Caribbean American community advocates recognized at the second annual State House breakfast
'We are here to accentuate the excellence that we see in the room and to never forget that,' said Kwame Elias,
the Director of Community Outreach at Boston Caribbean American Association. 'Without unity, there can be no community.'
Boston is home to one of the largest Caribbean communities in the country. The city's Caribbean population has grown by 212 percent since 1980, with the three largest countries of origin being the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Haiti, according to Boston's Planning Department.
Governor Maura Healey and Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll,
whose mother was born in Grenada and raised in Trinidad,
also made appearances. Healey handed the first award to Joyce Stanton,
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Stanton's 'happiness, spirit, and joy are just infectious,' Healey said.
'Congratulations to all of today's awardees,' Healey said during her speech. 'Our administration stands shoulder to shoulder with all the work you're doing.'
Chrylann Barrett-Lewis,
and Bay Cove Human Services, an organization that supports people with mental health challenges and substance use.
When she first found out that she was nominated for the award, she was surprised. She joked that she thought the notification was a 'spam email.' The Boston Caribbean American Association had circulated a form where community members could nominate people they believe elevated the Caribbean experience in the Commonwealth. Afterwards, the board decided on the honorees.
Regardless of her initial reaction, Barrett-Lewis, a first-generation Jamaican, said the award is a testament to the strides the Caribbean American community has made.
'It means everything to be able to see representation and to see other folks from the Caribbean making a life,' Barrett-Lewis said. 'A lot of folks leave their original home to come to the United States to make a 'better life.''
The award ceremony comes in the midst of a tense political climate for the Caribbean community. Last September, President Trump repeated baseless claims that undocumented Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were 'eating the dogs.'
Melodie Levy, an honoree from North Attleborough, said the Trump presidency feels 'heavy.'
'Even though we are lawyers, doctors, teachers and other professionals, we're not seen as that,' Levy said. 'I hate the word 'aliens.' It just irks me.'
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The Caribbean population has been in Boston for over a century — but only in the past decades has the community started to see Caribbean faces in top political positions. The Boston Caribbean American Association, which officially formed in 2024, has made progress in 'getting stakeholders to take the Caribbean community much more seriously,'
Elias said.
Denna Mary Gilot, who also works with the organization, emphasized cohesion among the Caribbean communities, which encompasses 13 countries. Though there's different islands, opinions, and dialects, it's about 'unity at the end of the day,' she said.
In the upcoming years, the organization hopes to continue advocating for a cultural district and a 'big, welcoming community center' for the Caribbean community — the same way that there's a Chinatown for Chinese immigrants and the North End for Italian immigrants, Elias said.
'Every other immigrant community has a place that they call home. We don't,' Elias said. '(The Caribbean community) is very scattered in our different pockets, in our different neighborhoods.'
With the ceremony in its second year, organizers hope to keep the momentum going.
'Hats off to the team, to everyone,' Elias said. 'Here's to year number three.'
Jessica Ma can be reached at
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