It’s been a year of back-to-back elections across the globe, with roughly half the world’s population eligible to vote in their respective countries. And in the United States, some of those who make, report and satirize the news were born in the region or are of Caribbean origin. Caroline Taylor learns more
Like this issue Caribbean Beat As of press time in October, people around the world are following developments in the November 2024 United States election. Few may realize how many people of Caribbean heritage are front and center.
There is the vice president Kamala Harrisof course – the daughter of Jamaican economist and academic Donald J Harris and Indian scientist and cancer researcher Shyamala Gopalan Harris – who is running for president on the Democratic ticket.
Throughout her career as a San Francisco district attorney, California attorney general, senator, vice president, and now presidential nominee, she has often been the first black, South Asian, Caribbean, and/or female holder of the roles she has held. held or sought. .
Her sister Maya Harris is also an attorney and public policy attorney who worked on the policy agenda for former Senator and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.
Notably, VP Harris often says she follows in the footsteps of another woman of Caribbean heritage – Shirley Chisholmwho was born in New York to a Barbadian mother and Guyanese-Barbadian father.
Chisholm became the first black woman elected to the US Congress in 1968 and the first woman to run for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. She was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by former President Barack Obama in 2015.
Karine Jean-Pierre is a former NBC News and MSNBC political analyst and lecturer at Columbia University (her alma mater) who has served as the Biden administration’s White House press secretary since 2022 – the first person of color and LGBT open holding this position. Born in Martinique to Haitian parents, moving to New York City when she was five, she also served as Chief of Staff to VP Harris during her 2020 presidential campaign.
Covering the candidates and the administration is a host of familiar faces on major American television networks, which are broadcast across the globe.
Award-winning author, TV presenter and political commentator Joy Reid is the daughter of a Guyanese mother and Congolese father, who became the first black female primetime cable anchor in 2020 as host of MSNBC ReidOut (after hosting other daytime programs on the network, starting in 2014). The Harvard graduate previously worked at Gray AND Miami Heraldas well as in Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign.
Reid’s award-winning colleague Yamiche Alcindormeanwhile, has been the Washington correspondent for NBC News since 2022, having previously worked at PBS, USA TodayAND New York Times. Born in Miami to Haitian parents, she is an alumnus of Georgetown University and New York University.
On rival network CNN, Abby Phillip – born in Virginia to Trinidadian parents and who spent part of her early childhood living in Trinidad – anchored Sunday Inside Politics with Abby Phillip from 2021 to 2023, before being announced as the host of the most lively (if not combative) CNN NewsNight in 2023. The Harvard graduate worked at Politico, The Washington Postand ABC before joining CNN in 2017, where she also co-moderated one of the key 2020 Democratic presidential debates.
And while late-night and sketch comedians provide plenty of comedy by poking fun at news and current events, there are some Caribbean-American comedians who give satire an extra spice.
In 2020, Sarah Cooper went viral for her online videos lip-syncing former President Trump’s remarks — just as she was beginning to consider quitting comedy. The Jamaican-born author, actress, and comedian—who moved to the U.S. as a child and worked in big tech (Yahoo and Google) before pursuing writing and comedy full-time—then found herself making the rounds of news, talk, and variety show and The Late Night Show, and starred in the Netflix special produced by Maya Rudolph Sarah Cooper: Everything is finefeaturing a star-studded cast.
She also did an Instagram live with VP Harris in 2020, joking: “What do you get when you combine the leadership of Kamala Harris with the humor of Sarah Cooper? You get a whole Jamaican!”
Recently, Juliet Bodley (aka Julie Mango) — a trained pilot, former engineer, performer and life coach who was born and raised in Jamaica before moving to the US as an adult — went viral in 2020 with a video comparing how Jamaicans and Americans praise . Her social media channels cover a range of topics, including mental health advocacy. Among the most watched are her recent videos as “Jamaican Kamala Harris,” which feature VP Harris speaking Patois in a variety of contexts, from her August convention speech to September’s presidential debate.
Regardless of which way the election goes this November, these heavyweights are sure to continue to break new ground in their chosen fields — and appear on a screen near you.
