New York, January 18, 2008 - The late Keith L. Carr, Sr., OM, was remembered as a community legend whose activism knew no boundaries.
At the home-going service held at the Bethel AME Church, in his hometown of Bloomfield, Connecticut, on Monday, January 14, 2008, a week after his untimely passing, Sharon Burrell-Green, Vice Consul at the Consulate General of Jamaica in New York, remembered Carr, Sr., as someone who, for nearly half a century, “gave of himself, selflessly and was not afraid of criticisms”.
“His advocacy and commitment – from 1963 through 2007 - was without boundaries, without a face, without a name and without ethnicity. For Keith, a helping hand was just that,” she said.
Mrs. Burrell-Green told the large turnout of mourners that the passing of Mr. Carr, Sr., was a huge loss to the overseas community, coming, “at a time when the Government is beginning to sit down with the key sectors of the Diaspora to better shape its national agenda”.
A citation from the Court of Common Council, City of Hartford, praised the elder Carr’s untiring efforts to maintain and promote Caribbean unity through culture and the arts.
“His love of culture and the arts was evident, as he was the former chairman of the West Indian Day Celebration Committee,” noted the citation which was read by Jamaican Veronica Airy-Wilson, City of Hartford Councilwoman and a former Deputy Mayor.
Mrs. Airy-Wilson who like the late Keith .L Carr, Sr., is a former President of the influential West Indian Social Club (WISC) of Hartford said that, “we can feel proud that Keith L. Carr Sr., left such a legacy.”
“It is the wish of many to serve humanity in a manner that leaves a positive and lasting impression, but few live up to this high standard,” she said before handing the framed document to surviving wife Delores, only daughter Glynda and sons Keith Jr., and Kurt.
The eulogy was offered by the Rev. Dr. Alvan N. Johnson, Jr., with a song tribute by Jolie Rock Brown (The Lord’s Prayer).
Keith L. Carr Sr. OM, affectionately referred to as ‘Mr. West Indian”, died on Monday, January 7, after a short illness at the age of 77 years old. He was interred at the Spring Grove Cemetery, Hartford, Connecticut.
Community leader Leslie Perry announced that as a community initiative to keep alive the legacy, a Keith L. Carr, Sr., Scholarship Endowment Fund was being established in conjunction with the West Indian Foundation in Bloomfield, CT.
