2020… where do I begin? To say that the year 2020 was challenging, historic, frustrating, unforgettable, and oftentimes sad would be the understatement of the century! Despite this, all throughout 2020 during a worldwide pandemic there were many Caribbeans who stood out to me as fascinating. By the way, if you’re wondering what is the criteria, that’s it “fascinating to me”.
Without further ado, I present the highly-anticipated RedCarpetShelley.com 10 Most Fascinating Caribbeans of 2020. This year’s list includes an impressive list of impactful Caribbeans from all walks of life and industry.
1. Kamala Harris- Politics (Jamaica)
Kamala Harris is a Caribbean American politician who is the vice president-elect of the United States and the junior United States senator from California. Prior to her election to the Senate, she served as the Attorney General of California.
Although Harris was born in Oakland, California, her father Donald J. Harris (Donald J is soooo ironic!), is a Stanford University professor emeritus of economics, who migrated to the U.S. from Jamaica in 1961. He attended UC Berkeley for graduate study and received a PhD in economics in 1966. Harris will be the first female Caribbean American, African American,and Indian American Vice President. However, she likes to say, she won’t be the last!
Many were not happy with President elect Joe Biden’s selection of Harris as his running mate due to what some view as her controversial time as California’s Attorney General. That being said, while serving as a Senator Harris advocated for healthcare reform, federal de-scheduling of cannabis, a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, the DREAM Act, a ban on assault weapons, and progressive tax reform.
On January 20, 2021 Kamala Harris will be sworn in as the Vice President of the United States of America. Congratulations!
2. Steve McQueen – Film (Grenada, Trinidad)
Sir Steven Rodney McQueen CBE is a British filmmaker and video artist. He is known for his award-winning film 12 Years a Slave (2013). McQueen was born in London however he is of Grenadian and Trinidadian Heritage. Although, McQueen is probably best known for being the Oscar-winning director of 12 Years a Slave (remember that crazy moment when the Academy announced the wrong Best Picture winner…. whew I digress), I selected McQueen because of his critically-acclaimed Amazon Prime series Small Axe. In 2019, it was announced that Small Axe, an anthology series of five films created and directed by McQueen, would be released on BBC One and Amazon Prime Video. The series focuses on “five stories set within London’s West Indian community from the late 1960s to the early ’80s” and was released this year. Although my family’s journey brought us to America, I watched in awe as McQueen weaved the story fabric of Caribbeans living in England at the time. The stories are definitely relatable to Caribbean Americans such as myslef.
McQueen is a masterful storyteller and by the way, he is also a talented visual artist. I am so proud to see our stories and our history being shared on such a grand scale and told from a Caribbean lens.
3. Lorna Scott-Williams – Fashion (Jamaica)
Jamaican designer Lorna Scott-Williams has been styling A-List celebrities and creating unique fashions for decades. Scott-Williams is one of my honorees this year because Vogue magazine recognized her in their September issue as a stalwart and fashion icon among 67 industry veterans as “people who make fashion happen”.
“I’m usually afraid of cutting, but one sentence that stayed with me that my mother would say is, ‘Just cut – the fabric doesn’t bleed,’” Scott-Williams said.
Actresses Jennifer Lopez, Kerry Washington, and Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire) are among her list of celebrity clientele. Scott-Williams said that among the most memorable moments was dressing Michelle Obama, wife of United States President Barack Obama, for her book tour.
“That I will not forget. She is a very special lady,” Scott-Williams said, beaming.
It is experiences like those, she said, that represent high points in a career that she described as “bittersweet”.
“Believe in yourself, be who you are, and nothing less. Any young person that I can guide and inspire to move forward is what life is about, helping others move up the ladder one step at a time.”
Having spent more than 30 years in the industry, she has faced her share of challenges, including rejection. But while acknowledging obstacles such as racism, sexism, and ageism, Scott-Williams said she was determined to chart a path that young fashionistas could follow. I think we can all agree she has done just that!
(SOURCE: The Jamaica Gleaner)
4. Joy Reid – Media & Television (Guyana)
Joy Reid, who has appeared on MSNBC since 2011, took over Chris Matthews’ Hardball slot at MSNBC thereby becoming the first Black woman and Caribbean American to anchor a prime-time news show at the cable network. Reid took over the hour with her own show, The ReidOut after Chris Matthews’ abrupt departure from his long time popular show. She is the lone Black woman to currently hold such a spot in network news (the last Black woman to host a prime-time network news show was Gwen Ifil)
“I just think it’s a homecoming. Even though she’s never been in that slot before, it feels right, and it fits the time, the moment, and I think it’s a fit for the future” said Yvette Miley, senior vice president at MSNBC and NBC News.
Reid’s guests on the first show were Hillary Clinton and President-elect Joe Biden.
“It’s me owing it back to not just my network but to my community to do well. I feel a burden—I feel the burden to do it right.”
I would say Reid has accomplished her goal of doing it “right”. Her debut show ReidOut scored the second-highest rating for a regularly scheduled show on the network for that hour.
Her Caribbean heritage you ask? Reid’s mother, who was a nutritionist and later a professor at Northern Colorado, was born in Guyana. Reid recently announced that she is joining Howard University as a 2021 Hearst Visiting Professor!
5. Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith – Medicine (St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.)
U.S. Virgin Islander Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, a Yale doctor and expert on health care disparities, was selected by President-elect Joe Biden to lead his administration’s task force on COVID-19 equity.
Dr. Nunez Smith, who was born and raised in St. Thomas, USVI, is already working for Biden’s transition by serving as one of three co-chairs of his coronavirus advisory group.
“As we come back from this crisis, we need to bring everybody along,” said Nunez-Smith. “It’s been my life’s work to combat systemic inequities in our health care system, and as COVID-19 Equity Task Force Chair, I’ll champion the changes we need for equitable recovery in our hardest-hit communities.”
Past administrations have not appointed senior level officials specifically tasked with working on health care equity so this is historic for health care and for Caribbeans!
6 & 7. Bounty Killer and Beenie Man – Music (Jamaica)
Verzuz, a musical battle with two competitors was born out of a need to keep everyone entertained during the Coronovirus quarantine. The most popular of all battles was the dancehall Verzuz Bounty Killer vs. Beenie Man. Who can ever forget this Verzuz? Unforgettable moments included Bounty Killer skip dancing like a happy child and Beenie Man being a mediator with a policeman who tried to shut down the event during the live stream while millions watched in shock!
The two DJs not only brought back the historic precursor of Verzuz battles with their head-to-head soundclash competition, but they also ushered in a new format of the Verzuz battles by being the first two artists to perform in the same room and IG Live feed. We set trends!
A few months later, Billboard viewers voted in a poll to choose their all-time favorite battle. The Beenie Man Bounty Killer Verzuz won as the all-time favorite Verzuz with 88% of the vote – that’s a sweep! Even CNN did a write up! Biggups to all those involved with the success of this event.
8. Aisha “Pinky” Cole – Restaurateur (Jamaica)
Aisha “Pinky” Cole is a Jamaican-American restaurateur. She is the owner and operator of Slutty Vegan, a plant-based burger restaurant chain in Atlanta, Georgia. Cole’s parents are Jamaican Rastafarians.
In July 2018, Cole created a vegan restaurant to satisfy her cravings for vegan junk food. She coined Slutty Vegan as a provocative hook. She stated in an interview, “Slutty Vegan, to my mind, is someone who eats vegan but enjoys junk food—as long as it’s not dead. I knew the name would be a great hook to help people to reimagine food.”.
I reside in metro Atlanta and remember when the restaurant began as just a food truck and then opened its first brick and mortar restaurant in 2019. The restaurant has a long list of Slutty celebrities including Tyler Perry, Snoop Dogg, JD, Tamar Braxton, Taraji P. Henson, Da Brat, T.I. and many more. Despite having tried multiple times, I have never eaten Slutty Vegan because I lack the patience to stand in Pinky’s hours-long lines waiting for these precious burgers but clearly they’re amazing.
Cole’s restaurant business has continuously grown just as much as her philanthropic efforts. During this year’s pandemic, Cole gave back in many different ways via her Pink Gives Back Foundation. In May, Slutty Vegan and Impossible Foods partnered to serve thousands of burgers to City of Atlanta first responders, including police officers, fire stations and waste management facilities. In mid-June, Slutty Vegan teamed up with Atlanta eatery Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks to provide Rayshard Brooks’ family with life insurance, a new car, and full scholarships to Clark Atlanta University. Brooks (a young black man) was fatally shot by Atlanta police officers June 12 in the parking lot of a south Atlanta Wendy’s. On June 30, the famous restaurant got support from Lala Anthony, Ludacris, Gabrielle Union Wade and Chris Paul for a free food giveaway at her flagship restaurant.
“I grew up to Jamaican parents. My dad did 20 years in prison. I watched how hard my mom worked, she worked four jobs to take care of us,” Cole said. “So to make my mother proud, to make my family in Jamaica proud, it shows me that I’m doing something right.”
Despite the pandemic, Slutty Vegan has opened two more locations this year — Biggup Pinky! (If y’all know her, tell har fi send a burger nuh mon!)
9. Lawrence Prescott – Media (Guyana)
When compiling this list, Team RCS strives to recognize those “amongst us”, so this one is personal. These are persons who aren’t necessarily making the news for being famous but they’re making things happen in their communities. This led me to my friend and colleague, Lawrence Prescott. Lawrence Prescott, or as I like to call him Caribbean Tyler Perry is a Guyanese-born burgeoning media mogul, photographer and founder of Caribbean Life TV (CLTV).
I first met Lawrence circa 2011, 2012 volunteering with the Caribbean Association of Georgia. Both Lawrence and I were active in the Atlanta Caribbean community so we would often run into each other at events. It was clear Lawrence was steadfastly immersing himself in the fabric of Atlanta’s Caribbean culture.
Fast-forward a few years and Caribbean Life TV (CLTV) became a vision and then a reality as Lawrence doggedly pursued his idea to see “us” properly represented in media. CLTV is an Atlanta-based, Caribbean-owned photography and media production company. CLTV was born because when Lawrence and his family watched TV “didn’t see the Caribbean represented in the way it should be in America”.
Early on, Lawrence and CLTV worked with only a handful of people to cover Atlanta Caribbean events. From there, I witnessed Lawrence strategically build an alliance with anyone and everyone in Atlanta Caribbean media interested in being involved and building the brand. in 2018, CLTV officially launched its platform. One of CLTV’s first in-house productions was “Di Lime”, a talk show about Caribbean hot topics from a millennial perspective.
In 2020, in the midst of a pandemic, Lawrence continued to work diligently to keep the CLTV brand relevant. CLTV hosted multiple weekly Instagram Lives with Caribbean celebrities and tastemakers. Celebrities interviewed by CLTV include Beres Hammond, Leon, Walsy Fire, Gramps Morgan, Romaine Virgo, Mr. Killa, Tony Matterhorn and more. This year, CLTV found a physical home in Stone Mountain GA and opened its doors to its very first production studio “CLTV Studios”. Since opening their doors, CLTV has already produced several pilots, weekly talk shows, held several live stream events and countless interviews. CLTV even produced, its first ever Holiday Special! Congrats Lawrence or “Boss Man” as he’s affectionately called by the CLTV family. Keep up-to-date with Caribbean life TV
10. Naomi Osaka – Sports (Haiti)
This one is really special! Naomi Osaka was born in Japan to a Haitian father. She is a three-time Grand Slam singles champion, and is the reigning champion at the US Open. In 2020, Osaka overtook Serena Williams as the most highly paid female athlete PERIODTT! Whew, and she’s only 23! But this is not what makes her fascinating to me.
At this year’s U.S. Open, Osaka used her platform to bring awareness to racial injustice by wearing masks with the names of Black victims of racial injustice and police brutality. Masks worn: Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain, Ahmaud Arbery, Trayvon Martin, George Floyd, Philando Castile and Tamir Rice.
After her @USOpen match tonight, @ESPN showed @NaomiOsaka video messages from @SybrinaFulton, mother of #TrayvonMartin, and Marcus Arbery, father of #AhmaudArbery — two of the five names she’s worn on masks before and after her matches. #SayTheirNames pic.twitter.com/1BOyzQbzg9
— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) September 9, 2020
“I feel like they’re so strong, I’m not sure what I would be able to do if I was in their position, but I feel like I’m a vessel at this point, in order to spread awareness. It’s not going to dull the pain, but hopefully I can help with anything that they need.”
Thank you Naomi for using your platform in this way.
That’s my list, let me know your thoughts and feel free throughout the year to send your suggestions for the 2021 list!!!
