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| Caribbean Unity Flag from caribbeanunityflag.com |
Unity and Culture
In looking around for symbols of unity in our community, I came across this Caribbean Unity flag online, which seems to be an abandoned cause. Though I am disappointed about that apparent fact, this flag provides a nice message...exactly the message that Tropical Current is striving to implement.
Changes Over The Years
As we launch Tropical Current, and beginning with the Caribbean community as a base, it is easily observable how the Caribbean-American community in Atlanta has changed over the last 20-plus years. Initially, there were only a handful of places one could go to authentically enjoy the West Indian culture. It was (and still is) a delight to know and meet so many of us living in the metro Atlanta area.
Gone are those days of scarcity in Caribbean Culture. Not only is there a larger number of businesses and individuals in the community (albeit still small compared to some other subcultural groups) but there are so many sub-groups that now the Caribbean community has become more or less disjointed. Every event requires extreme competition for a relatively small section of the community. Disunity? Maybe.
The Leadership Challenge
I do not claim to know the answer, however, I do have experience in dealing with some of the influential persons in the community and have been disappointed at some of the "leadership", or lack thereof. From what I have witnessed, some of these "leaders" in the community have become so self-absorbed that they might have forgotten that the reason that many people initially moved to the Atlanta community. There was a sense of a close-knit, positive, progressive and empowered community. These influential persons seem to have forgotten what it felt like to move to a new place, hopeful, embracing and being embraced by supportive peers while becoming familiar with the very unique Georgia culture.
So why are some of these influential persons this way?
Again, I cannot claim to have the answer but I do want to say something to those leaders that seem to specialize in overriding the skillful contributions of everyone else (you know who you are). My two cents include these words from the late great Bob Marley, "You can fool SOME people sometimes, but you can't fool ALL the people all the time."
The Tropical Current Launch
