By Felicia J. Persaud
News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Friday. October 25, 2024: In the run-up to and since becoming US Vice President, Kamala Devi Harris has spoken little about her Jamaican roots. Since becoming the Democratic nominee for president three months ago, she has given a fundamental nod to the nation of her father’s birth. However, naturalized Jamaican voters in the US are brimming with optimism and excitement that history can be made on November 5th.th and someone with roots in Jamaica can become for the first time – President of the United States.
It is a fact that is emotionally difficult for many people whose ancestors were once brought to the US and the Caribbean and worked as slaves for more than 400 years. But as the days go until November 5ththmany Jamaicans are “overjoyed,” to quote a Rastafarian saying, that Harris, the daughter of Jamaican economist Dr. Donald Harris and the Indian immigrant Shyamala Gopalan Harris, can do what Hillary Clinton could not – could the harsh, controversial words, condemned the criminal and former president, Donald Trump, and swear like the 47-year-old Americath President in January 2025.
If elected, Harris, 60, would not only be the country’s first female president, but also the first black woman, the second black head of state and the first with Caribbean and Jamaican roots.
In 2020, the US Census reported that there were approximately 1,047,117 Jamaican Americans in the US and over 4 million Caribbean immigrants. Most Jamaicans call the states New York, Florida, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, California, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Texas and Massachusetts. The percentage of those eligible to vote is estimated at 814,606 according to CSR reports, making them a large percentage of the black immigrant voting bloc.
And the majority News of America spoke to who are voting and they are all in favor of Harris, even though her campaign has spent little or no money on Black American and Caribbean media and trying to win their votes directly.
“I have a lot of confidence that Kamala will win,” said Jamaican-born voter and New Yorker Clement Humes, a Caribbean-American radio host of the Groovin Radio program. “I think Americans are looking beyond race and know that Mr. Trump is dangerous for America, with his words that he wants to be a dictator and has generals like Hitler. As long as we exercise our right to vote, Kamala can win.”
Also predicting a Harris victory is Jamaican immigrant Gregory Smith, who volunteered and worked across the US to help elect the first black US President, Barack Obama.
“In this upcoming election, the voice of Caribbean voters is more decisive than ever. With issues like immigration, women’s health and justice on the line, we have the power to profoundly affect our democracy,” he said.
Like Humes, Smith is predicting a Harris victory regardless of the polls. “She’s going to win like Obama did in ’08 and nothing like getting a glimpse of the future that includes a lot and not the past,” Smith said, adding that he already voted for her.
Jamaican-born, naturalized American New Yorker and radio journalist Francine Chin is also optimistic that Harris will beat Trump.
“I really tend to ignore the national polls and pay attention to the policies outlined by the opposing candidates and the street temperature,” she said. News of America. “Based on these factors, I predict a win for the Harris/(Tim) Waltz team.”
Lyndon Taylor, the Jamaican founder and CEO of Lyndon Taylor & Associates, is holding Caribbean men and black voters accountable to help Harris make history. He insists that if they “mobilize and understand what’s at stake, we can pave the way for the United States to finally elect its first female president.”
Jamaican-born educator Lawman Lynch, who is running in New York City as a candidate for Council District 41 in Brooklyn, NY, once held by Jamaican Councilwoman Una Clarke and later her daughter, the current Jamaican-American congresswoman Yvette Clarke, said “Caribbean nationals eligible to vote in November 2024 are at an intersection of optimism, caution, determination and fear.
“We understand that we cannot leave anything to chance, so there is a visible determination within the Caribbean community to ensure that Kamala Harris is elected President, through numerous outreach initiatives and deliberate messaging among our Caribbean people, especially our youth,” Lynch added.
Jamaican-born journalist Barrington Salmon, who lives in Washington, DC, said he feels Harris will win even though he sees her Achilles heel as the war in Gaza and the administration’s unconditional support for Benjamin’s government. Netanyahu in Israel.
“Harris and Walz have sparked an excitement that I haven’t seen since Barack Obama in 2008,” Salmon said. “Republicans are nervous, and rightly so, because they risk kicking their ass.”
But he noted that “if they win, Trump, MAGA and domestic white terrorists will be the problem.” Salmon paints a more dire picture of a Trump victory — one he said would make America “as we know it … a memory.”
Like Salmon, Jamaican attorney and founder of the Jamaica Bickle Caribbean Immigrant Services and Team, Irwine Clare, Sr., is stressing the importance of this election.
“The seriousness of this election needs to be met with a smart and stealthy approach to getting our community out to vote for the Harris Waltz ticket,” Clare said. “In addition to the threat to democracy, the immigrant community, especially those of color, are facing a catastrophic situation – the potential separation of families.”
Similarly, Jamaican Christopher Chaplin, a voter in the must-win state of Pennsylvania, understands this is a high-stakes election.
“This year’s election is crucial and the result will have global consequences either way,” said Chaplin, who declined to name a winner citing close polls.
“Pennsylvania will be the key state in determining who the winner is, and the race in Pennsylvania is tight,” Chaplin said. But he believes that ultimately Democrats’ ability to raise money for their campaign and their superior ground game will result in Pennsylvania going Democratic on Election Day.
But Jamaican-American Shaun Walsh, founder of Whatz Up TV in New York, thinks the race is too close to call.
With nearly two weeks left before the election, neither Vice President Kamala Harris nor former President Donald Trump have taken a clear lead in key battleground states. The latest polling data shows a close race between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump:
A CNBC poll (±3.1% margin of error) shows Trump leading among registered voters, 48% to 46%, with similar results in a Wall Street Journal poll (±2.5%), where Trump leads 47% to 45%. A HarrisX/Forbes poll of likely voters released Wednesday shows Trump ahead by two points, 51% to 49% with those involved, and by one point, 49% to 48%, without.
Meanwhile, Harris leads in several recent polls, including a Monmouth poll (47%-44%) and an Economist/YouGov poll (49%-46%). Additional polls from Reuters/Ipsos and Morning Consult show Harris with narrow leads of three and four points, respectively, while the USA Today/Suffolk University and Emerson College polls reflect a one-point lead for Harris. Harris’ overall lead over Trump has narrowed slightly since late August, though she maintains a small lead in the FiveThirtyEight polling average.
“These are tight elections. Both parties are doing a good job of getting their message out and a lot of people on both sides have decided, but I don’t see the momentum like when Obama was running, so for me, it’s up for grabs regardless. what the polls say,” Walsh said.
Walsh is right, as there are pockets of Jamaican voters who are surprisingly supporting Donald Trump, despite his anti-immigrant lies, hate-filled rants and threats of mass deportation.
Among them is Jamaican-born Virginia Lt. Governor Winsome Sears, who is now publicly supporting Trump’s bid for president after previously expressing doubts about his candidacy. Sears called Trump a liability to Republicans in 2022 after Democrats were outgunned during the midterm congressional elections. But Republican insiders widely expect Sears to seek the Republican nomination for governor next year.
Also with the Trump team is Jamaican immigrant and documentary filmmaker Errol Webber. Webber immigrated to the US from Jamaica with his family in 2002 at the age of 15. “Yes, I am a black man. Yes, I am a legal immigrant from Jamaica. Yes, I live in Los Angeles. And yes, I support President Trump!” he boldly tweeted.
However, Patrick Beckford, a New Jersey-based Jamaican immigrant and US citizen voter, predicts a Harris victory and insists he has rigged the polls.
Also a Harris winner is Clarendon-born, naturalized Jamaican citizen Henry Anderson, who immigrated to and lived in the U.S. since 1974. Still Anderson admitted to being nervous about this election, given the rhetoric and the political temperature. However, he also predicts a Harris victory.
“It’s the first time in 50 years that I’m really nervous about an election,” he said. “It looks like if one side wins there could be violence and I’m not looking forward to it. I hope both parties don’t let politics get in the way of who America is.”
Jamaican voter Ann-Marie Grant, executive director of the American Foundation for the University of the West Indies (AFUWI), admits she feels nervous despite giving her full support to Harris — though her concerns go beyond Harris’ gender and race.
“It is entirely based on the premise of common policy proposals, a sense of respect for law and order,” Grant said. “The inappropriate rhetoric and hateful comments from many are unacceptable. Only one of the candidates has demonstrated the ethical standards, maturity, steel-sharpness and integrity to hold the office of President of this great country – Kamala Harris.”
But Grant admitted she is “concerned” as she finds “the current environment quite toxic”.
“Given her opponent’s tendency to disregard the law of the land and not recognize/accept the truth that he lost the last election, even when she wins this legitimately, he is likely to repeat his performance the last”, she said. “I am afraid that the result could be even worse. God help us all.”
