Celebrate Garifuna-American Heritage Month at the New York City Council
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New York February 26, 2018 – The Garifuna Coalition USA, Inc. a, nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization is pleased to announce that New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson with Councilmember Vanessa L. Gibson and the Black, Latino and Asian Caucus and the Bronx Delegation of the New York City Council cordially invite you to Celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Garifuna-American Heritage Month, on Thursday, April 12th 5:30 PM at the New York City Council Chambers, CITY HALL New York, NY 10007.
Each year, Garifuna Americans in New York observe Garifuna-American Heritage Month from March 11 to April 12. The day of March 11 is significant because it is the 2011th Anniversary of the Forcible Deportation of the Garifuna People by the British from St Vincent and the Grenadines in 1797. In addition, March 14 is National Hero Day in St Vincent and the Grenadines in observance of the Anniversary of the death of Paramount Garifuna Chief Joseph Chatoyer on March 14, 1795. Therefore, allowing for the alignment of the sequence of Garifuna Historical events from St Vincent and the Grenadines, to Central America and the New York City Garifuna-American Diaspora.
March 25th is the 28th Anniversary of the tragic fire in the Happy Land Social Club, an arson fire that killed 87 people trapped in an unlicensed social club at 1959 Southern Boulevard in the West Farms section of the Bronx on March 25, 1990. Most of the victims were young Hondurans celebrating, largely drawn from members of the local Garifuna American community. It was through the Happy Land Fire that New York discovered the Garifuna People! The month concludes on April 12th in commemoration of the 221st Anniversary of the Garifuna Settlement in Central America.
Garifuna-American Heritage Month nurtures and promotes Garifuna pride, it raises awareness and appreciation of the Garifuna culture and its contribution to the culture and society of New York. It helped uplift the Garifuna Community from obscurity to the pinnacle of recognition in New York City.
Garifuna-American Heritage Month provides an opportunity to recognize the significance of the Garifuna’s contributions to the quality and character of life of New York, through many events and activities throughout the month, for all people to gain a greater appreciation of Garifuna history and traditions, and of the role Garifuna-Americans have played, and will continue to play, in New York’s society.
On March 12, 2014 New York City Council District 16 Council member Vanessa L. Gibson , presented the first New York City Council Garifuna-American Heritage Month Proclamation Ceremony at the New York City Council Chambers.
On February 1, 2017, New York City Council District 17 Councilmember Rafael Salamanca, Jr. was the Primary Sponsor of Resolution 1358-2017, along with Council District 42 Councilmember Inez D. Baron and Council District 31 Councilmember Donovan J. Richards as cosponsors, recognizing April 12th annually as Garifuna Heritage Day in the City of New York, as part of the annual Garifuna-American Heritage Month celebrations.
This year the New York Garifuna Community celebrates some key milestones, including the tenth Anniversary of Garifuna-American Heritage Month, which serves to celebrate the survival of the Garifuna Heritage and Culture. It also proves that Garifunas have taken the best from their history and the legacy of their ancestors, to become a thriving community.
The Garifuna are a hybrid people resulting from a biological and cultural mixture between Caribs and Arawaks of the Caribbean and people of African origin. This process of hybridization, which took place in the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, gave rise to a new group called the Garifuna or the Garinagu. All of the communities in Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua descend from the just over two thousand Garifuna people forcibly deported from Saint Vincent in 1797. They are therefore one people who share the same history and a common tradition in language, music and dance among other things. New York City is currently home to the largest Garifuna population outside of Central America with an estimated 200,000 living in the South Bronx, Brownsville and East New York in Brooklyn, and Harlem.
We invite you to join New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson with Councilmember Vanessa L. Gibson and the Black, Latino and Asian Caucus and the Bronx Delegation of the New York City Council cordially you to Celebrate Garifuna -American Heritage Month.
Thursday, April 12th 5:30 PM
New York City Council Chambers
CITY HALL New York, NY 10007
Doors open at 5:30 P.M. Event begins at 6 P.M.
Please RSVP to garifunaheritage@council.nyc.gov or call (212) 482-6731
