are still paid less than men, and the Supreme Court recently repealed Roe v. Wade, which now gives the state control over a woman’s body,” he said.
“As the US grapples with issues of gender equality and reproductive rights, Harris’s candidacy offers a pivotal choice for all Americans, including Caribbean-Americans.”
“This election is going to be one of attrition. We cannot take it for granted that Harris will win. Our organization intends to play critical roles in voter education, voter registration, and voter mobilization.
“Our success in these endeavors, measured by boots on the streets and numbers at the polls, especially in strategic areas, and others active like beehives throughout the country, would determine the overall success of this campaign.
“This is going to be a battle of attrition. Numbers would matter at every juncture and in every geographic area. Even after the election, encouraging civic engagement would be our priority. We need to ensure that our voters are not taken for granted,” Felix added.
Atiba-Weza said the mission of Caribbean Americans United in Support of Kamala Harris for President is “to empower the voice of Caribbean Americans in the USA and to mobilize and inspire our communities to elect Kamala Harris in 2024 as President of the United States, fostering a future of inclusive and strategic leadership and representation.”
He said the group’s primary objectives are fundraising, awareness building, voter registration, and voter turnout.
Caribbean Americans United in Support of Kamala Harris for President said that while Caribbean Americans’ contributions are “greatly appreciated,” they can still “do more.”
“We may not have the numbers of our African-American sisters and brothers, but there are enough of us to make a significant contribution to the effort to elect Vice President Harris to the presidency of these United States of America,” the group said.
Data from the Emigration Policy Institute indicates that there are about 4.5 million Caribbean immigrants in the United States, and when their children are factored into, “the numbers are significantly increased.”
Caribbean Americans United said that, in 2021, the United States Census Bureau listed the number at 3.06 million.
“Either way, there are enough of us to impact the electoral process. We can do it. We owe it to our progeny and those whose struggles made it possible for us to be here.”
Political consultant Ernest McD. Skinner, a Trinidadian native who lives in Brooklyn, told CMC that “voting for Trump’s agenda is inimical to us.”
“I hope she (Harris) wins,” he said. “She’s in a honeymoon period, energizing the base. I hope that continues to build. I hope Democrats will be energized. We can continue building that momentum from the convention.
“I’m hoping that the election will not be as close,” added Skinner, whose political activism was influenced by the late Kwame Ture, formerly Stokely Carmichael. Ture was a Trinidadian-born American activist who played a significant role in the civil rights movement in the United States and the global pan-African movement.
“I’m encouraging people to vote, register, and vote. I’m talking to young people and encouraging them to do that. It’s incumbent on us to turn out in our massive numbers to make sure Kamala Harris becomes the 47th President of the United States,” Skinner added.
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