Jamaica

The Caribbean is an ever increasing, unrecognized and untapped market in the United States!  You have heard or read our soap box stance on this issue for years.  But while we have been standing on our soap box screaming this fact....few have even listened or understood the true significance of why information on or about the Caribbean Diaspora is vital to us as the West Indian community.
 
If you answer yes to any of the following questions...keep reading...if you answer no...then you keep reading simply because you will be educated.

• Are you part of a not for profit organization or a for profit entity?
• Do you need financial support to get your mission/goals accomplished?
• Are you a festival or other major event promoter?
• Are you a party or concert promoter?
• Do you wish you had access to sponsors to underwrite some of the expenses for your events?
• Do your children attend school?   Headstart?
• Are your children a member of any after school programs?
• Do you use the parks, beaches and public facility?

If the answer to any of the above questions is yes...then you need to pay close attention.
 
One of the reasons Caribbean organizations and businesses fail to secure corporate sponsorships is the "LACK OF NUMBERS." Oh don't get me wrong, we all know that "plenty a we deh yah" but where is that information documented? 
 
In your community, can you say with all certainty that there are -this many Jamaicans, this many Trinis, this many Belizeans, this many...name the Caribbean island?  Does your Consulate have an accurate count of how many of their island nationals live within the boundaries they govern? 
 
Simply put, due to the lack of accurate data on the Caribbean demographics within the United States, corporate entities lack the information necessary for them to include Caribbeans when making their budgets for annual sponsorships.
 
The reason for this is that collectively as a group...West Indians get heaped in with African Americans and therefore the numbers just aren't there.
 
So why is all this important you ask?

• Last year the Caribbean Diaspora sent a whopping US$5 billion to their home islands
• $5 billion was more than all the foreign direct investments combined for all the islands
• According to the US Department of Commerce the trade between the US and the region is in excess of US$19 billion alone in a single year.

To say it simple...we hav money fi spend...an a hole heap a it to!!!

According to the 2005 American Community Survey of the U S Census, even though the Caribbean population was grossly under represented, here is what it showed
 
WEST INDIANS (People of Caribbean ancestry)

• Have a high educational standard
• Earn top dollars
• Own homes in affluent middle class suburbs
• Create their own employment at a face pace
• Improve the local economy by providing jobs in the neighborhoods they establish businesses
• Loyal buyers of consumer goods
• Send their children to college at a higher rate than their African American counter parts
• Shop regularly at designer clothing stores
• 6 out of every 10 uses Visa or Mastercard
• Return home once or twice a year (vacation)
• 44% or more stay in high end hotels
• Purchase electronic gadgetry such as computers and cell phones in large numbers
• A least twice a month visit the barber or beauty shop
• 20% invest in IRAs while 15% utilizes their company's 401K plans.
• And... wi like wi pretty kar dem... the Lexus, the Bimmer, the Mercy Dees and Toyotas, and of course, wi Hondas.

WE IS WHAT THE PEEPLE DEM CALL DI NEW HISPANICS...
 
So how can we as a community change the notion that we are non-existent and a formidable force to be reckoned with?
 
THAT IS SIMPLE ENOUGH....STAND UP AND BE COUNTED!!!  WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE COUNTED IN THE 2010 CENSUS!
 
WE NEED ALL COMMUNITY LEADERS, CONSULATES, STUDENTS, ENTERTAINERS, CHURCH LEADERS, EVENT AND PARTY PROMOTERS, MEDIA AND DIPLOMATIC CORES TO GET UP OFF THE SIDELINES AND GET INTO THE GAME!!!  It is imperative that all of us do our part to spread the word to the Caribbean nationals to take part in the 2010 Census. 
 
Data generated by the U S Census is used to determine voter representation, yes, but it is far more important than that...it helps to equitably distribute federal dollars so that our neighborhoods can benefit.
 
And still more important...having the numbers of Caribbean nationals in the Diaspora accurately recorded, aids private sector entities to make decisions as to how and where to invest their capital for the best return on their investments.  In addition, accurate numbers in the Census highlights the purchasing power and economic impact WEST INDIANS have on both the US and global economies.
 
For years, Caribbean nationals have had to MIS-IDENTIFY themselves as African American, Asian American, Hispanic or other.  There is currently legislation before Congress to have the word "Caribbean American or West Indian" added to the already 16 ethic categories on the U S Census. 
 
We need a tool that will allow the Caribbean Diaspora to be recognized and the Census is such a tool.  Each year the information collected on the Census determines how $300 billion U S dollars are distributed in communities across the country.  That is money that impacts, schools, healthcare, small businesses, housing, and the elderly.  By actively participating in the 2010 Census, the West Indian community can send a message that will not only impact policies in the U S but also international polices that governs the flow of money into the Caribbean.