Street in Crown Heights co-named after ‘Carnival Queen’ Joyce Quamina

In picture-perfect weather, family, friends, carnival organizers and lovers, soca artistes and elected officials were on hand Saturday for the co-naming ceremony of a street in Crown Heights, Brooklyn after renowned Trinidadian “Carnival Queen” Joyce Quamina, a long-standing treasurer of the Brooklyn-based West Indian-American Day Carnival Association (WIADCA), organizer of the annual, massive West Indian American Day Carnival Parade on Brooklyn’s Eastern Parkway.

The street at President Street and Nostrand Avenue was co-named Joyce Quamina’s Way after a 1 ½-hour-long ceremony at the corner of President Street and Nostrand Avenue that featured, among other things, speeches, soca and steelpan music, costume displays and Stilt Dancers.

Quamina, one of the former stalwart executive members of WIADCA and a long-time Brooklyn resident, died on March 1, 2022 – incidentally, the same day as “Carnival Tuesday” in Trinidad and Tobago – at Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital in Oceanside, Long Is., her only daughter Michelle Quamina told Caribbean Life. She was 85.

City Council Member Crystal Hudson, the representative for the 35th Council District that encompasses Crown Heights, described Quamina as “a titan in her field who was known and beloved by many in Crown Heights and across Brooklyn.”

But Hudson, the daughter of Jamaican and Honduran immigrants, first thanked pre-eminent Grenadian-born entertainment promoter Derek Ventour, a Brooklyn resident, “who has shepherded this co-naming from start to finish.

“He presented before Community Board 9, worked with my staff to collect all the information necessary, and is a major reason we are all here today,” she said. “Please show Derek some love.”

Hudson said “there may have been no single individual who embodied this (Caribbean culture and heritage) more than Joyce, our ‘Carnival Queen’.

The late Joyce Quamina. Photo courtesy Rhea Smith/WIADCA, file

“From her dedication to serving her community to supporting anyone interested in continuing and sharing Caribbean culture in Brooklyn, Joyce reminded us of the importance of our culture. And because of her work, generations of New Yorkers — folks from the Caribbean and all over the world — will forever learn about and experience the joys of Caribbean culture not only in September but year-round as well,” she said.

“I think one of the things that most exemplifies Joyce’s impact on the world is that the day she transitioned — March 1, 2022 — was Carnival Tuesday in Trinidad and Tobago. It makes sense that Joyce wanted to transition in style and ultimately joined her friends, family and ancestors to make an even more vibrant Carnival Tuesday,” the council member added. “Whenever anyone passes the intersection of President Street and Nostrand Avenue, they’ll remember Auntie Joyce, and how she protected, preserved, and uplifted Caribbean culture in the city we call home.”

In a very brief tribute, Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, described Quamina’s legacy as “dynamic.”

“She’s one we have to pay homage to,” said the representative for the 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn, at the ceremony, with veteran Grenadian broadcaster Harold Pysadee serving as Master of Ceremonies. “Carnival here in Brooklyn brings everyone together. At the federal level, Caribbean Heritage Month is being celebrated.

“It’s important that we recognize our culture,” Clarke added. “You couldn’t say ‘no’ to Joyce Quamina.”

She then asked the crowd to repeat “Joyce Quamina” three times, which they un-hesitantly obliged.

“The spirit of Joyce Quamina is with all hearts together,” the congresswoman concluded.

Vincentian Kamla Millwood — the daughter of the late Kenton Kirby, renowned editor emeritus of Caribbean Life – told the ceremony that Quamina’s “legacy continues.”

“We want to thank everyone,” said Millwood, speaking on behalf of State Sen. Kevin Parker, who could not attend the event. “We are one Caribbean. Let’s continue doing what she (Joyce Quamina) loved. It’s not a mourning; it’s a celebration.”

Parker, representative for the largely Caribbean 21st Senate District in Brooklyn, had presented a proclamation to Michelle Quamina during a funeral service for her mom at Harmony Funeral Home on Clarendon Road in East Flatbush, Brooklyn.

“In the cultural arena Ms. Joyce Quamina was an icon,” Parker had told Caribbean Life afterwards. “To our Caribbean community, she was a legend. Her work impacted millions in the US and abroad, as she spent all of her life lifting youth and adults to their best potential, educating and empowering them to succeed in continuing the work of those who went before them.

“She never backed away from adversity, and she masterfully, along with the elders and founding members of the West Indian American Day Carnival Association, held the fort to ensure New York’s Caribbean legacy remained respected and intact for generations to come,” the state senator added.

“Her leadership has left an indelible mark on me, and I encourage other elected members to join me, and continue to support our Caribbean community and groups through their struggles and successes in their authentic representation of their tradition, heritage and pride,” Parker continued.

Trinidadian Angela Sealy, a former WIADCA chair, said she and Quamina started WIADCA’s Children’s Carnival.

“She helped so much,” Sealy told the ceremony. “Joyce and I burned the candles at both ends. She did her thing, and she did it her way.”

Michelle Gibbs, WIADCA’s Guyanese-born current chair, said Quamina, “in spirit, is with us.

“Thank you for supporting this community,” she said. “One thing, Auntie Joyce, she loved this community.”

MC Wassy, a popular Trinidadian DJ, said Quamina “gave everybody a chance” to advance their musical and entertainment careers, ending with his customary refrain, “somebody missing.”

Grenadian poet Wendell DeRiggs said Quamina’s role must be highlighted, while applauding her cultural efforts.

“Let us lift her name high,” he said. “Let her appreciation rise — truly a woman of strong faith and unblemished character.”

Quamina was born on Jan. 4, 1937 to Beryl and Decosta Jones in Trinidad and Tobago, migrating to the United States in the 1960’s “to accomplish her goals and dreams.”

Her dreams were beginning to become reality, when she met, in the 1980s, Carlos Lezama, WIADCA’s late founder and former president.

Street sign of Joyce Quamina’s Way.  Photo by Nelson A. King 

After Lezama repeatedly pleaded with Quamina to join WIADCA, she finally acquiesced, starting a long and illustrious career with the Caribbean carnival organizer.

Besides WIADCA, Quamina contributed to many other organizations, including being president of the International Culture Carnival for many years, involvement in the Junkanoo Carnival in Bahamas for 10 years, and was in the process of establishing the West Indian Carnival in Westchester.

Quamina also lectured to Caribbean inmates in the Folsom Prison, as well as to students at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Michelle Quamina thanked, among others, current and former WIADCA officials, local legislators — including Hudson, Parker and Clarke — and Ventour for their respective roles in her mom’s life, career and legacy.

“My mom, Joyce Quamina, was culture,” she told the ceremony. “She had many names — trailblazer. I’m happy to be sharing her today and always.

“My mom was master of all,” Michelle added. “She did 20 things at one time. I learned a lot from my mom. I thank God for my mom for nurturing me.”

Ventour also thanked everyone who attended the street co-naming and unveiling ceremony, honoring the life and legacy of the late Joyce Quamina.

“Thank you; it was a blessing,” he told Caribbean Life afterwards. “She served as an inspiration to many for the life that she lived.