Happy New Year! Rock on in 2015!

Letitia Wright is fighting for justice in the first trailer for “Mangrove.” Amazon Prime Video released the first look at the Small Axe episode on Thursday.   The Guyanese actress and Black Panther Star,  plays the role of Altheia Jones-LeCointe a Trinidadian physician and research scientist also known for her role as a leader of the British Black Panther Movement of the 1960s and 1970s. “Mangrove” tells the true story of the Mangrove Nine, a group of Black activists who clashed with London…

Deborah Nirmala Misir is a Guyanese/American attorney and founding partner of Lally & Misir, LLP. She is the daughter of New Amsterdam, Guyana-based attorney Jorawar Misir. A leading federal litigator and expert on administrative, constitutional and government regulatory law, she has over fifteen years of experience in both government and private practice, including briefing over seventy federal appeals cases up to and including the U.S. Supreme Court, and making seventeen federal appellate oral arguments. She…

Victoria Marianna Gunraj is the owner of  Miami-based Caribbean clothing line and T-shirt Company “DeportedTEES.”  Born in Miami, Florida on December 17th, 1989, Victoria’s parents hail from the villages of Wales and Vreed-en-Hoop in West Demerara, Guyana. A graduate of the University of Florida, this 24- year-old business woman earned a B.S. Degree in Food Science and Human Nutrition.  Victoria’s passion for fashion and design led her to start her own fashion company in 2011…

London-based saxophonist and composer, Nubya Garcia, is one of the leading forces behind the resurgence of jazz-influenced sounds in the UK. Raised in a creative environment built by a set of Caribbean parents, her brand of afro-tinged Jazz has made her a key component in a string of new and established groups: from work with MOBO Award-winning drummer, Moses Boyd, legendary Jungle producer and toaster, Congo Natty, through to her own works as part of…

English Teacher, Shamayne Cumberbatch, was born in Guyana, South America and later moved to Irving, NJ. She first attended the local public school before enrolling at Kent Place for middle and high school. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and her master’s degree from Harvard in Education Policy and Management. Before working at the Pingry School, Ms. Cumberbatch participated in the Teach for America program, teaching eighth grade English classes at a charter…

Dr. Michelle Mickle Foster has been the President and CEO of The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation, in West Virginia, since February 2016. Prior to this position, she served as the CEO of the Kanawha Institute for Social Research & Action, Inc. (KISRA) for 17-1/2 years. She developed all of KISRA’s 13 major programs that are in the areas of Health, Employment, Asset Development and Learning. Michelle was born in Guyana, the oldest child of three….

Quick response by the Guyanese nurses saw the safe delivery of twin boys who were immediately named David and Moses after the new Guyanese President David Granger and Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo. It’s understood that while the victory parade was ongoing the American woman went into labour on Church Avenue, delivering David at 16: 37 hours between East 48 and 49 with the assistance of the ladies. By that time, a vehicle had rendered assistance…

Vannetta Seecharran has been influencing art and design in the jewellery field for nearly 20 years. Born in Guyana in 1969, the London-based jewellery teacher migrated at the age of 11 with her parents to New York City. She graduated in 1991 from the prestigious Parsons School of Art with a BA in Product Design, and in 1996 earned an MFA in Jewellery from State University of New York at New Paltz.   She later moved…

Born under the Zodiac star of Leo,  Actress Simone Dowding attended the Salem Primary and Secondary schools, where her love for the stage was noticed by teachers and peers alike. In no time she had become quite a force to be reckoned with, as she participated in numerous school plays and drama presentations with gusto, finesse and bravery. Being an artistic person, she attended and graduated from the Burrowes School of Art with flying colours…

Helen Taitt was the founder and director of the School of Guyana Ballet, which trained many of the teachers with the Guyana National School of Dance. Her dancing career spanned two decades from the 1950s to 1970s. Helen made the theatre her life-long career, performing, composing and teaching right up to the end of her life. She was Guyana’s best known, most accomplished and acclaimed professional dancer, and was also a choreographer, writer, dance instructor,…

In a departure from her dramatic roots, Kylie Bunbury stars alongside Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams in upcoming comedy Game Night.  Kylie is the daughter of legendary Guyanese-Canadian soccer player, Alex Bunbury.  In this exclusive interview with EBONY, Bunbury breaks down her relationship with on-screen hubby, Lamorne Morris, her introduction to the comedy game and why it’s important to show Black women in all of their greatness. Tell me a bit about Game Night’s Michelle &…

I’ve had an ongoing love-hate relationship with vision boards ever since I created my first one about 9 years ago.  Most people say they work, but a little voice inside was always telling me that they were kind of silly, so I never fully embraced the idea. I was inspired to create my first board after watching a tv show, but I don’t recall putting much effort into it or even hanging it up anywhere. …

Oscar Wilde said it best “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” You should be your own biggest cheerleader. Forget about what you look like and be proud of who you are! Stop trying to measure up. The only person you have to compete with is yourself and always remember that You Rock!

Ms. Valerie Rodway (1919-1970) was a teacher and Guyanese composer.  She is best known for her national songs, which include, “O Beautiful Guyana,” “Kanaïma,” “Hymn for Guyana’s Children,” “Arise, Guyana,” and “Guyana the Free.  She also put to music the famed Guyanese independence poem by Martin Carter, “Let Freedom Awaken.” Ms. Rodway was a member of one of those families whose contributions to Guyana are still evident. Her father, Newton Berthier Fraser was born in…

Owner and principal designer of Shasha Designs (shashadesigns.com), Keisha Edwards, says she has always had a designer’s mind. Born in Georgetown, Guyana, she recalls, as a child, sketching outfits and asking her mother, a seamstress, to bring her creations to life. In fact, coming from a line of seamstresses and tailors has given her an almost hereditary talent. She taught herself to sew, and the art of design, she says, came from God. “The seed…