Partnership helps with complete count of Caribbean-Americans
NEW YORK – The second of Irie Jam Radio’s Virtual Concert Series takes place May 23 with General Degree, Ghost and Mikey Spice as guest artists.
Staged in association with the United States Census Bureau, the series started May 16. The opening show featured Shaggy, Beenie Man, Admiral Bailey, Flourgon and Daddy Lizard.
Bobby Clarke is CEO of Irie Jam Radio which is based in Queens, New York. He said given the company’s business relationship with the Census Bureau, and his company’s standing in that borough, the virtual series was natural.
“The US Census Bureau is charged with a big job, to provide Federal funding for all the communities in America. One of their key ways to get an accurate count of people is to partner with media houses that serves the communities they need to reach,” Clarke explained. “Irie Jam platforms reach and represents the Jamaican-Caribbean communities of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Supporting this concert series and placing the Census ads and messaging with Irie Jam Media Group is reaching the masses they are targeting.”
The Kingston, Jamaica-born Clarke and partners started Irie Jam Radio in 1993. In addition to a steady diet of dancehall, reggae and soca, the station has promoted live events such as the Irie Jamboree at Roy Wilkins Park in Queens.
US law “mandates that the country conduct a count of its population once every 10 years. The 2020 Census will mark the 24th time that the country has counted its population since 1790.”
