Newly-formed Caribbean Americans United strongly pushes for Harris’ election

A newly-formed virtual group called Caribbean Americans United in Support of Kamala Harris for President is strongly pushing for the election of the first Caribbean-American Vice President in November’s Presidential Elections in the United States.

The Steering Committee of the group, which was formed on July 22, comprises members who are primarily New York residents. 

The seven-member Committee comprises former  City Council Member Una S.T. Clarke; state Sen. Kevin Parker, representative for the predominantly Caribbean 21st Senate District in Brooklyn; former Suffolk County legislator Jacqueline Gordon-Davy; college administrator and community activist Sherrill-Ann Mason; educators and community activists Martin Felix and Fadhilika Atiba-Weza; and political consultant Ernest McD. Skinner. 

Vincentian-born Atiba-Weza, the group’s convenor, told Caribbean Life over the weekend 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 on Nov. 5. 

“We are at inflection point in the history of this country,” Atiba-Weza said. “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 the well-being, among other nefarious utterances by Trump and the MAGA forces,” he added. “A Harris victory will avert that. We expect that Vice President Harris will be elected to the White House.”

Jamaican-born Clarke, the first ever Caribbean-American woman to be elected to New York City Council, told Caribbean Life Sunday night that Harris is “competent and has the qualifications for the position.

Fadhilika Atiba-WezaPhoto credit: Garnes Byron

“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. “When all of us put our heads and hearts together, it becomes easier.”

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), also told Caribbean Life Sunday night 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.

“The Trump administration is filled with climate change denialists, whose policy prescriptions are heavily influenced by the fossil fuel industry,” Felix continued. “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. 

Grenadian professors: Prof. Martin Felix, left, and Dr. Paul Clement celebrating Black History Month at Fenimore Street United Methodist Church in Brooklyn in February 2023Photo by: Nelson A. King

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.”

He said an environmental coalition is rallying around Harris’s historic candidacy, given the stark differences with a potential Trump administration. 

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 by many Caribbean countries that 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 pointed out, the US has “never had a head of state to represent women, who are 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.”  

Lystra Collis’s daughter, Vanda Karlyn-Dale Collis-Collins, center, with former Council Member Una S.T. Clarke; and Clarke’s daughter, Congresswoman Yvette D. ClarkePhoto by Nelson A. King

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 has four primary objectives: Fundraising, Awareness Building, Voter Registration and Turn Out The Vote.

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.  

Referring to data from the Emigration Policy Institute, it said there are about 4.5 million Caribbean immigrants in the United States, adding that, when their children are factors in, “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 make an impact on the electoral process,” it said. “We can do it. We owe it to our progeny and to those whose struggles made it possible for us to be here.”

Skinner, a Trinidadian native, residing in Brooklyn, told Caribbean Life Sunday night, as well, that “voting for Trump agenda is inimical for us.”

“I hope she (Harris) wins,” he said. “She’s in a honeymoon period; she’s energizing the base. I hope that continues to build. I hope Democrats will be energized. I hope we can continue to build that momentum coming out of the convention.”