Authors
A writer and sociologist from St. Mary Parish, Jamaica; continues to do important work in Jamaica to recognize Emancipation Day; created the term “blackspace”
Who is Erna Brodber?
A visual artist born in NYC to Haitian and Puerto Rican parents; enjoyed a “bromance” with Andy Warhol and created art that critiqued police brutality
Who is Jean-Michel Basquiat?
An influential feminist who wrote prose, poetry, and theory that highlighted a queer black woman’s experiences and perspectives; one of her famous works is Zami: A New Spelling of My Name
Who is Audre Lorde?
An unincorporated territory of the United States that is still grappling with the aftermath of last fall’s Hurricane Maria; members of its diaspora include Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda
What is Puerto Rico?
A Jamaican-born writer who feels exiled from his homeland because of his sexuality; author of the novel A Brief History of Seven Killings, which fictionalizes the C.I.A.’s attempt in 1976 to assassinate reggae musician Bob Marley
Who is Marlon James?
A visual artist from Barbados whose works include the Sweet Gossip series and the performance piece “Island and Monster”
Who is Sheena Rose?
An Afro-Creole nurse born in Jamaica who assisted both British and Russian soldiers during the Crimean War
Who is Mary Seacole?
A migration movement from Asia to the Caribbean following the emancipation of slaves in the British Caribbean in the 1830s; unlike the individuals from Africa forced into slavery, this population came as indentured servants; descendants of this diaspora include Shani Mootoo, author of Cereus Blooms at Night
What is the Indian diaspora in the Caribbean?
An author born in the Dominican Republic who wrote The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao; in the headlines recently for being both a victim and perpetrator of sexual violence
Who is Junot Díaz?
A Cuban painter of Chinese, African, Indian, and European heritage whose paintings draw upon abstract forms and the Santería religion
Who is Wifredo Lam?
A nation in the Caribbean where the population is comprised of nearly equal percentages of Afro- and Indian-descended individuals; its major export today is oil
What is Trinidad?
A Haitian-born author of the novel Breath, Eyes, Memory as well as several children’s and young adult books; her fiction is known for depicting mother-daughter relationships
Who is Edwidge Danticat?
A writer from Trinidad who won the Nobel Prize in Literature; infamous for his comment that “nothing was created in the West Indies [the Caribbean]”
Who is V.S. Naipaul?
A visual artist from Jamaica whose mixed media works expand understandings of masculinity through the use of embellishment and bright colors
Who is Ebony G. Patterson?
A writer, political organizer, and socialist born in Trinidad; author of The Black Jacobins and a book about the sport of cricket called Beyond a Boundary
Who is C.L.R. James?
A migration movement from Asia to the Caribbean following the emancipation of slaves in the British Caribbean in the 1830s; unlike the individuals from Africa forced into slavery, this population came as indentured servants
What is the Chinese diaspora in the Caribbean?