In order to demonstrate the indispensable role of the West Indian Negro in the United States, I've decided to compile a list of famous and influential Caribbean immigrants and their offspring. As Darcus Howe said to a BBC reporter, "Have some respect for an old West Indian Negro." We have played a vital role in this country's history, and will continue to be an important part of the cultural and musical heritage of African America.
1. Sonny Rollins
2. Shirley Chisholm
3. Jelly Roll Morton
4. W.E.B. Du Bois
5. Jean Baptiste DuSable
6. Stokely Carmichael
7. Malcolm X
8. Claude McCay
9. Notorious B.I.G.
10. DJ Kool Herc
11. Afrika Bambaataa
12. Keisha Lindsay
13. Harry Belafonte
14. Randy Weston
15. Edwidge Danticat
16. Rihanna
17. Kwame Raoul
18. Lauryn Hill
19. Wyclef Jean
20. Louis Farrakhan
21. David Paterson (former governor of New York)
22. Busta Rhymes
23. Gil Scott-Heron (Jamaican father)
24. KRS-One
25. Reggie Fils-Aime
26. Jason Derulo (Haitian)
27. Jamie Hector (Marlo in the Wire, Haitian)
28. Maxwell (Haitian and Puerto-Rican)
29. Jean-Michel Basquiat
30. Mathieu Eugene (Haitian)
31. Pierre Toussaint (Haitian, moved to New York City, beatified for sainthood in Catholic Church)
32. Abner Louima, Haitian abused and sodomized by New York City police
33. Michel-Rolph Trouillot
34. Sidney Poitier
35. James Weldon Johnson (Bahamian)
36. Grandmaster Flash (Barbadian)
37. Nicki Minaj
38. Tatyana Ali (Trinidadian, played Ashley on Fresh Prince
39. Kareem Abdul Jabbar
40. Q-Tip
41. MF Doom
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