Saturday, October 1, 2011

Great Americans of Caribbean Descent

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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