Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson honored Caribbean Life and several community figures and entrepreneurs during her Gala Annual Caribbean-American Heritage Month Celebration at Andrew Freeman House, 1125 Grand Concourse, Bronx, on Wednesday, June 18.
The other honorees included D.J. Kool Herc, widely regarded as the founding father of Hip Hop; Cindy Campbell, model, fashion industry leader, and cultural ambassador, who played a key role in the early days of Hip-Hop and is also the sister of DJ Kool Herc; Dr. Oswald Thomas, mental health and suicide awareness advocate for Caribbean and immigrant communities; Patrick Maitland, award-winning journalist, marketing strategist, public relations specialist and agriculturalist; and Byron Brown, Jr., youth honoree and student at Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx.
The others were Bharati Sukul Kemraj, vice president of Patrick B. Jenkins & Associates, founder of The Bharati Foundation and Hindu Ambassador, Vishnu Mandir; Chandraharpaul “Ronnie” Harpaul, business owner of Sizzler/Golden Corral Trail Blazer (posthumous); and Maxine Belfort, a first-generation Haitian-American and compassionate physician assistant dedicated to providing quality, patient-centered care in the homes of those who need it most.
Among the dignitaries were Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark.
Trinidadian choreographer and dancer Michael Manswell – also an adjunct dance professor at Lehman College, City University of New York (CUNY), and tutor with the Brooklyn-based cultural group Something Positive, Inc. – served as Master of Ceremonies.
Gibson, whose father hailed from Trinidad and Tobago, honored Manswell last year during her Caribbean-American Heritage Month Celebration.
“We’re celebrating our excellence,” Gibson told the ceremony. “Your vibrant spirit of the Caribbean makes us who we are.
“We’re grateful for our honorees,” she added. “Each of us has a blessing to serve others. This celebration is not only about our heritage but also about our power.
“This is the Bronx; this is our Caribbean islands,” Gibson continued. “We may represent different islands, but we are all one – no matter what.
“Thank you for serving our people,” she said. “We call it ‘Labor of Love.'”
Gibson said Caribbean Life is a newspaper based in New York City that serves the largest concentration of Caribbean people in the United States.
“It provides news, commentary, politics, sports, arts, and culture relevant to this community,” she said. “The newspaper has been informing Caribbean New Yorkers about events both locally and in their homelands for over two decades.”
The paper was established in 1990 in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn.
Caribbean Life’s Grenadian-born editor, Kevin Williams, accepted the award on behalf of the paper, whose parent company is Schneps Media, Inc.
“I am very proud to receive this proclamation on behalf of Caribbean Life from Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson. As an employee of the paper for several years, I have seen the newspaper expand and provide news and information from and about the Caribbean. As the largest Caribbean newspaper in North America, we proudly feature the work and achievements of the Caribbean diaspora,” said Williams.
With a Bachelor’s degree in health sciences and a Master’s in physician assistant studies, Gibson said Befort has “combined clinical expertise with a lifelong commitment to service and cultural pride.
“Her journey into medicine was shaped by early experiences interpreting for her grandmother at medical appointments — an experience that taught her the importance of advocacy, empathy, and clear communication in healthcare,” Gibson said. “Today, she brings those values to every patient she serves, offering not just medical care but kindness, respect, and connection.”
Flanked by her family, Belfort said it was “inspiring listening to the other honorees.”
Gibson said Guyanese-born Sukul Kemraj, affectionately known as “Kavita,” is “a dynamic leader with over 15 years of experience in media, nonprofit, public service and government.
“A passionate community advocate, Bharati blends strategic communications with grassroots engagement to amplify the voices and needs of diverse communities,” she said.
The Bronx Borough President said Sukul Kemraj was born in Meten Meer Zorg, Guyana, and migrated to the Bronx at 7.
She is the daughter of Chandra and the late Pandit Vishnu Sukul, the first Guyanese Hindu priest to receive a New York City street co-naming in his honor – “Pandit Vishnu Sukul Way.”
Sukul Kemraj holds a B.A. in communications and media studies from Fordham University.
In 2000, she founded the Bharati Dance Academy at Vishnu Mandir, promoting health, Bollywood culture, and movement.
Her career in media began at BronxNet TV, where she served as a reporter, producer, and host for programs such as OPEN, Diálogo Abierto, and WellUS.
In 2011, she launched The Bharati Show, spotlighting Bronx news and culture.
“This recognition is for my (late) dad and the foundation,” said Sukul Kemraj in her acceptance speech. Her mother was also in the audience.
Gibson said the late Harpaul’s dream was to become a business owner.
After arriving in the United States from his native Guyana, she said Harpaul got a job as a bus boy at a Sizzler in Queens. Later, he pooled his resources with his cousin and his brother and secured an SBA loan to open his first Sizzler Steakhouse in the Bronx.
Harpaul, a Sizzler franchisee for almost 40 years, owned and operated eight Sizzler Steakhouses throughout New York and New Jersey.
Gibson said the Bronx location was one of the most successful stores in the system- earning top Mother’s Day sales for numerous years.
In addition, she said Harpaul won Best Salad Bar in the Country at The Sizzler National Convention in 2008.
In 2014, he was a state award winner of Pepsi’s Faces of Diversity Award, one of the largest in the Northeast region, and one of the few franchisees of color within the system.
With the Sizzler franchise no longer in operation, the Bronx Golden Corral, 2375 E. Tremont Ave., Bronx, NY 10462, was opened in its place in spring 2017.
Harpaul’s eldest daughter, Niroopa, said plans to open additional locations throughout the New York and New Jersey markets are afoot.
On behalf of the Harpaul family, Niroopa expressed her “sincerest gratitude to President Gibson and the Bronx Borough President’s Office for this honor.
“This June marks 11 years since the passing of our father, Ronnie Harpaul, and this honor is even more special to receive just days after Father’s Day,” she said in her acceptance speech. “In today’s climate, where the word immigrant is being used negatively and to cast division in our country, it’s important to reclaim it for what it truly means; immigrants are synonymous with bravery, with love for oneself and for one’s family and hard and honest work.
“We share our father’s story to inspire and remind us all that everyone’s family once started from humble beginnings,” Niroopa added. “We’re proud of the West Indian culture and roots that we come from; it’s instilled greatness in us and a legacy we hope to carry on.
“On behalf of the Harpaul family, we’d like to thank the BBP (Bronx Borough President) and her team, all the vendors, and everyone taking part in creating such a special night,” he continued.
Gibson said the legendary DJ Kool Herc is one of Hip-Hop’s founding fathers, stating that his “innovation and experimentation created the blueprint for Hip-Hop and set the stage for future artists and DJs to build upon.”
She said Herc was instrumental in developing the culture and community of Hip Hop and helping to make a space for young people to express themselves creatively through music and dance.
Gibson said Campbell has an extensive background in the fashion industry as a fashion model who has worked with many top designers.
The borough president said Campbell is a Fashion Institute of Technology graduate in New York, a former Miss Black America Beauty Pageant Contestant, and a licensed cosmetologist.
Campbell told the ceremony that she and DJ Herc’s stories are immigrant stories “that come from Jamaica.”
Antiguan-born Dr. Oswald Thomas – a dedicated clinician who works at a psychiatric hospital and advocates for mental health and suicide awareness – said he prays “every morning to God to help my patients in mental distress.
“Forgiveness is a powerful tool,” he said in his acceptance speech. “When people say there’s no reason to live, I give them a reason to live.
“As the songwriter says, ‘If I can help somebody, then my living will not be in vain.'”
