WASHINGTON, DC – A large crowd of Caribbean Americans braved the chilly DC Sunday afternoon weather to attend the book signing and launching of the book, Caribbean American Heritage: A History of High Achievers.
The event was held at Ben’s Chili Bowl, the iconic restaurant next to the Lincoln Theatre, in Northwest D.C.
This landmark restaurant was founded in 1958 by Trinidad-born Ben Ali and his wife Virginia. It has been visited by celebrity entertainers such as Harry Belafonte, Bono, Chris Tucker, Alphonso Ribeiro, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Bill Cosby, Miles Davis, and Nat King Cole; and by politicians such as President Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Martin Luther King, Jr, and former mayor of D.C. Adrian Fenty.
In his opening remarks, the book’s co-author, Elliot Bastien, thanked Vida Ali for her kind invitation to hold the book signing at Ben’s. He said that “It is especially significant as our book features many of the people associated with this historic restaurant, including the founders Ben and Virginia Ali.” He noted that “it was during the 1968 riots, that followed the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr, that Stokeley Carmichael asked the Alis to keep the restaurant open.” They got permission to stay open past curfew, and fed both the protesters and members of the protective services, without incident.
After these remarks, Sandra Bernard-Bastien, co-author of the book, made a slide presentation taking the lively audience through a sample of the book’s high achievers. At the beginning of the presentation she focused on two early Caribbean Americans, Alexander Hamilton and George Dallas.
Nevis-born Hamilton was one of the seven great founding fathers of America, who took a major role in the framing of the Constitution. He was also the author of the Federalist Papers and first Secretary of the Treasury, under President George Washington.
Bernard-Bastien, in alluding to the blockbuster Broadway show, Hamilton, the Musical, read quotes from CBS 60 minutes that described Hamilton as “One of the most audacious and brilliant figures in American history,” and from amNew York that described him as “An upstart immigrant unafraid to speak his mind or stand up for his principles.”
George Dallas, son of Jamaican-born, Alexander Dallas, became the 11th Vice President of the United States under President James Polk, in 1845. Bernard-Bastien pointed out that this Caribbean American was literally a heartbeat away from the presidency of the United States.
Husani Bastien, who contributed to the research that went into the book’s production, then put to the audience the question, “Why have these well-known figures escaped the attention of modern-day Caribbean Americans?” He contended that the aim of the book was to ensure that this would not continue, as the authors expected that the book would bring to the attention of the young and not-so young, their proud heritage of high achieving Caribbean Americans.
Bernard-Bastien returned to captivate the audience with her slide presentation by touching on the contributions of Suriname born and raised Rabbi Jacques Judah Lyons, one of the founders of New York’s Mount Sinai in 1872 when it was called the Jews’ Hospital; Haitian-born Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable, founder of Chicago; daughter of a Haitian father, Edmonia Lewis, who became world famous in 1876 as the creator of the 3000-pound sculpture, Death of Cleopatra; W.E.B DuBois of Haitian and Bahamian lineage; Eric Holder, grandson of Barbadian immigrants; Colin Powell, son of Jamaican immigrants; Thomas Perez, whose parents were first generation immigrants from the Dominican Republic; Harry Belafonte, with Martiniquan and Jamaican parents; Sidney Poitier of Bahamian parentage; Malcolm X, whose mother was Grenadian; Louis Farrakan, whose father was born in Jamaica and mother in St. Kitts/Nevis; St. Lucian-born Nobel Prize winners Arthur Lewis and Derek Walcott; Academy Award directors, Sam Mendes (American Beauty), son of a Trinidadian, and Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave), whose mother was Trinidadian and father Grenadian; performance arts divas, Rihanna of Guyanese and Barbadian lineage, and Trinidad-born Nicki Minaj; Suriname-born Jan Ernst Matzeliger, inventor of the shoe last in 1883; Belizean-born Maxime Faget, one of the developers of the Mercury Spacecraft; Trinidad-born Dr. Patricia Bath, inventor of a laser device for removing cataracts; Trinidad-born Dr. Allastair Karmody, pioneer in limb re-attachment surgery and organ transplant; the first black person elected to Congress Joseph Hayne Rainey, of Haitian lineage, who served as US House of Representatives Speaker pro tempore in 1874; Shirley Chisholm of Barbadian and Guyanese lineage, the first black woman elected to Congress; Kamala Harris, of Jamaican lineage, the US Senator for California.
The presentation ended with Elliot Bastien reading the Presidential Proclamation, heralding the start of National Caribbean American Heritage month, signed by President Obama on June 1st, 2012. This effectively summed up the book’s contents.
Printed on the back cover of the book, it reads “Caribbean Americans have shaped every aspect of our society, enhancing our arts and humanities as titans of music and literature, spurring our economy as intrepid entrepreneurs, making new discoveries as scientists and engineers, serving as staunch advocates for social and political change, and defending our ideals at home and abroad as leaders in our military.”
In the spirited discussion following the presentation and signing of books, members of the audience expressed surprise at the Caribbean background of so many of the contributors to the development of the United States.
The event was stage managed by the indefatigable and hospitable hostess, Mrs. Vida Ali, and her friendly, highly-trained staff. She and the delightful Mrs. Virginia Ali, the founder and matriarch of Ben’s Chili Bowl, met and mingled with the attendees, who included Jillian Moore and Lystra Hinds from the Embassy of the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago. “Mom”, as the matriarch is affectionately called by the staff, was presented with a copy of the book by the authors.
