MIAMI – As celebration activities for Black History Month get underway, Jamaica’s Consul General to the Southeast USA, Ricardo Allicock along with several other Consuls Generals were invited for a Career Day celebration at Zora Neale Hurston Elementary School on Wednesday, February 1.
Allicock reminded students of the significant contributions Caribbean nationals continue to play in the development of the United States of America, their role as ambassadors here in the USA, as most of them were from Caribbean and Latin American descent. He encouraged them, at all times, to recognize, tolerate and value their diversity regardless of their race and language, “as we are all one human race,” he added.
Allicock spoke about the interconnectedness of Caribbean people of African descent and African-Americans in local communities and shared the historical journey of the Africans during slavery and the connection with other ethnic groups throughout the Caribbean and the United States.
Mr. Allicock also spoke of the diverse traditions and rich cultural heritage brought to the United States during slavery, and through our travels as immigrants. During and since that process, we still continue to make positive contributions here in this country as well as to the development of our respective homelands, he added.
More importantly, he cited the many Jamaicans, who have impacted the development of the USA through public service, sports, entertainment, and identified former Cabinet Secretary and Chief of Staff, Mr. Colin Powell and world famous reggae artist, the Honorable Robert Nestor Marley, O.M.
In order to seek greater understanding and greater sensitivity of their history during Black History Month, Mr. Allicock encouraged the students to participate through reading and involvement in the activities to observe the significance of the African experience.
Zora Neale Hurston Elementary School has a diverse enrolment of 850 students of Caribbean and Latin American descent and was named after a famous African American novelist, folklorist, and anthropologist, and also a figure of the Harlem Renaissance. After her death in 1960, her literary works were revived and today is included in the curriculum in literature classes, Women’s and Black study programs in educational institutions throughout the USA.
