They ‘Rocked” the Easter Hat Parade …..

Gertie Wood’s name has appeared at fleeting moments on the periphery of scholarship on the Guyanese women’s movement. As such not much has been said or published on the significant volume of work and activism she undertook for women and girls in British Guiana. Social worker, women’s rights activist, accomplished concert artist, and politician, Wood was sometimes the sole female voice articulating for women and equitable conditions of work in the period of her greatest…

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…

“My name is Raaqima Mc Rae and I migrated to New York from Guyana four years ago. Today (June 25th, 2014) was my graduation, I graduated with honors. Adjusting to this new environment was definitely not easy, but the challenge was worth it. I am proud to say that this Fall I would be attending Johnson and Wales University to major in Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Management, and minor in Pre-Law and Spanish. If I…

Dr. Alisha Griffith, affectionately referred to as “Dr. Alisha”, is a compassionate professionally trained educator, speech language pathologist, and audiologist.  Over a span of nearly two decades, she has assisted countless people from all walks of life to overcome various challenges, empowering them to live their lives to the fullest. Dr. Alisha was born in Stillwater Oklahoma after both of her parent left Guyana on scholarship awards to study abroad.  Her mother, Ismay Griffith and father, Charles Griffith; returned to Guyana…

First Day of School: Do You Want to Be My Friend?

Undra Celeste Duncan is the founder and creative director of Undra Celeste New York; a modern workwear brand for multicultural women. Upon earning a business degree from Howard University, she moved to LA where she studied fashion designing, and later to New York to pursue a career in fashion.  She worked for big brands such as Calvin Klein and American Eagle Outfitters before launching her own label in 2014.  Undra’s collections have been shown on…

Founder & CEO of the award-winning global organization, Women on the Crossroads, Sherry Ann Dixons, was recently admitted to The Black 100+ Hall of Fame. The Black 100+ Project is an Exhibition of the top 100 Black Achievers in Modern Britain. Guyanese by birth, Sherry is highly respected in the ethnic community in Britain and developed a following of dedicated readers with her health, lifestyle, beauty and relationship articles  She is very passionate about raising the…

The Honourable Madam Justice Désirée Bernard, a citizen of Guyana, was born on 2 March 1939. A lawyer by profession, she began her career in 1963 when she attained a Bachelor of Laws Degree from the University of London.  Qualifying as a solicitor in 1964, Justice Bernard engaged in private practice in the High Court of the Supreme Court of Guyana from 1965 to 1980. During that period, she was appointed a Magistrate (1970), Commissioner of…

Ready to take the world by storm, the sultry songstress known to audiences as “Petra” crosses effortlessly into the realms of Caribbean music infused with pop, jazz and R&B melodies that places her in the evolving category called “Island Pop.” Born Roshell Petra Hooper, the singer/songwriter who hails from Guyana, South America was raised in Trinidad and Tobago in a family of professional musicians; her mother was a talented singer and her father is the…

The Philanthropic work of a 26-year-old Guyanese woman has earned her the prestigious Queen’s Young Leaders Award 2017. Samantha Sheoprashad was born and bred in Enterprise, East Coast Demerara with her two siblings and parents. She is a suicide survivor-focused on making a difference in her community and helping young persons to realize their potentials.  The young and ambitious entrepreneur has been working with disadvantaged communities in Guyana for some years through her non-governmental organization…

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…

Earlier this month I had the pleasure of watching the young women of St. Albans Episcopal Church perform the Maypole dance at the annual Guyana Folk Festival held in Brooklyn, NY.   I remember doing this as a little girl growing up in Guyana dressed up in frilly dresses and socks with colorful hair bows, as we danced and weaved the ribbons to the sound of music. Watching this recreated many, many years later brought back sweet memories. A maypole is a tall…

Meet Dr. Monica Sanchez, a mother of three, born a native of the Republic of Guyana where her education started.  Dr. Sanchez  migrated to the USA in her early teens where she continued her education and obtained degrees in Criminal Justice, Business, Fashion and   Education. Armed with a PhD, Dr. Sanchez has earn over twenty five years of experience as a Business Woman in the Fashion, Entertainment and Cultural Industries.  She has appeared in many…

Canadian actress & international fashion model, Simone Small aka “Small & Mighty” was born to a Guyanese mother and Barbadian father. She attended Humber College and Etobicoke School of the Arts in Toronto, Ontario. The only child for her parents, Simone recalled having a great childhood. She spent her school years in Toronto but every summer went to Barbados or Guyana, sometimes both, to spend time with her cousins, aunts and uncles. Simone’s mother is from…

Born on October 31, 1993 in Georgetown, Guyana, Letitia Michelle Wright is an UK-based actress, known for her roles in Glasgow Girls, My Brother the Devil and Urban Hymn. Migrating to London with her mother at the age of six, Letitia first fell in love with acting at her Finsbury Park primary school when she got the opportunity to play a young Rosa Parks onstage. “I felt so comfortable,” she recalls. “I even did the…