Influential Caribbean Women….. who has impacted our history, culture and society.

HER EXCELLENCY DAME IVY DUMONT, DCMG.

Governor General of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas 2002 – 2005  

November 2001 – 2002 Acting Governor General 

Dame Ivy Leona Dumont was born on October 2nd., 1930 in Roses, Long Island, where she spent her early childhood years. She received her primary education at the Government schools at Roses and Buckleys, and her high school education at Government High School, New Providence. After leaving high school Dame Ivy entered the field of education moving through the system: firstly, as a student teacher, then as a classroom teacher, a Head Teacher, and Education Officer and as Deputy Director of Education. She culminated her career as a public servant at the Ministry of Works and Utilities where she served as Deputy Permanent Secretary for three years from 1975 to 1978.

Dame Ivy Dumont Receives Honorary LLB from UWI.

In 1946 Dame Ivy received the Cambridge Junior Certificate; she gained the Cambridge Senior Certificate in 1947. In 1952 Dame Ivy received a certificate as an Associate of the College of Preceptors, a British Organization, and in 1954 she was awarded a Teacher’s Certificate by the Bahamas Teachers College. She furthered her training in the United States of America on a Fulbright Grant as a participant in the International Teacher Development Programme, in 1962/1963.

From 1968 – 1970 Dame Ivy continued her studies at the University of Miami where she earned a Bachelor of Education degree; and she earned a doctorate in Public Administration (DPA) from Nova University (1976 – 1978). Dame Ivy also participated in a number of in-service workshops and public service courses over the years.

Dame Ivy is an active member of Emmanuel Gospel Chapel where she formerly served as a Sunday School Teacher. She is Past President of the United Sisters Fellowship of the Assemblies of Brethren, a former Awana Team Leader, a founding member and Past President of Women’s Aglow International (Bahamas). She is a Bible Teacher/Speaker at Ladies’ Retreats, Seminars and Workshops.

Dame Ivy was married to Mr. Reginald Deane Dumont (deceased – December 2011) and is the mother of two children; Cheddie Dean Dumont and Edda Dumont Adolph and the grandmother of four; Deidre, Jihan and Cheddi Dumont and Kobé Paul Adolph

Her hobbies include dressmaking and design, upholstery and soft crafts, and the cultivation of roses.

Dame Ivy Dumont Receives Honorary LLB from UWI.

In 1990 Dame Ivy was elected Secretary General of the Free National Movement (FNM). When the FNM became the Government on 19 August 1992, Dame Ivy began a new career. She was appointed as a Senator and Leader of Government business in the Senate and Minister of Health and Environment. From 1995 – 1999 Dame Ivy served as the Minister of Education and as the Minister of Education and Youth until 2001. Upon her retirement, Dame Ivy was appointed Chairman of the Public Service Commission with effect from 1 February, 2001.

In 1995 Dame Ivy was made a Dame Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (DCMG) by Her Majesty The Queen.

On 13 November, 2001 in an impressive ceremony witnessed by thousands of Bahamians, Dame Ivy was appointed to serve as Acting Governor-General of The Bahamas. She was confirmed in the position on 1 January, 2002.

Dame Ivy retired on November 30, 2005.

WENDY MARCELLE FITZWILLIAM, LLB

Wendy Fitzwilliam (born October 4, 1972 in Diego Martin) is a former Miss Trinidad & Tobago Universe, the third woman of African heritage to capture the Miss Universe crown and the second Miss Universe in history from Trinidad and Tobago.

Wendy was born to Juditha and Noel Fitzwilliam, one of two daughters. She grew up in Jade Gardens Diamond Vale, Diego Martin and attended Diego Martin Girls R.C before attending St. Joseph’s Convent in Port of Spain. She graduated in 1996 from University of West Indies with a LLB and then from Hugh Wooding Law School. She was admitted to the bar in May 2000.

Wendy modeled for local fashion designer Meiling in her teenage and early years. At age 25, she participated in the 1998 Miss Universe pageant held at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. She beat off challenges from the other semifinalists: Russia, Ireland, South Africa, India, Brazil, Colombia, USA, Puerto Rico and eventual first runner-up Veruska Ramírez of Venezuela, who would prove to be her main competitor.

Fitzwilliam’s regal air and perfect evening gown presentation won her the favor of the judges and made her the favorite to capture the crown that night. However, once the final 3 were announced, her halting final answer led people to suspense, since there was a deadlock between her and Ramirez of Venezuela, who had won the swimsuit competition with the highest score ever seen at the time and gave a straightforward answer. Because there were eight members on the panel of judges and no way to break an eventual tie, the decision promised to be a nail-biter.

In the end, Fitzwilliam prevailed and became the first contestant in history to win wearing a bikini in the swimsuit competition, denying Ramírez that title as well. Her win came 21 years after another Trinidadian, Janelle Commissiong, who also happened to be the first Miss Universe of African heritage, captured in 1977 the crown for her country for the first time. Fitzwilliam is, thus, the second titleholder from Trinidad & Tobago and the third of African heritage, after Commissiong and Chelsi Smith of the USA.

During her reign, she was honored by the United Nations and bestowed the title of UNAIDS and UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador for her work in HIV/AIDS education and awareness.

Her dedication to the HIV/AIDS cause also led her to found The Hibiscus Foundation (THF) in Trinidad and Tobago on the 6th of September 1998. This organization was established to heighten AIDS awareness in Trinidad and Tobago and to give assistance, financially and otherwise, to children’s homes in Trinidad.

She was the international spokesperson for Clear Essence Skin Care and made several notable television appearances having hosted segments of “Wild On…” for E! Entertainment Television and the Miss Universe Special for the same network.

She made appearances on “Live with Regis and Kathy Lee”, “The Magic Hour”, “Politically Incorrect”, “The O’Reilly Factor”, CNN’s “Talk Back Live”, Trinidad and Tobago Carnival” for BET, “The Johnny Cockran Show” on Court TV, Soca Monarch Finals for Synergy TV with Danny Glover and Chris Tucker, among others.

After her reign, she recorded a jazz demo and continued her education. In 2000, she was admitted into the bar.

Wendy has also acted as a judge and host for many regional and international pageants, such as Miss Guyana, Miss Trinidad & Tobago, and Miss Universe.

Currently, she is the Vice President of Investment Promotion at the Evolving TecKnologies and Enterprise Development Company Limited (E TecK), a state-owned company in Trinidad and Tobago. She is also attached to the Trinidad Guardian’s Guardian in Education: Making a Difference project, a series of motivational school tours that also features former World Champion sprinter Ato Boldon and cyclist Michael Phillips, aiming to promote the development of the country’s diversity.

Her dedication to hard work isn’t just limited to her career, over the years she has lent herself greatly to her passion for human and social development by championing various charitable causes both big and small.

A highlight of her social work came when she became appointed the Red Cross Ambassador of Youth for the Caribbean. This is the first time the Red Cross has appointed anyone to this high honourary office. In this capacity she has been afforded the opportunity to address the World’s Youth globally, most recently as the keynote speaker of the Summit of The Americas V in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.

Wendy gave birth to her son, Ailan Andrew Panton in June 2006, and separated from his father, David Panton, in 2008. She currently resides in her native Trinidad and Tobago with her 5 year old son, who became muse for her first book, “Letters To Ailan”, an ode to him and about her experience as a mother. She achieved great success with her book and has launched “The Wendy Fitzwilliam Radio Show” 

CHANCELLOR FLOELLA KAREN YUNIES BENJAMIN, OBE., DL.

BARONESS BENJAMIN

Floella Benjamin was born Floella Benjamiyn in Point-a-Pierre,Trinidad in 1949. She has three brothers and two sisters. Her father, a policeman and a talented jazz musician, decided to migrate to England to play jazz saxophone.  Her parents left the children in the care of family friends and travelled to Britain, settling in Beckenham, South London.

It was 1960 when her parents sent for all the children and they travelled via ship to be reunited as a family in a new environment. Benjamin had a harsh introduction to London when she first experienced discrimination based on colour. Benjamin was an outstanding athlete but she was prohibited from taking the running trophy home because of her colour. She recalls her mother’s advice to focus on her education, as it was the passport to success in England. Benjamin remembers realising that she had to double her work rate and had to be dually accomplished to succeed in England. Her ambition was to be a teacher but her parents could not afford the educational fees to keep her on at school beyond her sixteenth year. She studied A levels at evening classes with the ambition of becoming the first black bank manager. However, frustration at achieving her dream set in and in 1973 she successfully auditioned for a part in the musicalHair. It was on tour that she met her future husband Keith Taylor. Benjamin was to have several more stage and film roles including The Black Mikado (1975), and Black Joy (1977) – also starring were Norman Beaton and Paul Medford.

She debuted on television in 1974 in an episode of Love Thy Neighbour. Her true acting opening occurred when she played in six episodes of prison drama Within These Walls (1974 – 1975). She also acted in the situation comedy Mixed Blessings (1978) and the drama serial Send in the Girls(1978). She changed the spelling of her name to Benjamin and she joined the children’s programme Play School as a presenter in 1976 and remained there for 14 years. Benjamin was the first person in Britain to wear beads in her hair in the 1970s – it was to become her trademark look. She was also the first woman to be allowed to appear fully pregnant on television.

 With her husband, Keith Taylor, she started a production company in 1987 – Floella Benjamin Productions Ltd. The company has made hundreds of programs in different areas e.g., children’s programmes, documentaries, cookery series programs and have been successful in winning several award for their productions that have been sold and viewed worldwide. Some of the titles of production that have been achieved are Treehouse, Hullabaloo, Playaway, Caribbean Kitchen, Jamboree, and Coming to England.

Ever conscious of the links from the Caribbean to Britain Benjamin works hard to promote the Commonwealth and was a member of the Caribbean Strategy Advisor Committee reporting to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office between 1998 and 2002. As an author she has written over twenty books for children and adults including her autobiography: Coming to England (1994),Exploring Caribbean Food in Britain (1988) and Handa’s Surprise (2005).

Benjamin has held a number of statutory and voluntary positions and she has been a member and patron of several committees including numerous children’s charities. She was Chairman of BAFTA from 1997 through to 2000. In 2001 she became a governor of Dulwich College; the same institution her mother worked in as a laundry supervisor in 1963 and where her son attended for 11 years. In 2001 Floella Benjamin was awarded the OBE for services to broadcasting and charity.

In 2004 Benjamin was chosen to carry the Olympic torch through Peckham, South London and the Floella Benjamin Productions Company received a RTS education award for the production ofComing to England – based on Benjamin’s autobiographical book of the same name. Benjamin also won a Children’s BAFTA special lifetime award in 2004 for her outstanding contribution to children’s film and television. As her charity work continued Benjamin was elected to be a Vice–President of the charity Barnardo’s in 2004.

Her Excellency Dr. Jean Ramjohn-Richards First Lady of  The Republic of Trinidad & Tobago receives Lady Floella Benjamin, Baroness of Beckenham

In 2005 she was inducted into the NSPCC’s Hall of Fame for her work as a campaigner on behalf of children’s issues and she received a Lifetime Achievement Award for her services to broadcasting from Garavi Gurjarat (GG2) Diversity and Leadership awards. Benjamin was awarded the IVCA Clarion Champion Award in 2005 for her major contribution to most sectors of the media industry. Also recognised were her creativity, passion and dedication to a range of important causes. The IVCA awards are the world’s only communication awards and they highlight social inclusion, corporate social responsibility (CSR), sustainable development and ethical debate.Benjamin was awarded an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters (DLitt) from Exeter University in 2005 in recognition of the influence she has had on British society.

In 2010 Benjamin was nominated by the Liberal Democratic party as a life peer and subsequently introduced to the House of Lords with the title of Baroness Benjamin, of Beckenham in the County of Kent.

Reblogged from CARIB LIFE STYLE:

Trinidad fashion designer extraordinaire Claudia Pegus unveils her Christmas Collection.

Here is a collection of profile stories which traces the history, experiences, challenges and successes of outstanding women from the Caribbean territories, as they navigate the traditionally male dominated arenas. 

“The collection brings together in one place, a distinguish group of women who have contributed in significant ways to the development of the Caribbean and the Americas. Who have pushed against the odds to achieve their goals and who have been quite extremely influential in the political landscape” 

JUDGE CONSTANCE BAKER MOTLEY

The Honorable Constance Baker Motley was a civil rights lawyer, lawmaker and judge whose career spanned six decades and was highlighted by numerous historic achievements, including becoming the first African American woman accepted at Columbia Law School, the first African American woman elected to the New York Senate, the first woman and the first black woman to hold the position of Manhattan Borough President, and the first African American woman appointed to serve as a federal district judge.

Constance Baker Motley was born on September 14, 1921 in New Haven, Connecticut, the ninth of 12 children born to parents who had emigrated from the island of Nevis in the West Indies. Her father worked as a chef for various Yale University student organizations, including Skull and Bones. She attended local schools in what was then an overwhelmingly white community. Wanting to attend college but lacking funds, Constance Motley was lowered to working as a struggling housekeeper after high school.

When she was 18, Motley made a speech at local African-American social center that was heard by Clarence W. Blakeslee, a white businessman and philanthropist who sponsored the center. He was impressed and offered to finance her education. Thrilled with the opportunity, Constance chose Fisk University in Tennessee, but was unprepared for the Jim Crow South. After less than two years, Constance Motley returned to the North and attended New York University.

After graduating from New York University in 1943, Constance Motley took a well-paying job with a wartime agency that aided the dependents of servicemen. A year later, she turned down a promotion to attend Columbia Law School. “That’s the dumbest thing I ever heard, a complete waste of time,” her supervisor told her. “Women don’t get anywhere in the law.” While still a law student at Columbia, Motley met Thurgood Marshall, the NAACP’s legal director, who offered her a job as a law clerk in the organization’s New York office. 

In 1948, Constance Baker Motley began a 16 year career as a lawyer with the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, serving as a key attorney in many of the major legal challenges of the civil rights era, including dozens of school desegregation challenges. She was the only woman on the legal team in the historic legal challenge to school segregation in Brown v. Board of Education.  She was lead counsel for James Meredith in his successful battle to gain admission to University of Mississippi.  She argued ten cases to the United States Supreme Court, winning nine of them.

Always a staunch supporter of civil rights, Constance Motley visited  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in jail, sang freedom songs in churches that had been bombed, and spent a night under armed guard with Medgar Evers, the civil rights leader who was later murdered.

In February 1964, Constance Motley’s high-level civil rights profile drew her into politics. A Democratic State Senate candidate from the Upper West Side was ruled off the ballot because of an election-law technicality. She accepted the nomination on the condition that it would not interfere with her N.A.A.C.P. work and handily defeated a Republican to become the first black woman elected to the State Senate. She was re-elected that November.

She remained in the job until February 1965, when she was chosen by unanimous vote of the City Council to fill a one-year vacancy as Manhattan borough president. In citywide elections nine months later, she was re-elected to a full four-year term with the endorsement of the Democratic, Republican and Liberal Parties.

In 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Constance Motley as a judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York at the urging of Senator Robert F. Kennedy of New York, a Democrat, and with the support of Senator Jacob K. Javits, a Republican. The opposition of Southern senators like James O. Eastland, a Mississippi Democrat, was beaten back, and her appointment was confirmed. She became chief judge of the district in 1982 and senior judge in 1986.

Judge Motley won cases that ended segregation in Memphis restaurants and at whites-only lunch counters in Birmingham, Alabama. She fought for King’s right to march in Albany, Georgia. Motley also played an important role in representing blacks seeking admission to the Universities of Florida, Georgia Alabama and Mississippi and Clemson College in South Carolina.

In 1993, Constance Motley was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame. In 2001, President Bill Clinton awarded her the Presidential Citizens Medal. The NAACP awarded her the Spingarn Medal, the organization’s highest honor, in 2003.

BARBARA ANN CADET

Barbara Ann Cadet

Born: July 17, 1965    Instrument: Saxophone

DAME RUTH NITA BARROW, G.C.M.G., D.A.

Governor General of Barbados: 6 June 1990 – 19 December 1995

Dame Ruth Nita Barrow was awarded the honour of being appointed Governor General of Barbados on June 6th 1990. Barrow served as Head of State until her eventual death on December 19th 1995.

Born on the 15th of November 1916, Nita Barrow was an ambitious woman born to a family of political activists.

Her father, an Anglican priest, was removed from his posting on the island of St. Croix for his controversial sermons preaching against racism and social stratification.

Her uncle, Dr. Charles Duncan O’Neal, was founder of the Democratic League of Barbados and one of the island’s 10 National Heros.

While her younger brother, Errol Barrow fought for independence of the nation. With independence, Errol become Prime Minister of Barbados (1966 – 1976 and 1986-1987).

An activist and leading humanitarian herself, Nita paralleled her family’s achievements.

Nita Barrow studied nursing in Barbados, continuing her studies at the University of Toronto, Edinburgh and Columbia Universities. She began her career as a trained nurse, midwife, and health care administer, holding a number of positions in Barbados and Jamaica.

Barrow soon rose to international acclaim becoming an accomplished international public health official and diplomat.

Appointed to a number of international bodies, Nita Barrow held the following position during her long and illustrious career:

Public health advisor to the World Health Organization & the Pan-American Health Organization

President of the World YWCA (1975-83)

President of the International Council of Adult Education (1982-90)

President of the World Council of Churches (1983)

Ambassador to the United Nations (1986-90)

Nita Barrow was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1980 as Dame of St. Andrew and Dame Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George. Thereafter, she became known as Dame Ruth Nita Barrow.

Like her brother Errol, Nita Barrow was known for her outspoken nature and commitment to development. A founder and member of the Global Fund for Women’s Board of Directors, Dame Nita was especially concerned with women’s rights vis-à-vis health care.

In 1985, Dame Nita presided at the International Women’s Conference in Nairobi, Kenya. The next year, Barrow was appointed as Barbadian Ambassador to the United Nations (UN), a post which she held until 1990. Nita Barrow was the only woman named to the Eminent Persons Group. The group was responsible for investigating racism in South Africa.

In 1988, Dame Nita ran against then foreign minister of Argentina Dante Caputo for the position of President of the UN General Assembly.

A fiery campaign led to the first secret ballot Assembly President election since 1983. One of the most contested and heated campaigns in the history of the United Nations, Dame Nita lost the election.

Dame Ruth Nita Barrow died of a stroke on December 19th, 1995. She was 79 years old. She is honoured by a number of national and international initiatives and awards including:

She was made Dame of the [British] Order of St. Andrew’s in 1980 and awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of the West Indies. Although she refused to call herself a feminist, she cared deeply about the plight of the people and was awarded the Carribean Prize for Peace through Struggle for Justice in 1986, and the CARICOM Award for Women in 1987. A pioneer and advocate she was; for many, many in the world.

DAME MONICA JESSIE DACON, DBE. CMG.

DEPUTY GOVERNOR GENERAL OF ST. VINCENT & THE GRENADINES:

Monica Jessie Sheen was born on 4th June 1934. She has the distinction of being the first woman ever appointed as Deputy Governor General and as Acting Governor General in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.  She is the widow of the former, well loved and highly respected parliamentarian, The Hon. St. Clair Dacon.

Monica Dacon attended The Girls’ High School where she passed both the Cambridge School Certificate and the Cambridge Higher School Certificate.  She then went on to enjoy a distinguished teaching career that spanned thirty-five years.  In 1952 she began teaching at her alma mater and the Boys’ Grammar School. She would return to the Girls’ High School eleven years later having taught in two Trinidad and Tobago schools, before returning to St. Vincent to teach at the Bishop’s College, Kingstown in 1966. Mrs Dacon acted as Principal of Bishop’s College for a few months before going back to the Girls’ High School where she remained for nearly fifteen years.

Mrs. Dacon continued her studies and gained the St. Vincent Teachers’ College Certificate in 1980 and two years later her Bachelor of Education degree from the University of the West Indies. On her return to St. Vincent she moved from secondary education to the tertiary level and became a lecturer at the St. Vincent Teachers’ Training College.

Throughout her life Monica Dacon has been involved in church and civic activities.  She was a member of the Girl Guides Association and served as a Brownie Guider as well as teaching Sunday school for many years and assisting with the preparation of the Methodist Church’s School Curriculum. In 2001 she was appointed as a member of the Public Service Board of Appeal.

Monica Jessie Dacon was appointed Deputy Governor General in 2001 when Sir Charles Antrobus was Governor General, she continued in this office upon his death and with the subsequent appointment of Dr. Frederick Ballentyne as Governor General. She has been Acting Governor General on numerous occasions, and continues to carry out her duties with grace and dignity.

ANGELA E. VERNON-KING, B.A., MA

Angela Evelyn Vernon King (August 28, 1938 – February 5, 2007) was a Jamaican diplomat. She worked for the United Nations for 38 years, from 1966 to 2004, working mainly for equal rights for women. She was appointed Assistant Secretary-General for gender issues in 1997, remaining in that post until she retired in 2004.

King was born in Kingston, Jamaica. Her father was Canon R.O.C. King; her brother was Peter King. She was educated at St Hilda’s High School and Wolmer High School in Kingston, and studied for a B.A. in history at the University College of the West Indies. She received an MA in educational sociology and administration from the University of London in 1962. She then joined the Foreign Office of the newly-independent Jamaica, and was posted to Jamaica’s Permanent Mission at the United Nations in New York.

Angela joined the UN Secretariat in 1966 from the Permanent Mission of Jamaica, where she worked on matters relating to human rights and social development. She was one of the first two women Foreign Service officers posted after Jamaica joined the UN. While at the UN, she held the positions of director of Recruitment and Placement, director of Staff Administration and Training, deputy to the Assistant Secretary General for Human Resources Management, and director of the Operational Services Division, where she worked closely with the Focal Point for the Improvement of the Status of Women in the Secretariat on issues such as special measures for women and sexual harassment.

Angela had a long history of active work for the advancement of women in the UN Secretariat.  She was a founding member of the ad hoc Group on Equal Rights for Women (GERWUN) and chaired the Secretariat’s High-level Steering Committee on Improving the Status of Women. Angela attended the First, Second and Fourth Women’s World Conferences in Mexico (1975), Copenhagen (1980) and Beijing (1995) and organized and directed the Beijing  Special Session of the General Assembly (2000).  She served as director of the Division for the Advancement of Women of the Department for Economic and Social Affairs (1996), where she was responsible for the†follow-up to the Beijing Conference and for managing the central UN program for the advancement of women. She also chaired the Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender and Equality (IANWGE) and supervised the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW).

The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has issued a statement in which he says: “Angela King led the United Nations’ efforts for the empowerment of women with knowledge, passion and courage as the United Nations worked to translate into practice the Beijing Platform for Action and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

Dame Elmira Minita Gordon, GCMG, GCVO. Born on December 30, 1930, in Belize City Dame Minita Gordon has the distinction of being Belize’s first Governor–General from its independence to 1993, being the first woman in a Commonwealth realm to assume that position. She was educated in Belize City at St. John’s Girl’s School and St. Mary’s Primary School, before attending the Government Teacher’s Training College. Her teaching career began as an Anglican school teacher including missionary work throughout Belize, extending from 1946-1958. During the years 1959-1969 Dame Minita lectured at the Belize Teacher’s Training College, after which she became an Education Officer. She furthered her academic achievements by correspondence course from the College of Preceptors, Oxford, England. Dame Minita then went on to attend the Universities of Nottingham and Birmingham in England, the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada, then pursuing a Master’s degree in Educational Psychology followed by a Ph.D course in Applied Psychology at the University of Toronto, Canada. She became Belize’s first Psychologist in 1980. She has been a member of the Girl Guides since 1946, becoming District Commissioner for the Belize district in 1970.

Awards.

In 1981 became the first Belizean to receive a Certificate of Inclusion in the International Who’s Who of Intellectuals.

Justice of the Peace in 1974.

In 1975 awarded the Certificate of Honour and Life Membership of the British Red Cross.

Conferred with an honorary degree from the University of Victoria, Canada, in 1984.

Appointments.

Member of the National Library Service Board until 1976.

Member of St. Hilda’s College Board of Governors.

Deputy Chairperson of the Domestic Wages Council.

Member of the Y.W.C.A.

Member of the Educational Psychology Programme Planning Committee, University of Toronto 1977-1978.

Member Leather Craft Club, Toronto 1978-1980.

The Honorable  Madame Justice Désirée Bernard, O.R.,CCJ., C.C.H.

The Honorable Mme. Justice Désirée Patricia Bernard, a citizen of Guyana, was born on 2 March 1939. She read Law at the University of London, graduating with the LLB degree in 1963. Qualifying as a solicitor in 1964, Mme Justice Bernard engaged in private practice in the High Court of the Supreme Court of Guyana from 1965 to 1980. During that period, she was appointed a Magistrate (1970), Commissioner of Oaths & Notary Public (1976) and was admitted to the English Roll of Solicitors (1977).

Thereafter, Mme. Justice Bernard, established a number of professional “firsts”, being appointed the first female High Court Judge of the Supreme Court of Guyana (1980); the first female Justice of Appeal (1992); the first female Chief Justice of Guyana and in the Commonwealth Caribbean (1996); and the first female Chancellor of the Judiciary of Guyana and in the Commonwealth Caribbean (2001). Mme. Justice Bernard took the oath of office as a Judge of the Caribbean Court of Justice at the Court’s Inauguration Ceremony, on Saturday 16 April 2005.

During her long and distinguished career, Mme. Justice Bernard has held memberships in various regional and international organizations, having been the founding Secretary of the Caribbean Women’s Association (CARIWA-1970-1974); first President of the Organisation of Commonwealth Bar Associations (OCCBA-1976); member and Chair of the Caribbean Steering Committee for Women’s Affairs, later established as the Women & Development Unit of UWI (WAND-1978). Internationally, Mme. Justice Bernard served as both rapporteur (1982-1984) and Chair (1985-1989) of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women during her membership, which ran from 1982 to 1998. Mme. Justice Bernard has presented many scholarly papers at and participated in numerous international seminars and colloquia both regionally and internationally.

For her exceptional contribution to the improvement of the status of women and to the development and practice of law, Mme. Justice Bernard has received several awards, the most notable being: the Cacique Crown of Honour, and the Order of Roraima, Guyana’s 3 rd and 2 nd highest national awards respectively.

The Honorable Mme. Justice Bernard is single, and has an adopted daughter, Ms. Carol Ann Bernard, herself an attorney-at-law.

Dame Billie Antoinette Miller, D.A. BCH

Dame Billie Miller was born in Barbados on January 8th, 1944.  She was educated at Belair Junior School and Queen’s College in Barbados, King’s College, Durham University, and the Council of Legal Education in England and was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1968 and one year later to the Bar of Barbados.  During the periods 1969-1976 and 1987-1994, she worked as a practising Barrister and Attorney-at-Law.  For several years she was the only woman practising at the private Bar.  Her practice was mainly a civil court and chamber practice where she carved out a specialty in family law in advance of modern family law legislation in Barbados. She is a member of the Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn-of-Court, London and was a member of the International Federation of Women Lawyers from 1975-76.

Dame Billie Antoinette Miller was re-elected Member of Parliament for the City of Bridgetown for the seventh time and was appointed Senior Minister in May 2003, retaining the portfolios of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade.  She was the first woman to sit on the Cabinet of Barbados. Over the years, her ministerial portfolios have included Health and National Insurance (1976-1981), Education (1981-1985, with the Culture portfolio being added (1985), Senator and Leader of Opposition Business (1986-1991), Deputy Leader of the Opposition (1993-1994), Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and International Business with the responsibility of Leader of the House of Assembly (1994), Foreign Affairs, Tourism and International Transport (1995), Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade (1999-2008).

At the international level, Dame Billie Miller was the Co-ordinator of CARICOM Ministerial Spokespersons with Responsibility for External Negotiations in Bilateral, African Caribbean and Pacific States-European Union (ACP-EU), World Trade Organization (WTO) and Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) matters (appointed February 2002). At the national level, she is a member of the Barbados Family Planning Association, the Barbados National Trust and the Barbados Museum and Historical Society. In the past, she has served as:

• Member of the Council of the University of the West Indies (1981-1986)
• Chairman of the NGO Planning Committee for the International Conference on Population and Development which was held in Cairo, Egypt in 1994
• Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (1996-1999) – the first time a woman has been chairman since its establishment in 1911.
• President of the International Planned Parenthood Federation/Western Hemisphere Region (1991-1993, 1993-1995, 1995-1997)
• Member of the International Planned Parenthood Federation/Central Council, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America Inc.
• Member of the United Nations Population Fund’s Advisory Panel for Activities Concerning Women
• Member of the Inter-American Dialogue
• Chairman of the Inter-American Development Bank’s Advisory Council on Women in Development in Washington (1996-2002)
• The first woman Chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (1997-1998)
• President of the African, Caribbean and Pacific States Council of Ministers (1998)
• Chairperson of the Association of Caribbean States’ Ministerial Council (2000-2001)
• Vice-Chairperson of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (2000-2002)
• President of the 32nd Regular Session of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) held in Barbados (2002)
• Vice Chairperson in the bureau of the Chair of the Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference held in Hong Kong, China (2005)
• President of the Board of Directors of the Inter-American Parliamentary Group on Population and Development for the Caribbean and Latin America (1999-2006)

She has received many distinguished awards including: the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Medal (1977); the Barbados Centennial Award 2000; the Grantley Adams Award for public service (2001 – the highest award given by the Barbados Labour Party); the National Order of Juan Mora Fernandez (2001, Government of Costa Rica); the “Woman of Great Esteem Award” (2002, US-based Q-Kingdom Ministries); and the “Dame Elsie Payne Award of Excellence” (2002 by the Queen’s College Association). She was also named “Grand Officer of the National Order of Benin” (June 2000) and was vested with the title of “Honorary Fellow of the Honors College at Florida International University” (2001) The accolade of Dame of St. Andrew (Barbados’ highest honour) was conferred on her by His Excellency the Governor General on December 1, 2003, in recognition of her distinguished career and her outstanding contribution to Barbados, International Organizations and Politics. Dame Billie was honoured on October 21, 2004, in New York, by the International Planned Parenthood Federation, Western Hemisphere Region during its 50th Anniversary Celebration for her outstanding contribution to the field of Sexual and Reproductive Health. On April 12, 2006, in Washington D.C., she was presented with the Order Bernardo O’Higgins in the rank of Gran Cruz by the Government of Chile for her contribution in the forging of stronger bilateral relations between Barbados and Chile.  On June 16, 2006, in New York, the Caribbean Tourism Organization presented her with the Lifetime Achievement Award for her distinguished service to the Caribbean and her promotion of the region as the world’s premier warm-weather destination.

Dame Billie Miller was selected as the Laureate for the United Nations Population Award, 2008, in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the awareness of population issues.

Influential Caribbean Women….. who has impacted our history, culture and society.

AMBASSADOR BETTY E. BOYEA-KING

Ambassador Betty E. Boyer-King, St. Vincent born was nominated on October 22, 2009, by President Obama to serve as the Representative of the United States to the Office of the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva. She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate and attested by the President on February 12, 2010.

Ambassador King served as the United States Representative to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. In that capacity, she worked on human rights, development, children, aging, and population issues. She was the principal U.S. negotiator on the Millennium Development Goals.

Ms. King has an extensive background in philanthropy having served as the Vice President of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of disadvantaged children. She served as the Senior Advisor to the CEO of the California Endowment where she worked to improve health services and systems, and as an advisor to the Atlantic Philanthropies on their programs for children and youth.

In the public sector, Ms King has served as the Deputy Commissioner for Mental Health Services in the District of Columbia, as the Director of the Department on Aging in Arkansas, and as an Assistant professor at the University of Arkansas. Before assuming her duties in Geneva, she also served on the boards of Refugees International, The United Nations Association of the United States, Phoenix House, and on the Advisory Board of the Annenberg School of Public Diplomacy.

Ms King earned a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Windsor, Ontario, Canada, a Masters Degree at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, was a National Humanities Fellow at Harvard University, and a Public Policy Fellow at the University of California, Los Angeles.

TIPHANIE YANIQUE

I’ve been writing as long as I have a memory. When I was five, I thought I wrote a novel. It was probably the alphabet over and over again. I was raised by my grandmother, who was a librarian. We always had books around and reading was the most celebrated activity in the house. I don’t have a granny that makes sugar cake or crochets. I have a granny who tells stories. I knew my mother had been a poet, but it wasn’t until I started to become a professional writer that the other, secret writers in my family started revealing themselves to me. My mother had been a poet, a cousin writes history, another journals. I’m sure there are more still.

Schoolteachers often asked me and other students to read our writing out loud. While this may seem kind of trivial and silly (I was still a child) it was vital to helping me consider writing as something that had a listening audience. Even when a reader is in a room by herself she’s still hearing the words in her own mind. Sound and rhythm are now a very important part of my writing.

But the most memorable story of my work being performed was not me performing it. When I was in my final year of high school, St Thomas, Virgin Islands, was victim to a major hurricane, Marilyn. We lived without running water and electricity for three months. Once school was back in session, a group called the Birch Forum put together a number of important events. One was inviting Maya Angelou to come read at our Reichhold Center. Associated with her coming was a poetry prize for high-school students. About four of us won and our poems were put into a book for her. When she started on stage she began her own performance by reading the poem I had written! She said something else about me being a part of the future of Virgin Islands writing…but I don’t remember exactly because I just about fell out of the balcony seat I was in.

Tiphanie Yanique 28, is the author of How to Escape from a Leper Colony, her work has attracted considerable critical acclaim, including the Boston Review Prize in Fiction, a Pushcart Prize a Fulbright in Creative Writing and an Academy of American Poet’s Prize. Her work has also appeared in Callaloo, Transition Magazine, American Short Fiction, & the London Magazine. She is an assistant professor of creative writing & Caribbean Literature at Drew University. The Boston Globe listed her as one of sixteen cultural figures to watch out for in 2010.”

MICHELE DUVIVIER-LOUIS

MICHELE DUVIVIER-LOUIS (born 5 October 1947) is a Haitian politician who was Prime Minister of Haiti from September 2008 to November 2009. She was Haiti’s second female Prime Minister, after Claudette Werleigh who served from 1995 to 1996.

Pierre-Louis has been the Executive Director of the Knowledge and Freedom Foundation (FOKAL), a non governmental organization financed by  George Soros, since 1995. In June 2008 she was nominated as Prime Minister by  President Rene Preval, after Préval’s two previous nominees were rejected by the  Chamber of Deputies.  Her nomination was approved by the Chamber of Deputies on 17 July 2008, with 61 votes in favor, one opposed, and 20 abstentions. It was approved by the Senate on 31 July, with 12 votes in favor, 5 abstentions and none opposed. Her political programme and government still had to be approved by the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.

Préval announced the composition of the new government on 25 August; aside from Pierre-Louis herself, there were 17 ministers, seven of whom were retained from the previous government of Jacques-Edouard Alexis. Pierre-Louis was appointed as Minister of Justice and Public Security, in addition to serving as Prime Minister. The government was to have been installed on 26 August, but this was delayed due to the impact of  Hurricane Gustav.

Pierre-Louis’ political programme and government were approved by the Chamber of Deputies and subsequently by the Senate on 5 September 2008, following extended negotiations. 16 votes were needed in the Senate; she received only 15 in the first vote, but in a second vote held shortly afterward she gained the necessary additional vote. There were no opposing votes, but one senator abstained. This vote occurred as Haiti was ravaged by the effects of Hurricane Hanna and Hurricane Ike, presenting a daunting challenge to Pierre-Louis and her government.

HAZEL SCOTT

Hazel Dorothy Scott (June 11, 1920 – October 2, 1981) was an internationally known, American jazz and classical pianist and singer.

By the age of 16, Hazel Scott regularly performed for radio programs for the Mutual Broadcasting System, gaining a reputation as the “hot classicist.” In the mid-1930s, she also performed at the Roseland Dance Hall with the Count Basie Orchestra. Her early musical theatre appearances in New York included the Cotton Club Revue of 1938, Sing Out the News and The Priorities of 1942.

Throughout the 1930s and 40s, Scott performed jazz, blues, ballads, popular (Broadway songs and boogie-woogie) and classical music in various nightclubs. From 1939 to 1943 she was a leading attraction at both the downtown and uptown branches of Café Society. Her performances created national prestige for the practice of “swinging the classics”.

In addition to Lena Horne, Scott was one of the first African American women to garner respectable roles in major Hollywood pictures. She performed as herself in several features, notably I Dood It (MGM 1943), Broadway Rhythm (MGM 1944), with Lena Horne and in the otherwise all-white cast The Heat’s On (Columbia 1943), Something to Shout About (Columbia 1943), and Rhapsody in Blue  (Warner Bros 1945). In the 1940s, in addition to her film appearances, Scott was featured in Café Society’s From Bach to Boogie-Woogie Carnegie Hall  concerts (1941 and 1943).

She was the first woman of color to have her own television show, The Hazel Scott Show, which premiered on the DuMont Television Network on July 3, 1950. During a period of continued racism in the advertising industry as well as economic hardships for jazz musicians in general, the show was canceled in 1950. Some journalists speculated that the show was canceled because of her name’s appearance in the Red Channels published by Counterattack. Scott was called to testify by the House Un-American Activities Committee just before her television variety program was canceled on September 29, 1950. Scott remained publicly opposed to McCarthyism and racial segregation throughout her career.

n Scott moved to Paris in the late 1950s, where she appeared in the French film Le Désordre et la Nuit’ (1958). She maintained a steady but difficult career in France and touring throughout Europe until returning to the US in 1967. She continued to play occasionally in nightclubs, while also appearing in daytime television until the year of her death. She made her television acting debut in 1973 on the ABC daytime soap opera One Life to Live,” performing a wedding song at the nuptials of her “onscreen cousin”, Carla Gray Hall, portrayed by Ellen Holly. Scott recorded as the leader of various groups for Decca, Columbia and Signature, among them a trio that consisted of Bill English and the double bass player Martin Rivera, and another featuring Charles Mingus on bass and Rudie  Nichols on drums. Her album Relaxed Piano Moodson the Debut Record label, with Mingus and Max Roach, is generally her work most highly regarded by critics today. In 1945 Scott married Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., a U.S. Congressman. They had one child Adam Clayton Powell III, but divorced in 1960 after an earlier separation. On January 19, 1961, she married again, to Ezio Bedin, a Swiss-born comedian. New York City.  She was 61 years old, and survived by her sodam Clayton Powell III.

Influential Caribbean Women who has impacted our history, culture and society…..

INFLUENTIAL CARIBBEAN WOMEN

CLASSICAL PIANIST MARIA THOMPSON CORLEY

Jamaican-born Canadian pianist Maria Thompson Corley gave her first public performance at the age of eight. Since then, she has appeared on radio, television, and concert stages in Canada, the United States, Central America, the Caribbean, Bermuda and Europe, both as a solo and collaborative artist, including performances in Budapest at the Liszt Academy, and in Carnegie Recital Hall, Aaron Davis Hall and Alice Tully Hall, all in New York City. She has collaborated with such artists as Metropolitan Opera soprano Priscilla Baskerville, and internationally renowned clarinetist James Campbell. Her performances as soloist with orchestra include engagements with the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Gunther Schuller, the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Stephen Gunzenhauser, and the Allegro Chamber Orchestra, with Brian Norcross.

Her first CD, Dreamer, a collaboration with tenor Darryl Taylor, was released internationally on the Naxos label. Her subsequent discs, on Albany, include a recording of the first twelve of African American composer Leslie Adams’ etudes for solo piano and Soulscapes, consisting of music for solo piano by African American women.

Her undergraduate work was completed at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, where she studied with Alexandra Munn, whose teachers include Irwin Freundlich. Maria Corley received both Masters and Doctorate degrees in piano performance from the Juilliard School, where she was a student of renowned Hungarian pianist Gyorgy Sandor and the only pianist admitted into the doctoral program for the period of two years. She was also chosen to represent her alma mater in a tour of Central America, where she gave performances and master classes.

Aside from being an accomplished pianist, Maria Corley is an author, whose first novel, Choices, was published by Kensington. She is also a composer and arranger of music for both solo voice and chorus, with pieces commissioned and recorded by the Florida A&M University Concert Choir, the Tallahassee Boys Choir, and soprano Randye Jones.

She currently serves as staff accompanist at Millersville University in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Maria Corley is a member of Sigma Alpha Iota and a Rotary Club Paul Harris fellow.

www.jdosinternational.com

HER EXCELLENCY DAME LOUISE LAKE-TACK, GCMC

GOVERNOR GENERAL, ANTIGUA & BARBUDA

Dame Louise Agnetha Lake-Tack, GCMG, DStJ

 Louise Lake-Tack was born on July 26, 1944 at Long Lane Estate in the Parish of St. Phillip’s, Antigua.

She was educated at the Freetown Government School before attending the Antigua Girls High School in St. John’s

After graduation Dame Louise migrated to the United Kingdom (UK) where she pursued studies in nursing at the Charring Cross Hospital. Following her studies, she was employed at the National Heart Hospital and the Harley Street Clinic. She also studied at a number of educational institutions. These include City of Westminster College, Thames Valley University, the Open University, Holborn Law School and the Council of Legal Education to Study for the bar. She also served as a magistrate, and sat at Pocock Street Crown Court and Middlesex Crown Court to hear appeals from the lower courts.

 A devout member of the Anglican Church, she studied for one year to become a Christian counselor at her local church. “All Souls.” Langham Place, London. She also worked as a volunteer in the All Souls Christian Bookshop for several years.

 Dame Louise is a former member of the Anti-Apartheid Movement and helped to raise funds for the educational arm of that movement. She is a member of the Antigua and Barbuda National Association (London) for the past twenty-four (24) years. She sat on the church committee of that group which was instrumental in arranging the annual Antigua and Barbuda Independence Church Service in London.

 Dame Louise is an avid reader, occasional writer and a very keen gardener who enjoys growing grapes.

 She took office as Governor-General on 17 July 2007. She is the first female Governor-General of  Antigua & Barbuda.

Dame Louise is a widow with two (2) children.

DAME DEBORAH MAE LOVELL

Governor General Dame Louise Lake-Tack presents Dame Deborah Mae Lovell, Antigua & Barbuda’s Ambassador to the USA and the OAS with her insignia as a Dame Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of the Nation (DCN). 

Dame Deborah Mae Lovell, Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the US and the OAS, was knighted during an investiture ceremony at Government House on Thursday.

Governor General Dame Louise Lake-Tack, presented Dame Deborah Mae with her insignia as a Dame Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of the Nation (DCN) for services as a civil servant and career diplomat.

Dame Deborah Mae credited her late mother Mrs Delores Lovell, for her accomplishments and the resulting recognition.

“The late Mrs Delores Lovell instilled in us the need for public service, and the imperative to give back. She died too soon, before she could have seen the fruit of her labor,” Lovell said.

“I would want at this moment not to think of Dame Deborah Mae Lovell, but to think of Mrs Delores Lovell who was my hero, who is my inspiration, and to whom I owe this high honor.”

Dame Deborah Mae has given nearly 29 years of her life to the public and diplomatic services.

HER EXCELLENCY, AUDREY PATRICE MARKS, B.Sc., MBA.

The Honorable Audrey Patrice Marks, Jamaica’s tenth Ambassador to the United States and Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States (OAS), assumed duties in May 2010. Ambassador Marks holds both a Bachelor and Master degrees in Business Administration. Ambassador Marks is the founder of Paymaster (Jamaica) Limited, a multi-transaction company which she conceptualized and started in 1997. The company has created 150 agencies in Jamaica, providing services to over 1.4 million customers and employment for over 400 persons with annual transactions of over $40 Billion Dollars. It is the first multi-transaction agency in the Caribbean.

Ambassador Marks holds the distinction of being the first female President of the American Chamber of Commerce of Jamaica (AMCHAM), an organization which promotes investment and trade between the US and Jamaica.

Ambassador Marks is married to Jassel Dunstan and they have two daughters – Morgan and Madison. She enjoys playing golf, mentoring young adults and spending time with her family.

 Ms. JENNY GUMBS, B.A., Honorary Consul General, GRENADA

Jenny Gumbs

Jenny Gumbs, Honorary Consul General, was born in St. George’s, Grenada. She attended the St. George’s Methodist School and the Anglican High School in Grenada. She continued her studies at the Ryerson University in Toronto, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Public Administration and Governance.

Ms. Gumbs was appointed to the Grenada Public Service before being transferred to the Consulate General of Grenada in Toronto. She was appointed as Hon. Consul in 2000 and to the position of Hon. Consul General in 2007.

Ms. Gumbs combines an active career with a deep commitment to volunteerism. She is actively involved with community organizations serving the Grenadian community in Canada and has also volunteered for the National Kidney Foundation of Canada. She is a founding director of the Grenada Hospital Endowment Fund. She also served on the Entertainment Committee of the Consular Corps Association of Toronto and on the Board of the Caribbean Canadian Literary Expo.

In 2007 she was the recipient of a Ryerson University Alumni Award of Distinction.

Ms. Gumbs was appointed to the Advisory Council for the Department of Public Administration and Governance at Ryerson University in May 2008.

She is married with one daughter.

CHERINE SMITH VALBURN, ESQ.

Cherine Smith Valbrun concentrates her practice in complex commercial, securities, and tort litigation matters. She has extensive experience in civil litigation, including breaches of contracts, employment issues and disputes, commercial torts, and shareholder and partnership disputes. She also has experience in drafting and negotiating commercial agreements. She has represented clients from a wide variety of industries including manufacturing, accounting services, information technology consulting, retail merchandising, homeowners’ associations, and other service providers. She has represented individuals and corporate entities in class action and multi-party litigation. Ms. Smith Valbrun was born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica.

EDUCATION:

University of Miami, B.A., Political Science, cum laude, 2003.

General Honors, Departmental Honors.

Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., 2006.

Washington Metropolitan Area Corporate Counsel Association Scholar.

2005 Greater Washington Area Chapter, Women Lawyers Division National Bar, Association Scholar.

2004 Pro Bono Pledge Honoree, International Law Society.

COMMUNITY SERVICE:

President (2009-2010), Board Member (2010-2011), Caribbean Bar Association.

Member, Broward County Bar Association.

Member, Dade County Bar Association.

Member, Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. Bar Association.

www.lisdc.com

Influential Caribbean Women who has impacted our history, culture and society…….

DAME  PEARLETTE CALLIOPA LOUISY, GCMG.

Dame (Calliopa) Pearlette Louisy, GCMC (born 8 June 1946) is the Governor General of Saint Lucia. She is the first woman to hold this office, which she was sworn into on 19 September 1997.

Born in the village of Laborie she attended the Laborie Infant School and Primary Schools. In 1960 she proceeded to the Saint Joseph’s Convent on the Javouhey Scholarship. In 1966, a year after the completion of her secondary education she was awarded the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) scholarship to pursue a Bachelors’ Degree in English and French at the University of  The West Indies at Cave Hill, Barbados.

In 1972, she was awarded the Canadian Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan to pursue a M.A. degree in Linguistics, in the field of Didactics at the Université Laval in Quebec City, Canada. In 1991, she proceeded to the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom where she read for a Ph.D. degree in Education.

Presentation of Credentials by Ambassador of Norway His Excellency Mr. Torbjorn Holthe to Her Excellency.

Louisy has contributed significantly to the development of Education in Saint Lucia, having spent most of her professional life in the teaching profession. During the periods 1969-72 and 1975-76 she taught at the St Joseph’s Convent. From 1976-86, she served as a tutor of French, and was subsequently appointed as Principal of the St. Lucia A Level College. When the A Level College and Morne Technical School merged into the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College, she first served as Dean, and was subsequently appointed as the Vice Principal and Principal of the College.

In 1999, she was awarded with the Honorary degree of Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) by the University of Bristol. In that same year, Queen Elizabeth II, conferred on her the title of Dame Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George.

http://www.bairdandbairdattorneys.com/

ALLYSON R. SOLOMON

Allyson R. Solomon was born in Trinidad and Tobago, and moved to Maryland with her family in 1971. She is a 1986 graduate of Loyola College of Maryland with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration. She holds a Master of Arts Degree in Public Administration from Auburn University.

General Solomon began her military career by enlisting in the Maryland Air National Guard (MDANG) in 1979, and was later selected to attend the ANG Academy of Military Science. In November 1986, she was commissioned as a second lieutenant. General Solomon worked her way through the ranks, commanding at two different levels. She is the first woman and first African-American to be appointed as a senior commander in the MDANG. In January 2003, she was the first woman to be promoted to Colonel in MDANG history. She became the Commander of the 175 Mission Support Group in March 2003, and was responsible for over 585 personnel. General Solomon has also been assigned as the MDANG Executive Support Staff Officer, supporting the Assistant Adjutant General-Air and The Adjutant General, as well as the Maryland National Guard Equal Employment Officer.

In 2006, General Solomon was selected to serve as the Chief of the General Officer Management Office at the National Guard Bureau (NGB), Washington, DC. Reporting directly to the Chief, NGB, her office was responsible for managing the careers and training of over 350 general officers nationwide. General Solomon was asked to return to Maryland in June 2008, and was appointed by the Governor as the Assistant Adjutant General for Air. As the senior ANG general officer, she also commands the entire MDANG, which is an organization of approximately 1600 personnel that performs dual state and federal missions in support of the Governor and the United States Air Force. In addition, General Solomon serves as a Special Assistant to the Chief, NGB. She is an active member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.

But being first did not come without its challenges.
With the help of mentors, she learned to overcome barriers by staying focused on the job at hand and that ultimately, the person you work for determines whether you meet their expectations and no one else’s opinion matters.

General Solomon currently resides in Bowie, Md., and attributes much of her success to her family.

“My most influential role model and mentor is my mother,” said General Solomon. “The things that I’ve learned from her both personally and professionally have made me who I am today.”

During her career, General Solomon has had many other role models who reinforced the values instilled in her by her mother. According to the general, being able to accept constructive feedback from peers and understanding your own weaknesses presents an opportunity to improve yourself while waiting for doors to open to other opportunities.

“As I reflect back on my career, where I’ve served, every position and rank from Airman to General, I recognize the role mentorship and guidance played in my achievements, especially the support from family and friends,” said General Solomon. “None of us achieves in isolation. Support, perseverance, and attitude are critical to achieving ones goals.”

General Solomon’s accomplishments have earned her accolades from both the military and civilian sectors.

Education:

• 1986 Loyola College, Bachelor of Arts, Business Administration and Management, Baltimore, Maryland
• 1992 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Montgomery, Alabama
• 1997 Auburn University, Master of Arts, Public Administration, Montgomery, Alabama
• 1997 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Montgomery, Alabama
• 2001 Air War College, by correspondence
• 2009 CAPSTONE, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.

ANNE CLARE COOLS, B.A.

The Honorable Anne Clare Cools, B.A.

The Honorable Anne Cools is an outspoken Senator residing in Ontario, Canada. Radical activist, author, politician, paternal rights/shared parenting supporter and child’s rights lobbyist, she is the first ever person of colour to be appointed to Canada Upper House. Born in Barbados in 1943, Anne Cools immigrated to Canada with her family in 1957 where they settled in Montréal, QC. In the 1960′s, Anne attended McGill University where she studied Social Work. It was during her time at McGill where she got involved in radical school politics and participated in a 10 Day sit-in at Sir George Williams University (Now Concordia University) in protest of alleged racism at the school. The demonstration resulted in over $2 million dollars in damages to computer equipment, and while Anne never participated directly in any of the damaging, she was sentenced to 4 months in prison for participating in the sit-in.

In 1974, Anne helped to start one of the first Women’s Shelters in Canada; Women in Transition Inc., where she acted as Executive Director.

She twice sought election to the Canadian House of Commons as a candidate of the Liberal Party of Canada. She lost the Liberal nomination in a highly contested race against John Evans for the 1978 by-election in Rosedale.

She ran again in 1979, and won the nomination but was defeated in both the 1979 and 1980 elections by Progressive Conservative candidate David Crombie. On her second attempt, she lost by fewer than 2,000 votes.

In 1984, she was summoned to the Canadian Senate by then Governor General Edward Schreyer, on the recommendation of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.

In the 1990s, Cools served on the Senate/House of Commons Special Joint Committee on Child Custody and Access, which in December, 1998 issued its report, For the Sake of the Children. A principal recommendation of this report was that, following a relationship breakdown, shared parenting should be presumed to be in the best interests of the child. Her extensive work on the Committee, and its wide investigations, saw her become increasingly outspoken on the issues of fathers’ right, divorce  and family values. She was candid in her criticism of the Liberal government of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien when proposed legislation to be introduced in the House of Commons was shelved after intense lobbying by women’s groups.

Cools also became increasingly critical of the Liberal governments of Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin, and of same-sex marriage. On June 8, 2004, she announced that she was crossing the floor to join the Conservative Party of Canada.

Cools was vocal in criticizing Martin after the passing of a motion of non-confidence against his government in 2005. She openly called for Martin to resign rather than dissolving Parliament, stating that the motion of non-confidence was expressing no-confidence in the Prime Minister, and not directly in the government. Rather than calling for a general election, Cools stated that Martin should have resigned.

On June 25, 2007, she was removed from Conservative caucus for speaking out against Prime Minister Stephen Harper and for voting against the 2007 budget. She currently sits as an Independent.

She has designated herself as representing the Senate Division of Toronto-Centre-York.

http://www.lisdc.com/

BARONESS ROSALIND PATRICIA-ANNE HOWELLS, OBE

Baroness Howells of St Davids, OBE. born 10 January 1931 is a Labour member of the House of Lords.

She was made a Life peer as Baroness Howells of St Davids, of Charlton in the London Borough of Greenwich in 1999. The name St Davids refers to the parish in Grenada where she was brought up, to the south east of the Island. She has complemented the Howells family of Wales in taking the peerage name St Davids, perhaps unwittingly, since the patron saint of Wales is indeed St David.

Howells was educated at St Joseph’s Convent, South West London College and City College in Washington, DC. In 1955, she married John Charles Howells and they have two daughters.

Her career background includes being the Director of the Greenwich Racial Equality Council as well as a Community and Equal Opportunities Worker. Baroness Howells is a trustee of the Stephen Lewis Charitable Trust, and served as the unofficial adviser to the Lawrence family.

Howells was the first black woman to sit on the GLC’s Training Board; the first female member of the Court of Governors of the University of Greenwich and was the Vice Chair at the London Voluntary Services Council. She has worked with the Carnival Liaison Committee, and the Greater London Action in Race Equality and has been an active campaigner for justice in the field of race relations.

http://www.caribbeancargodc.com/

VALERIE ANN AMOS, BARONESS AMOS, PC.

Marcia Griffiths, born Nov 23rd. 1949 in Kingston, Jamaica, is, thus far, the most successful female reggae artist in the world with songs like “Young, Gifted And Black” (1970), “Feel Like Jumping” (1978) and “Steppin’ Out Of Babylon” (1979), and “Electric Boogie (1990) . She cooperated with Bob Marley on all his LP albums for Island Records and in all tours until his death.

THE QUEEN OF REGGAE: Marcia Griffiths has sung professionally for over 40 years, and had an early career with Bob Andy in the duo Bob and Marcia, who delivered hit songs like “Young, Gifted And Black” (1970) and “The Pied Piper” (1971). She was already an international star and more known than Bob Marley in 1973 where she contributed to the group’s first LP on Island Records – Catch A Fire – by running in songs like “No More Trouble”. In 1974, she joined Bob Marley & The Wailers as one of the permanent members of the I-Threes – the vocal trio that also included Judy Mowatt and Rita Marley, who lifted and reinforced Bob Marley’s messages on the stage and studio albums.

 Solo she delivered heavy love songs like “The First Time I Saw Your Face” and “Sweet Bitter Love” (1974) on the album Play Me Sweet And Nice and immortal roots reggae classic “Steppin’ Out Of Babylon” on the album Steppin’. In between, she released the album Naturally, where she sang Bunny Wailer classic Rastafarian song “Dreamland”, Bob Marley’s “Lonesome Feeling” and her own hit songs, “Feel Like Jumping” , “Truly” and “Melody Life” – songs that are still played by radio stations worldwide.

 With some help from Bunny Wailer 1990 she hit the Billboard chart with “Electric Boogie” (Carousel) and created a world class dance, the Electric Slide. This super star has been recording and performing ceaselessly.

At a recent reggae concert in South Florida, Marcia Griffiths demonstrated the same level of performance she has been known for over the years, as both a solist and a member of different groups. She displayed, in combination with Reggae rapper Cutty Ranks, on their duet of “Fire Burning”, all the zeal and elements that go into dancehall music. Marcia exibit the same exuberance when performing her international crossove hit “Electric Boogie.”

JANELLE “PENNY” COMMISSIONG 

First Black Miss Universe 1977

Janelle Penny Commissiong, a native of Trinidad and Tobago, was born in June 1953, migrated to the United States at the age of 13, and returned to Port-of-Spain, Trinidad in 1976. After winning the Miss Trinidad title, she went on to be crowned Miss Universe 1977 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. She was the first woman from the Caribbean and the first woman of African ancestry to be crowned Miss Universe. Commissiong is the daughter of a Venezuelan mother and a Trinidadian father. In 1976, just before winning the Miss Universe crown, she studied fashion at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City.

During the Miss Universe pageant, Commissiong was a very popular contestant who won the photogenic competition of the pageant. Nonetheless, she was not considered the favorite to win the pageant. Most observers claimed Miss Austria, Eva Maria Duringer, was the odds on favorite to take the crown. Duringer finished as 1st runner up.

During her reign (1977-1978) Commissiong was a public advocate for black rights in nations where people of African ancestry were minorities, and she campaigned for world peace. In 1977, Commissiong was awarded the Trinity Cross, Trinidad and Tobago’s highest honor. Three postage stamps were also issued in her honor by her country. In 1978, Commissiong’s successor was Margaret Gardnier, Miss South Africa. For many it was tragically ironic to see the first Miss Universe of African ancestry crowning a woman from a nation that was internationally known for its racial injustice toward black people.

As the first black Miss Universe, Commissiong attracted more than normal international attention. For the U.S. to Asian media especially she was a particularly interesting topic. She was also in demand around the globe as a speaker. Much of the interest continued after her reign. Soon after she relinquished the crown in 1978, Joaquin Balaguer, President of the Dominican Republic, invited her to interview him in the National Palace. As she did during her tenure as Miss Universe, she continued to visit many African, Asian, and European nations as well as the United States.

After her reign ended Commissiong married Brian Bowen, the founder of Bowen Marine, a Trinidadian pleasure boat manufacturing company. When her husband died in an accident in 1989 she headed the company for a brief period. She remarried for a second time to Alwin Chow, another Trinidad businessmen and they adopted a daughter, Sasha. .

Friday June 24/2011 - Landover, Maryland

FRANCIS HENDY DESIGNS

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SHIRLEY CHISHOLM

Shirley St. Hill Chisholm was born on November 30, 1924 in Brooklyn, New York to Charles and Ruby St. Hill. Her father was from British Guiana and her mother was from Barbados. In 1927, Shirley was sent to Barbados to live with her maternal grandmother. She received a good education from the British school system, which she later credited with providing her with a strong academic background.

In 1934, she rejoined her parents in New York. Shirley excelled in academics at Girls High School in Brooklyn from which she graduated in 1942. After graduation she enrolled in Brooklyn College where she majored in sociology. Shirley encountered racism at Brooklyn College and fought against it. When the black students at Brooklyn College were denied admittance to a social club, Shirley formed an alternative one. She graduated in 1946 with honors. During this time, it was difficult for black college graduates to obtain employment commensurate to their education. After being rejected by many companies, she obtained a job at the Mt. Calvary Childcare Center in Harlem.

In 1949, she married Conrad Chisholm, a Jamaican who worked as a private investigator. Shirley and her husband participated in local politics, helping form the Bedford-Stuyvesant political League. In addition to participating in politics, Chisholm worked in the field of day care until 1959. In 1960, she started the Unity Democratic Club. The Unity Club was instrumental in mobilizing black and Hispanic voters.

In 1964 Chisholm ran for a state assembly seat. She won and served in the New York General Assembly from 1964 to 1968. During her tenure in the legislature, she proposed a bill to provide state aid to day-care centers and voted to increase funding for schools on a per-pupil basis. In 1968, After finishing her term in the legislature, Chisholm campaigned to represent New York’s Twelfth Congressional District. Her campaign slogan was “Fighting Shirley Chisholm–Unbought and Unbossed.” She won the election and became the first African American woman elected to Congress.

On January 25, 1972, Chisholm announced her candidacy for president. She stood before the cameras and in the beginning of her speech she said,

“I stand before you today as a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the Presidency of the United States. I am not the candidate of black America, although I am black and proud. I am not the candidate of the women’s movement of this country, although I am a woman, and I am equally proud of that. I am not the candidate of any political bosses or special interests. I am the candidate of the people.” 

The 1972 Democratic National Convention in Miami was the first major convention in which any woman was considered for the presidential nomination. Although she did not win the nomination, she received 151 of the delegates’ votes.

http://solomonship.com/

DAME MARY EUGENIA CHARLES..DBE

Dame Mary Eugenia Charles has the distinction of being the first female lawyer in her native land of Dominica and the first female to be elected Prime Minister in the Caribbean.Her entry into the political arena came in 1968 owing to the attempt of the Dominica Labor Party (DLP) to have a Sedition Act passed. From then onward she never looked back and confidently blazed the trail for what was to become a distinguished course of statesmanship.She was appointed to the Legislature in 1970 and to the House of Assembly in 1975. She co-founded the Dominica Freedom Party in 1972 and became the Leader of the Opposition in 1975. Her involvement with her party helped her country relinquish colonial rule on 3rd November, 1978.

Mounting dissatisfaction with the pace of reconstruction after a devastating hurricane helped Ms. Charles lead a political campaign which ensured victory in the 1980 general elections. Thus it was that she was elected Prime Minister, a position which she held for fifteen years. During this period she earned for herself the title of “Iron Lady of the Caribbean”, no doubt because of her indomitable will and unflinching dedication and commitment to set principles and her fearlessness in giving utterance to her beliefs in the face of opposition or maybe, in spite of it.

Mary Eugenia Charles was knighted by Queen Elizabeth 11 at Harare, Zimbabwe in 1991, a fitting tribute to her distinguished career as lawyer, politician and journalist. She retired from the duties of Office in 1995

In February 2003 the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community conferred upon her the Order of the Caribbean Community.

Born May 15, 1919, in Pointe Michel, Dominica; died on September 6, 2005, on the island of Martinique; daughter of Jean Baptiste (businessman) and Josephine Delauney; never married; no children.
Education: University of Toronto, BA in law; further studies in law at the London School of Economics and Political Science; admitted to the bar in 1947.

PORTIA LUCRETIA SIMPSON-MILLER, ON., MP.

Portia Lucretia Simpson-Miller, Order of the Nation (ON), Member of Parliament (December 12, 1945 – ) is Jamaica’s Leader of the Opposition and was the country’s Prime Minister from March 30, 2006 to September 11, 2007. She was Jamaica’s first female Prime Minister. She was Vice-President of the People’s National Party from 1978 until she was elected President in 2006. First elected to Parliament in 1976, she entered the Cabinet in 1989, as Minister for Labour, Welfare, and Sports and remained in government until narrowly losing the 2007 election. Before becoming Prime Minister and Minster of Defense in 2006, she held the Local Government portfolio from 2002. During her period in office as PM, she was one of only seven women in the world out of 192 nation-states who were leaders of their nations.

Throughout her career, Simpson-Miller has had a reputation as a voice for the poor and unemployed, as an advocate for women and as a face for the faceless. She helped to set up a network of child-care centers to encourage women into employment. Although her period as head of government has been short, her successful career serves as an example and model for other women to emulate. Her passion for social justice could be regarded as representative of feminine compassion, although there are no few men who are also passionate about creating more egalitarian societies. More women in public life will not automatically make the world a more just and peaceful place. However, if Simpson-Miller’s political agenda serves as an model, those who follow her are likely to help drown the voices of those who would perpetuate privilege, inequality, and injustice.

Simpson-Miller is married to The Most Honourable Errald Miller, formerly Chief executive officer (CEO) of Cable & Wireless Jamaica Ltd.

On May 29, 2006, she was invested with the Jamaican Order of the Nation, giving her (and her husband) the style “The Most Honourable.”

Union Institute awarded her an honorary doctorate of humane letters in 2001, “for her exemplary efforts to improve the quality of life for all Jamaican citizens.” Following her election as Party President, the I & U President, Roger. H Sublett praised her for running on a platform that “focused on empowerment for the marginalized, especially the poor, women, and children, and uniting all classes to tackle deep-rooted problems of crime and economic underdevelopment.” When she spoke at the 2001 convocation, she told students:

http://caribbeancargodc.com/

GRACE NICHOLS

Grace Nichols is an award-winning poet born in Georgetown, Guyana, in 1950 and grew up in a small country village on the Guyanese coast. She moved to the city with her family when she was eight, an experience central to her first novel, Whole of a Morning Sky (1986), set in 1960s Guyana in the middle of the country’s struggle for independence.

She worked as a teacher and journalist and, as part of a Diploma in Communications at the University of Guyana, spent time in some of the most remote areas of Guyana, a period that influenced her writings and initiated a strong interest in Guyanese folk tales, Amerindian myths and the South American civilisations of the Aztec and Inca. She has lived in the UK since 1977.

Her first poetry collection, I is a Long-Memorized Woman, was published in 1983. The book won the Commonwealth Poetry Prize and a subsequent film adaptation of the book was awarded a gold medal at the International Film and Television Festival of New York. The book was also dramatized for radio by the BBC. Subsequent poetry collections include The Fat Black Woman’s Poems (1984), Lazy Thoughts of a Lazy Woman (1989), and Sunris (1996). She also writes books for children, inspired predominantly by Guyanese folklore and Amerindian legends, including Come on into My Tropical Garden (1988) and Give Yourself a Hug (1994).  Everybody Got A Gift (2005) includes new and selected poems, and her collection, Startling the Flying Fish (2006), contains poems which tell the story of the Caribbean.

Her latest books are Picasso, I Want My Face Back (2009); and I Have Crossed an Ocean: Selected Poems (2010).

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MARIE-ELENA JOHN

Born and raised in Antigua, Marie-Elena John wasn’t considering a writing career when she left her Caribbean island for New York’s City College.  There, thanks to a semester spent at the University of Nigeria, she became fascinated by the intertwined cultural commonality of the Continent, the Caribbean, and the African-American experiences.  After graduating as CCNY’s first Black woman valedictorian, she went on to earn a Masters degree from Columbia University, focusing on culture and development in Africa.  From a Washington D.C. base throughout the 1990s, she worked with non-profit organizations, traveling throughout Africa, first in support of grassroots development efforts, later working with pro-democracy and human rights movements, and eventually becoming best known in her field for her pioneering work on the denial of women’s inheritance rights in Africa.  Recently, though, she has been channeling her vast knowledge of and passion for the African Diaspora into her dazzling literary debut, Unburnable – a multi-generational novel that powerfully brings together Caribbean history, African customs, and African-American sensibilities, published by Harper Collin’s Amistad in April 2006.

(Published Questions & Answers)

You’ve done a lot of work in the area of human rights for women and children in Africa–when did the writing come into play? Were you writing on the side? (It would seem your career would have kept you quite busy).
There was no writing – unless you count hundreds of mind-numbing proposals written to funding agencies, and even more soul-crushing quarterly project reports — until I decided to try my hand at a novel. Growing up, I’d been told I was a good writer based mostly on my English compositions and the letters I wrote as a child to cousins living in other islands. With this in mind, I though of journalism as a career option and took the requisite writing courses – mostly journalistic writing, and one creative writing course. I wrote a few short stories at that point. In the end I decided to do my Masters in International Affairs, focusing on Africa, and went on to a career as an Africa development specialist.

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LOUISE SIMONE BENNETT-COVERLEY, OM., OJ., MBE.

Louise Simone Bennett-Coverley, or affectionately Miss Lou, OM, OJ, MBE (September 7, 1919 – July 26, 2006) was a Jamaican folklorist, writer, and educator. She was born in Kingston, Jamaica and attended Ebenezer and Calabar Elementary Schools, St. Simon’s College, Excelsior College, and Friends College (Highgate, St Mary).

Louise Bennett remains a household name in Jamaica, a “Living Legend” and a cultural icon.
Although she lived in Toronto, Canada for the last decade she still receives the homage of the expatriate West Indian community in the north as well as a large Canadian following.

She was described as Jamaica’s leading comedienne, as the “only poet who has really hit the truth about her society through its own language”, and as an important contributor to her country of “valid social documents reflecting the way Jamaicans think and feel and live” Through her poems in Jamaican patois, she raised the dialect of the Jamaican folk to an art level which is acceptable to and appreciated by all in Jamaica.

In her poems she was able to capture all the spontaneity of the expression of Jamaicans’ joys and sorrows, their ready, poignant and even wicked wit, their religion and their philosophy of life. Her first dialect poem was written when she was fourteen years old. A British Council Scholarship took her to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art where she studied in the late 1940’s.

Bennett not only had a scholarship to attend the academy but she auditioned and won a scholarship. After graduation she worked with repertory companies in Coventry, Huddersfield and Amersham as well as in intimate revues all over England.

On her return to Jamaica she taught drama to youth and adult groups both in social welfare agencies and for the University of the West Indies Extra Mural Department.

She lectured extensively in the United States and the United Kingdom on Jamaican folklore and music and represented Jamaica all over the world. She married Eric Winston Coverley in 1954 (who died in 2002) and has one stepson and several adopted children. She enjoys Theatre, Movies and Auction sales.

http://villageacademydc.org/

Her contribution to Jamaican cultural life was such that she was honored with the M.B.E., the Norman Manley Award for Excellence (in the field of Arts), the Order of Jamaica (1974) the Institute of Jamaica’s Musgrave Silver and Gold Medals for distinguished eminence in the field of Arts and Culture, and in 1983 the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters from the University of the West Indies. In September 1988 her composition “You’re going home now”, won a nomination from the Academy of Canadian Cinema ad Television, for the best original song in the movie “Milk and Honey.”

In 1998 she received the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters from York University, Toronto, Canada. The Jamaica Government also appointed her Cultural Ambassador at Large for Jamaica. On Jamaica’s independence day 2001, Bennett-Coverley was appointed as a Member of the Order of Merit for her distinguished contribution to the development of the Arts and Culture.

POEM by LOUISE  BENNETT

Dutty Tough 

Sun a shine but tings no bright;
Doah pot a bwile, bickle no nuff;
River flood but water scarce, yawl
Rain a fall but dutty tough.Tings so bad dat nowadays when
Yuh ask smaddy how dem do
Dem fraid yuh tek it tell dem back,
So dem no answer yuh.

No care omuch we dah work fa
Hard-time still een we shut;
We dah fight, Hard-time a beat we,
Dem might raise we wages, but

One poun gawn awn pon we pay, an
We no feel no merriment
For ten poun gawn pon we food
An ten pound pon we rent!

Saltfish gawn up, mackerel gawn up.
Pork en beef gawn up,
An when rice and butter ready
Dem just go pon holiday!

Claht, boot, pin an needle gawn up’
Ice, bread, taxes, water-rate
Kersene ile, gasolene, gawn up;
An de poun devaluate.

De price of bread gawn up so high
Dat we haffi agree
Fi cut we yeye pon bred an all
Tun dumplin refugee

An all dem marga smaddy weh
Dah gwan like fat is sin
All dem-deh weh dah fas wid me
Ah lef dem to dumpling!

Sun a shine an pot a bwile, but
Things no bright, bickle no nuff
Rain a fall, river dah flood, but,
Water scarce and dutty tough.

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MICHAELLE JEAN

Michaëlle Jean, social activist, journalist, documentary filmmaker, governor general (b at Port-au-Prince, Haiti 6 Sept 1957). Jean’s early years were spent in a middle-class neighbourhood in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, where her father was principal and teacher of philosophy at an elite, Protestant preparatory school. She was educated at home because her parents, Roger and Luce, did not want her to attend school, where she would have to swear allegiance to dictator François “Papa Doc” Duvalier. In 1965, her father was arrested and tortured. In 1967 he fled to Canada; his wife and two daughters joined him the next year.

 The family settled in THETFORD MINES, a Québec mining town, where Roger taught at the local college. Jean later recalled that her father was, by this point, a “broken man,” increasingly prone to violence. Her parents’ marriage disintegrated, and Jean moved to Montréal with her mother and sister. They lived in a basement apartment, while their mother supported the family by working first in a clothing factory and then as a night orderly in a psychiatric hospital.

Jean attended the UNIVERSITÉ DE MONTRÉAL, where she received a bachelor’s degree in Italian and Spanish. She began a master’s degree in comparative literature at the Université de Montréal, taught Italian at that institution, and won scholarships that allowed her to make several trips to Italy to study at universities in Perugia, Florence, and Milan. She became fluent in five languages (French, Haitian Creole, English, Italian, and Spanish). She was also an activist on the issue of domestic violence, working with shelters for battered women and coordinating a government-funded study on spousal abuse during her time in university.

In 1986, Jean returned to Haiti with a friend to conduct research for an article on the island’s women. The two arrived to witness the ouster of Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, the country’s dictator and son of the man whose regime Jean’s family had fled. Jean’s work caught the eye of a NATIONAL FILM BOARD producer, who invited her to return to Haiti as a researcher and interviewer for a film on the 1987 Haitian elections, shown on Le Point, a newsmagazine program on Radio-Canada, the French language arm of the CANADIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION.

When Radio-Canada subsequently hired Jean, she became the first black person on French television news in Canada. She worked as a reporter or host for several of the network’s programs, including Actuel, Montréal ce soir, and Virages. In the mid-1990s, she moved to RDI, Radio-Canada’s all-news network, becoming host of le Journal RDI and other programs, winning many awards along the way, including a Gemini. By 2004, she was well enough known among Francophone Canadians to launch her own current affairs show on RDI, entitledMichaëlle. In English Canada, she was familiar to viewers of CBC Newsworld’s documentary programs The Passionate Eye and Rough Cuts, both of which she had hosted since 1999.

With filmmaker husband Jean-Daniel Lafond, Jean made several documentaries in the 1990s, including Tropique Nord (Tropic North), about the black experience in Québec; the award-winning Haiti dans tous nos rêves (Haiti in All Our Dreams); and L’heure de Cuba, on the 40th anniversary of the Cuban revolution.

In August 2005, Prime Minister Paul MARTIN announced Jean’s appointment as governor general, news that sparked controversy. A Québec sovereignist publication suggested that Jean and her husband had supported the separatist cause in that province. At first, Jean refused to respond, but then issued a brief statement insisting that she had never belonged to the separatist movement. Debate over her dual citizenship (she became a French citizen when she married Lafond, who was born in France) subsided after she renounced her French citizenship shortly before taking office.

Sworn in on 27 September 2005, she succeeded Adrienne CLARKSON. Jean became the first black person to serve as governor general. The descendant of slaves, she used her office to passionately emphasize freedom as a central part of the Canadian identity. Reflecting on her experience as an immigrant, Jean argued that it was time to “eliminate the spectre” of the two solitudes, French and English, which had long characterized the country’s history.

As governor general, Jean showed herself to be a passionate speaker and a photogenic presence. She used her office to advance human rights, support the arts, draw attention to socio-economic problems in the Canadian north, and promote Canada abroad, particularly in Africa and her native Haiti.

In December 2008, Jean agreed to Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s request to prorogue Parliament for seven weeks. Her controversial decision allowed Harper to escape defeat in the Commons, where the opposition parties had agreed to replace his government with a Liberal-NDP coalition led by Stéphane Dion. In keeping with Canadian parliamentary tradition, the governor general did not explain her reasons publicly.

On 1 October 2010, Jean was replaced as governor general by David JOHNSTON. She became UNESCO’s special envoy to Haiti and created the Michaëlle Jean Foundation to help underprivileged youth in rural and northern Canada.

ROSEMARY BROWN (1930-2003)

Legislator, Social Activist, Feminist

“Conservative women and women on the right continually told me that I didn’t speak for them,” said Rosemary Brown in her memoirs, “however, I did work for them.”

 “I have never lost sight of the fact that I was the women’s candidate, that they nominated me, worked for me, and elected me.”

Born and raised in Jamaica, in a household of strong, educated, political women, Rosemary came to Canada in 1950 to study at McGill University. There, she soon encountered Canadian racism: No Canadian girl wanted to be her roommate, and only other West Indians or a few white friends would speak to her in the dining hall. Prospective landlords and employers shunned her when she went job hunting and apartment hunting in Montreal after her second year at university.

 Racism was also apparent when she moved to Vancouver in mid-1955 to marry Bill Brown, and worked to support him while he finished his medical degree. The Browns joined the British Columbia Association for the Advancement of Colored People (BCAAP), and then the Voice of Women. Rosemary remained active in those groups as she birthed and reared their first two children. In the early 1960s, restless at home, Rosemary found a calling in social work, which led her to weekly appearances on a national television program called “People in Conflict.”

 By 1967, Rosemary Brown had three children, a Masters of Social Work, a hysterectomy and an unyielding depression. Somebody gave her a copy of Betty Friedan’s book The Feminine Mystique. “Suddenly it was all there,” she recalled, “the story of my life … The fact that I was not alone reassured me and mobilized me.”

 Yet she felt conflict, externally and internally – white women did not seem to understand racism, and people of color did not consider sexism a major issue. She explained her perspective in a 1973 speech, saying in part, “… to be Black and female in a society which is both racist and sexist is to be in the unique position of having nowhere to go but up!”

 With that spirit to buoy her, Brown grasped opportunities that others found daunting. She took on the position of volunteer Vancouver Ombudswoman as, “the challenge I had been waiting for all my life.” She entered provincial politics in 1972 because she was on the Board of the Vancouver Status of Women, and VSW was urging women to run.

 The first time she was approached to be a political candidate, Brown laughed. She thought no riding association would nominate her – a Black woman – not even the New Democratic Party! But they did. In 1972, she accepted the job and ran, for the sake of raising awareness and defeating the Social Credit, with no expectation of winning. But she did. She became the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Vancouver-Burrard, the first Black woman elected to the B.C. legislature, and went on to serve as an MLA for 14 years.

 Joy MacPhail, leader of the B.C. NDP, said at Rosemary’s funeral, “During her time in office, Rosemary created a committee to eliminate sexism in textbooks and educational curricula. She also introduced legislation that would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex or marital status. Through her efforts, there was a marked increase in the number of women represented on boards, commissions and directorates.”

 However, Rosemary’s commitment to social justice did not begin and end with her work in the Legislature. Prior to politics, Rosemary was a founding member of the Vancouver Status of Women Council, and a founding member of the Vancouver Crisis Center. After politics, Rosemary served as the CEO of MATCH International, a development agency to promote women’s issues on a global basis.

 In 1974, the federal NDP Women’s Committee decided that the party needed a woman candidate in the leadership race. Once again, Rosemary Brown accepted the challenge, and ran for the sake of highlighting women’s issues. Her candidacy – the first woman of any color to contest the leadership of a national party – raised awareness and uplifted women’s hearts as well. She used the slogan, “Brown is Beautiful” and, out of five candidates, she finished second in a tight race.

 By 1988, Rosemary Brown was ready for a change. She announced she would not stand again for MLA. The next year, she took a job in Ottawa, as CEO for MATCH International, a development agency run by and for women. MATCH quickly became Rosemary Brown’s central work. She was CEO for 3 years, then special ambassador, then president.

“My heart is with international development now,” Brown said, “trying to work with women’s groups trying to make changes where they are.” No matter how much progress Canadian women make towards equality, she believed, “if you are surrounded by other countries where women have not achieved the same, then your achievements are at risk.”

 Her work with MATCH overshadowed all other work she’d done since leaving politics. From 1993 to 1996, Brown served as Chief Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, and always found the job challenging. She was constantly in demand as a public speaker, perhaps because she rehearsed important speeches for up to a week in advance. She maintained her membership in the B.C. NDP, paying her dues and keeping in touch. But the MATCH work brought her too much satisfaction to give up.

 Asked what advice she would give a woman who is about to enter politics, Brown replied, “Women should enter politics to bring about change. It’s a tough arena and an unpleasant one, the sacrifices called for can be only justified on the grounds that we are indeed making the world, or our community, a better place that it is.”

 The turning of the new century brought Brown her seventh grandchild and her third attempt at retirement, she said from her Vancouver home. “Thank goodness there are lots of young people to do the things we used to do.” She and Bill were married for 48 years. “It hasn’t always been easy,” she said, “but I think that once the commitment is there, you just keep redesigning it so it fits.” Then again, she laughed, “a stubborn streak helps, on both parts.”

At a Glance …

Born on June 17, 1930, in Jamaica; died on April 26, 2003 in Vancouver, British Columbia; married Dr. William Brown; children: Gary, Cleta, Jonathan. Education: McGill University, BA, 1955; University of British Columbia, BSW, 1962; University of British Columbia, MSW, social work, 1967.

 Career: Government of British Columbia, Member of Legislative Assembly, 1972-86; MATCH International, chief executive officer, 1989; Victoria University, professor at the School of Social Work, 1986-87; Simon Frazer University, Ruth Wynn Woodford Professor of the Endowed Chair in Women’s Studies, 1987-88; University of British Columbia, professor at the School of Social Work, 1988; Ontario Human Rights Commission, chief commissioner, 1993-96.

 Memberships: Advisory Council of the Global Fund for Women, board member; British Columbia Association for the Advancement of Colored People, founding member; Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives; Canadian Women’s Foundation, founding member; Queen’s University, board member; South African Educational Trust Fund, board member; Vancouver Status of Women Council, founding member.

 Awards: National Black Coalition Award, 1972; United Nations, Human Rights Fellowship, 1973; YWCA, Woman of Distinction Award, 1989; University of British Columbia Alma Mater Society, Great Trekker Award, 1991; Government of British Columbia, Order of British Columbia, 1995; Government of Jamaica, Commander of the Order of Distinction, 2001; Canadian Labour Congress, Award for Outstanding Service to Humanity, 2002; Harry Jerome Award, 2002; Government of Canada, Order of Canada.

http://www.lisdc.com/

CHRISTENE BROWNE

Christene Browne (born 1065 in Saint Kitts, West Indies) is the first black woman to write, produce and direct a feature film in Canada.

Browne moved with her family to Regent Park, Canada’s oldest and largest low income community in 1970. It was in that Toronto community where the seeds of Browne’s filmmaker career were planted. There she participated and then lead the Regent Park Video workshop project and made a number of socially and culturally relevant videos. It was during this time Browne decided to go to film school. She attended the film program at Ryerson’s in Toronto.

 After leaving Ryerson, Browne worked for a small film company before starting her own production company, Syncopated Productions in 1990.

 Her very first two films “Brothers in Music”, a film about two struggling jazz musicians and “No Choices, a 6 minute film that looked at the abortion issue and how it relates to women living in poverty debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival in 1991 and launched Browne’s film career.

 From that time onward Browne has consistently produced work that has tackled hard hitting topics such as poverty, the welfare system, social inequalities. She has worked independently and has also done projects with the National Film Board of Canada (Them that’s Not (1993) and the Canadian Broadcast Corporation (Jodie Drake: Blues in My Bread, 1991). Her films have won numerous awards and have been screened and broadcast internationally.

 In 1999 Browne completed the semi autobiographical film “Another Planet”, her first dramatic feature film and the first feature film to be directed by a Black woman in Canada.

 Most Recently Browne completed “Speaking in Tongues”, a ground breaking documentary series that looks at the History of Language from prehistoric time to the present day.

 Browne resides in Toronto with her three children.

CARIBBEAN RECIPES 

FISH SOUP – “CARIBBEAN STYLE”

1 lb. fillet white fish, e.g. bass, bream, plus heads, bones and trimmings

1.8 liters/ 3 pints water

8oz cooked prawns

4 whole black peppercorns

1 bay leaf

3 tablespoon oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, crusted

1 small green pepper, seeded and chopped

3 spring onions, chopped

3 tomatoes, skinned, seeded and chopped

strip of lime peel

2 cloves

2 allspice berries

salt and freshly ground black pepper

dash of lime juice

Cooking Method:

Put the fish heads, bones and trimmings in a large saucepan with the water. Shell the prawns and add the heads, tails and shells to the fish trimmings in the pan with the black peppercorns and bay leaf. Reserve the shelled prawns.

Place the pan over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and cover the pan, and then simmer gently for 30 minutes. stain the fish stock through a sieve into a large bowl and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the onion, garlic and green pepper. Saute until the onion in softened and golden. Add the spring onions, tomatoes and continue cooking for 2 minutes, Stirring.

Add the reserved fish stock, saffron, lime peel, cloves and allspice berries. Bring to the boil and ten reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the white fish fillets and prawns and cook gently for 10 minutes. Season to taste and add a dash of lime juice. Serve hot.

Preparation: 15 minutes - Cooking: 1 hour and 10 minutes

Serves: 6 – “Hamlyn Essential Caribbean”

FRIDAY JUNE 24/2011

LANDOVER, MARYLAND

Roger Gary Designs

On a red carpeted runway…Roger set the stage for the evening showcasing his Aqua Couture collection of colorful, exotic, and intriguing pieces fit for any fashion enthusiast.  Evoking some of the romantic femininity and timeless glamour, the audience was captured and resisted release…………more, more, more…..