CaribPR Newswire, NEW YORK, NY April. 16, 2007: For the very first time in the history of New York City, Guyana's flag, the Golden Arrow Head, will be raised above the financial district of the Big Apple in honor of the South American nation's 41st anniversary of independence from Britain.
The event is being made possible by the Committee For Guyana's Independence Anniversary, a group comprising of several prominent Guyanese and is the brainchild of Hard Beat Communications CEO Felicia Persaud and the Bowling Green Association of New York.
Persaud, working in tandem with Guyana Ambassador to Washington, D.C. the Honorable Bayney Karran and individuals like Ron Bobb Semple, Chuck Mohan, Rickford Burke, Ramesh Kallicharran, Tanuja Raghoo, Shani Persaud and Alim Hassim among others and a growing list of organizations, says the aim is to raise the level of visibility and prominence of Guyanese as the fourth largest group of foreign born nationals in the city.
"It's about taking Guyana and Guyanese to new heights in a big way and moving beyond the widely known ethnic rifts and coming together as a united front on neutral grounds," said Persaud.
The flag raising will be preceded by a cultural presentation of some of the best artists of Guyana, from both dominant ethnic groups. They include dancers from The Dheeraj Cultural Foundation; poet James Richmond; the Guyana Shanto drummers; singers Almira Brasse and Slingshot Drepaul, who is recovering from an accident and will make his first return to the stage at this event. The free event is open to the public from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Lower Manhattan on Saturday May 26th, where New York City was founded at Bowling Green, in Lower Manhattan, New York City, just below Wall Street.
A VIP, invitation only reception to honor Guyanese in film and sports is planned for after the flag raising in the Grand Rotunda of the nearby Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House at Bowling Green, one of the most spectacular Federal Government buildings in the nation outside of Washington, DC. Among the honorees are actress CCH Pounder, who was born in Guyana and stars currently in the television series, 'The Shield;' Guyanese American actor Sean Patrick Thomas, known for his role in 'Save The Last Dance,' as well as the producers of Guiana 1838 - Rohit Jagessar; Rainbow Raani - Mikey Nivelli and boxer Vivian Harris. Additionally, Bollywood actors Kumar Guarav and Aarti Bathija, the lead acts in 'Guiana 1838,' are scheduled to make appearances.
The event will also feature prominent movers and shakers of Indo-& Afro-Guyanese and Caribbean business and community leaders, representatives of the Guyana government, members of the Caribbean, Indian and Chinese diplomatic corps, New York City elected officials from the city, state and federal level and top Guyanese cultural ambassadors.
Nationals of the country account for the fourth highest number of the foreign born population of New York City foreign and continue to make great strides as entrepreneurs and homeowners. In one area of Queens, NY alone, their annual earnings are more than both native born black and white Americans according to the US Census' recent American Community Survey report.
Many Guyanese New Yorkers have launched their own businesses in a striving community where they create employment for each other in real estate offices, mortgage companies, stores, restaurants and travel agencies. The median income is over $50,000. And most are homeowners, who work hard to send their children to top colleges - where they count among the rising Black and Asian presence on many college campuses today.
Financial partnership and promotional opportunity options are available for a number of companies to reach this diverse group by calling Hard Beat Communications toll free at: 866-487-3419 or emailing Felicia@caribpr.com.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Felicia Persaud
CaribPR
felicia@caribpr.com
718-476-3616
