Wakanda Coalition pushing for a stronger Caribbean voice in the US
Published:Sunday | January 31, 2021 | 8:56 AMKaryl Walker - Sunday Gleaner Writer
A heavy play on the ownership of the Caribbean heritage of Vice-President Kamala Harris by the Wakanda Coalition – a group of Caribbean female politicians – led to a strong turnout of Caribbean voters in the November 6 United States elections.
Florida has traditionally been a Republican state and the efforts of the group did not manage to flip that trend, but representatives of the coalition were encouraged by the turnout of the cohort of electors who normally shy away from casting ballots if economic or social issues do not catch their interest.
The Wakanda Coalition is the brainchild of Haitian-American Karen Andre and is heavily supported by Jamaica-born communications specialist, Sophia Nelson.
“We worked with the Caribbean English-speaking community who are oftentimes neglected. We created a message that resonated with that community,” Nelson told The Sunday Gleaner.
The Jamaican heritage of VP Harris was also a decisive factor for the higher-than-normal turnout. Harris, the first-ever woman vice-president in US history, has a Jamaican father, Donald Harris.
“There was a heavy play on the ownership of her heritage. If you don’t have a message that piques our interest, we don’t go. I think this time we definitely turned up and represented,” Nelson noted.
The coalition’s efforts were bolstered by the Progressive Caribbean American Democratic Caucus, which is led by Jamaica-born mayor of the City of Lauderhill, Hazel Rodgers.
According to Nelson, the work has just begun as the coalition will not be resting on its laurels.
“We will continue to embark on voter registration, education drives going into the gubernatorial and congressional elections in 2022,” she said.
There will also be a drive to engage the second- and third-generation Caribbean voting cohort.
“Our first settlers turned out more than the juniors. We will be targeting the younger Caribbean Americans (persons born in the US of Caribbean heritage) by building a bench and getting them interested in representational politics,” she said.