June 2018 Letter from the Editor

Hey Hyphens!

It’s June y’all. You know what that means right?

It’s Caribbean-American Heritage Month! Woiiiii!! *wine and go dung* *hold on pon de wall and ease my way back up cuz I old an mi knee dem bad*

For those who don’t know, CAHM was initiated by Dr. Claire Nelson, Founder and President of the Institute of Caribbean Studies , sponsored by Congresswoman Barbara Lee and adopted by the House of Representatives in 2005. According to the proclamation, this was done as a way to ‘recognize the significance of Caribbean people and their descendants in the history and culture of the United States.‘

Caribbean immigrants and their descendants have been an integral part of this country since it was first stolen/founded. We are the change makers, innovators, caretakers and policy makers that help to make to strengthen and enliven our communities. And as such we deserve 30 days in which to big weselves up.

June is also LGBT Pride Month. *put ya rainbow flag inna de air*

Pride was established to honor the uprising at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in NYC, that happened on June 28, 1969. In a at the time, routine police raid, cops roughed up, arrested and cleared out the patrons of the Inn that evening. But instead of onlookers retreating, they rioted. The bar was set on fire and queer folks rioted against the harassment and discrimination they had been living with for the next five days.

The intersection of the queer and Caribbean communities is fraught with tension as this the new generation of hyphens & native born islanders struggle to usher in an age where the uber-conservative, religiously oppressive cultural notions about homosexuality that we’ve grown with are no longer the norm. With this struggle as a backdrop, RACA find this month’s Caribbean Pride celebrations to be particularly uplifting and poignant.

So it is with a deep and abiding love of we people & culture that we at RACA tek time to commemorate & celebrate our Caribbean & queer past, present and future. Our communities are truly pillars of American society, so please join us as we spend the next few days in recognition of our collective greatness.

In this Issue:

Life Unplugged by Onicia Muller Ariana | A RACA Film Review

When you miss me, I gone!