The Barbados Consulate celebrated five of their own at a Black History Month event at the Barbadian Consulate General in New York in Manhattan on Feb. 27. “Barbadians Salute Black History Month,” was an event to honor individuals representing the young talent the island nation has produced, compared to the more established usually recognized, said the consulate’s community affairs representative.
“Normally for black history, we’ve always honored people who are no longer living or people who are older — but this year I really wanted to showcase the young people,” said Linda Watson-Lorde.
The honorees were Taisha Carrington, the designer of the country’s 50th independence anniversary monument, Kerwin DeVonish, a cinematographer known for his work with director Spike Lee, Shernell Clarke, the founder of Phuzun Fit, reggae artist Roderick Hurley, better known as Hotta Flames, and writer and poet, Dr. Nakita Haynes.
Watson-Lorde said that she wanted the event to salute Barbadians in various industries, who were paving paths for their fellow countrymen and women in the Diaspora.
“We wanted to highlight people across the board — those who are up-and-coming and the people who are midway in their careers,” added Watson-Lorde. “My idea was to showcase the talent Barbados is bringing to the United States, and to show that for one negative, there are three or four more positives.”
Watson-Lorde said she was also proud that other consul generals — some from the Caribbean and many from non-Caribbean countries — came out to also support this celebration. She aims to ensure that the consulate is consistently recognizing their community yearly during Black History Month, and possibly grow bigger to become a Pan-Caribbean event.
