Don’t forget to love yourself…..

Guyanese-born legislator, Roxanne Jacqueline Persaud, was elected to the New York Senate on November 3, 2015 after defeating her two challengers in the elections for the 19thSenatorial District.  Back in November 2014, she became the  first female, first black, first Guyanese to hold the position of Assembly member for the 59th Assembly District in Brooklyn, New York . Persaud, 49, polled 6,980 votes, or 88 per cent of the votes cast, while Jeffrey Ferretti, the Republic Party challenger, received…

Abiola Abrams is a first generation Guyanese-American author, columnist, speaker, filmmaker and multimedia personality who was raised in New York City. Also a certified wellness coach, Abiola gives heartfelt, no-nonsense, stigma-free advice on self esteem and self worth, body image issues, healthy relationships, mental health, sexual health, and how to live with verve. The first person in her Guyanese family born in the US, Abiola was bullied in her African American neighborhood for being “the…

Aminta Kilawan Narine is an attorney, community activist, and writer. Born in the Bronx, New York to Guyanese parents, Aminta’s passion for social justice manifests in various aspects of her life. Aminta writes a weekly column for The West Indian newspaper titled, “Civics, Culture, and Community Engagement” in efforts to increase involvement and stewardship in areas such as politics and volunteerism. Aminta uses her voice for multifold purposes: she is a spirited bhajan singer but…

Delene Musielak is a dual Board Certified doctor of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics. She is the Associate Program Director of Internal Medicine Residency Program at St. Luke’s Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. Delene is also a busy mother of triplets and a life, health, wellness and parenting coach. Yet she finds time to produce “The Doctor Mom Show” in St. Louis, which serves as a medical resource for patients and parents. Add to that her…

Look At You! You Are Beautiful Embrace people’s differences with Karen O. Roberts’s empowering debut children’s book, Look at You! You Are Beautiful. Brimming with vibrant pictures of kids from all walks of life, this charming collection stands in stark contrast to defeat the looks-obsessed culture in which children grow up today. Instead of focusing on physical beauty, Look at You! You Are Beautiful celebrates everyone’s uniqueness in a way that is easy, fun, and…

Yaani King is an American actor of Guyanese descent. The only daughter of an NYPD officer mother, Yaani was born on August 10, 1981 in Flatbush, Brooklyn, and raised in Queens. She has two elder brothers, she spent most of her childhood around the theater, as her mother was a stage and commercial actress before becoming a police officer. As a teen, she was accepted to the High School of Performing Arts at Lincoln Center…

Lorna E. Welshman-Neblett has reached a pinnacle that few women of color have attained in the fragrance industry. More than 20 years ago she launched Angel, the first Thierry Mugler perfume, in the U.S. market. The fragrance has been flying off high-end shelves since. Welshman-Neblett’s career in the fragrance industry began in the late 1970s, when Elizabeth Arden established a separate fragrance company with Chloe, Burberrys and others. Welshman-Neblett started working with Thierry Mugler Parfums…

Today is a historical day in Guyana as supporters of the coalition APNU+AFC party celebrate an historic win over the ruling People’s Progressive Party (PPP), which has been in power for 23 years.  The new President of Guyana, Brigadier David Granger is a former Commander of the Guyana Defense Force and National Security Adviser and  new Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo is an Attorney of Law and former Member of Parliament.  Many overseas-based Guyanese like myself, who were unable to cast our votes, waited…

As the Executive Director of the Guyanese & American Business & Professional Council (GABPC), Shanie Persaud works tirelessly to develop stronger ties between Guyana and the United States in an effort to forge a closer relationship between the business and professional communities of both nations. GABPC is the first and leading Guyanese-American business organization that provides a vast array of services aimed at promoting and advancing business relations between Guyanese and Americans. Persaud move to…

This book is about Mohan and the many challenges he faces at home, as well as, school. Mohan discovers that having family and friends that believe in him and making the effort to do his best, can result in accomplishing the unexpected. Author Anaya Lee Willabus is an eight year old visionary who loves to read and play sports. At the age of two, Anaya Lee was taught to read by her father. She was…

Supriya Singh-Bodden, C.C.H., is a native of Guyana and the Founder/Trustee of the Guyana Foundation. The Guyana Foundation was created by a group of highly dedicated men and women who see an urgent need to contribute meaningfully to the rebuilding of Guyana. Driven by the conviction that great change can be made by people who are encouraged and supported, the Foundation empowers local and international volunteers to transform the lives of individuals, families, and entire…

It’s a rainy day in NYC.  What the weather like where you are?.

Verna Walcott-White a.k.a Teacher Verna, Ms. Verna or Ms. V is versatile, creative and is truly proficient in her field. She is passionate about her profession (dance). She began dancing at the tender age of three, under numerous famous Guyanese and International Instructors and Guru. Ms. Verna joined the Guyana School of Dance as a teenager, from its inception, under the tutelage of its founder and Director, Lavina Williams famous Haitian/American Dancer/Choreographer/Director. Ms. Verna was…

In a once unthinkable career for women, aviation in modern times has seen a multitude of females excelling in the field. One such example is US-based Guyanese (Captain) Beverley Drake, who knocked down the stereotype in her aviation career to prove that women can do a man’s job. Beverley, who grew up in Georgetown, in an interview with Guyana Times Sunday Magazine revealed that her father always wanted her to become a pilot, so he…

She’s Mad Real: Popular Culture and West Indian Girls in Brooklyn In She’s Mad Real, Oneka LaBennett draws on over a decade of researching teenage West Indian girls in the Flatbush and Crown Heights sections of Brooklyn to argue that Black youth are in fact strategic consumers of popular culture and through this consumption they assert far more agency in defining race, ethnicity, and gender than academic and popular discourses tend to acknowledge. Importantly, LaBennett…