CaribID Takes Message To CARICOM Diplomatic Corp

CaribID, the movement to get Caribbean nationals accurately counted and their own category on the U.S. Census form, on June 18th,  took it Census message to the CARICOM Diplomatic Corp.

CaribID founder, Felicia Persaud, was in Washington, D.C., Thursday to address the CARICOM Caucus of ambassadors at the Organization of American States. There she reiterated the importance of the Caribbean community`s participation in Census 2010 and urged the ambassadors to use their offices to encourage the various Diaspora organizations to help spread the message of participation.

 CaribID is urging all Caribbean nationals across the U.S. to fill out the 2010 Census form and write in their country under question 8 while `ticking No Not Hispanic.` The move Persaud said is important since legislation obtained in both the House of Representatives and the Senate will not permit a Caribbean ancestry category for 2010, so nationals must send a clear message next year.

Persaud also urged the ambassadors to encourage the many friends of the Caribbean in Congress to sign on as co-sponsors to the bill to ensure it becomes law. And she stressed that an accurate count of the Caribbean population will no doubt translate in to more respect for the bloc if their real numbers are recorded, for their votes and for their issues of concern.

Meanwhile, in Philadelphia, on June 23rd, CaridID will co-host a Census briefing with officials of the Philadelphia Regional Census Office and the Mayor`s Commission on African and Caribbean Immigrant Affairs and Councilman Jannie Blackwell.

And on June 27-28th, the message is a strong part of the D.C. carnival`s 2009 goal – to party with a purpose. CaribID and the D.C. carnival have teamed up with the U.S. Census Bureau to urge all Caribbean nationals to `stand up and count` in 2010.

Data generated by the census is used not only to determine voter representation, but also to help equitably distribute federal funding from a wide range of government programs.

And Census data is an invaluable resource to private industry, helping businesses make sensible decisions about how and where to expand their capital.  An accurate count of the Caribbean community will highlight their purchasing power and economic impact both in the U.S. and global markets.

New York City Census officials insist that the undercount in New York alone is highest among Afro-Caribbeans.

Supporters of the CaribID movement to date include a number of media houses, chief among them One Caribbean radio, Edmond Braithwaite, Bobby Veira and Ave Brewster; Sherra Pierre Marche of Cbean Media.tv;  CaribVoicerado.org, The Caribbean Voice newspaper, WBAI`s Ian Forrest and Habte Selassie, CIN TV`s Stephen Hill, Whatz Up TV, ZYNC TV`s Eion Saunders, Caribbean Lifestyle TV, Ken Webb of Webb Internet Radio, Caribbean Riddims` Eddy Edwards, Jason Walker and Bruno Gaston of WFRG radio, TSO Production`s Sharon Gordon, Caribbean Vibes and The Caribbean Internet Network`s Michael Callendar, Tropical Fete, Anthony Turner, South Florida Caribbean News`s Ian Hamilton, Images Newsletter, Francine Chin, Sharon Ghanny, Bharatie Khemraj, Pastor Gilford T. Monrose, June Minto, Jamaican Diaspora Presidents, Patrick Beckford and Marlon Hill, Street Hype, Patrick Buddington, NAJASO`s Roy Davidson, Allison Skeete and Toronto Lime among others.

To volunteer or for PSA`s email info@caribid2010.com.

For more information, log on to www.caribid2010.com.