Unveiling Ceremony


The Indo-Caribbean Special Collection was officially unveiled by the President and CEO of Queens Library, Thomas Galante at the Lefferts Branch on Saturday, December 10th, 2011.  Master of Ceremonies Anita Baksh and Richard David, both members of ICA, welcomed over 200 attendees and explained the importance of this landmark project.  The event was widely covered by the media.   



Photos from the event



Print & electronic media coverage 

1.  Lefferts Library gets special Indo-Caribbean collection
      Queens Ledger
2.  Richmond Hill Library unveils section on Indo-Caribbean people 
      Guyana Times International
3.  New Indo-Caribbean Collection at Legendary Community Center - Lefferts Library
      Culture at Kamelia 
4.  A Historic Event in Richmond Hill, NY and the US: Queens Library Unveils its Indo-Caribbean     
     Collection!
      Sukreeboodram.com


Television coverage

1.  ICA Library Launch
     Let's Talk with Lakshmee, West Indian Television
2.  ICA Launches Indo-Caribbean Book Section at Queens Library
     Caribbean Spotlight Television
3.  Indo-Caribbean Section of Queens Borough Public Library
     Sukree Boodram on Youtube

                                      
                                     The following                                   
                      Authors, Performers + Activists 
                                      participated:              

Dr. Joy Mahabir

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Dr.  Mahabir is an Assistant Professor of English at SUNY Suffolk County Community College and author of several books, papers and articles on Indo-Caribbean topics. Her novel "Jouvert" will be part of the Collection.  At this event, Dr. Mahabir connected poetry with Indian migration to the Caribbean and North America.  She also recited one of her poems!



Ms. Sukree Boodram

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Ms. Boodram - Author of the recent book "Breakout ", a true and personal story of her struggles with abuse and alcoholism.  Ms. Boodram was born in 1966 into a strong and loving middle class Hindu family in Corentyne, Guyana where she lived until age 16.  Ms. Boodram immigrated to the US in 1983 and resided in Corona, Queens until 1989. She was married on October 3, 1987 then relocated to Florida, along with her husband. She has a BA in Accounting from University of Central Florida and her MBA from Webster University, St Louis, Missouri.

Ms. Boodram read a selection from her book and engage the audience in discussions on pressing social issues facing the Indo-Caribbean community. 

Dr. Andil Gosine 

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Dr. Gosine is a practicing artist, writer and Professor of Sociology at York University in Toronto, Canada, where he created and teaches the course "Indo-Caribbean in Canada." A special Summer 2012 version of the course will focus on his on-going "Wardrobes" project, which was created while he was a fellow at the New York Fashion Institute of Technology last year, and which traces the legacy of Indian indentureship to the Caribbean from the 19th century to the present day. Dr. Gosine is working with collaborators to transform the collection into a performance piece.

At this Opening Ceremony, Dr. Gosine did a presentation titled "Our Long Lives: How Our History makes Us". 

Ms. Deborah Barocas

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Ms. Barocas - Author of "Guyana's Tasty Exotics", Ms. Barocas is an expert on Indo-Caribbean cuisine and spent her formative years in Guyana.  Her cooking skills were developed in the rustic kitchens of her mother and grandmother. She migrated to the US at 19 years of age, where her food adventures blossomed into unimaginable heights.  Excited by her findings, she started a food blog on the rich foods from her roots, much to the delight of her children.  Ms. Barocas resides in Manhattan and continues to explore new culinary territories. She has won numerous awards and recognition for her work in the culinary field. 

Ms. Barocas did a demonstration cooking class of several foods, including her original recipe for "shrimp exotic".

Ms. Simone Devi Jhingoor

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Ms. Jhingoor - is an Indo-Caribbean writer, activist and educator.  She entered the world of social justice at the age of 16 as the youngest member of Blackout Arts Collective, a national network of artists, educators and activists.  Ms. Jhingoor believes in the integral connection of the arts to activism, and also to a transformative process that enables healing from personal trauma.  She has led arts-based activism, political education and leadership development programs with youth of color and inter-generational groups.  As a spoken word artist, she has performed her poetry extensively in New York and in the Caribbean.  

Ms. Jhingoor performed an empowering spoken word poem which people are still talking about!

The Official Flyer!

indo-caribbean collection
Designed by Nadeena Seodarsan


Thank you 
to the following Donors

Citibank, Richmond Hill Branch
Debra Sankarsingh
Eric Ulrich, NYC Council
Friends of Aneesa Baboolal
Kuntie Ramlogan
Queens Library Foundation
Queens Public Library
Ryan Baijnauth
Ruben Wills, NYC Council 
Shaily Dadiala
Sukree Boodram

All donors as of  7/15/2012

How to Get Involved   

Sponsor a Book from the Collection: http://bit.ly/swAA6w

Help Spread the Word:
Tell your neighbors, friends and family.  Share on your Facebook and Twitter.  Make sure your child's teacher assigns homework from the Collection! 

Make a Donation:
Make a tax-dedutible donation to the Indo-Caribbean Alliance, Inc.  to help us with this project and others. 

It is not too late to sponsor a book/media for the collection. Check out the current list of books that still needs to be purchased: http://bit.ly/swAA6w


To sponsor the purchase of a book/media or for more info,
contact Anita Baksh at indocariballiance@gmail.com or call (347) 566-1422