New York City continues to honor the centennial anniversary of the birth of human rights leader Malcolm X.
With some city streets in Manhattan and Brooklyn already named for Malcolm X, there are several efforts underway to create more permanent tributes in Brooklyn to celebrate his 100th birthday (May 19, 1925) this year. Support is growing to rename the Utica Avenue subway station at Fulton St. in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn for the late leader, while State Senator Cordell Cleare is backing a legislative push to rename Manhattan’s 110th St.–Central Park North subway stop to the Malcolm X Plaza station.
That all follows a “massive turnout” last month of VIPs and other supporters at the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center, located at the former site of Manhattan’s Audubon Ballroom where Malcolm X was slain, to celebrate his birthday, according to the Amsterdam News.
With roots in Grenada, the famed Black American leader took the name El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz after his Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca in 1964, following a long-time association with the Nation of Islam movement. He was assassinated in 1965, but his staunch advocacy for Black economic independence, pride, and other principles remain strong today.
St. Kitts and Nevis cuisine
Handout
Local chefs are promoters of traditional island cuisine and contemporary culinary fusions
during St. Kitts and Nevis Restaurant Week in July. (Handout)
A comprehensive vacation experience, St. Kitts and Nevis Restaurant Week — featuring the twin-island Caribbean nation’s best chefs and restaurants from July 17 through 27 — will highlight local cuisine and diverse natural and cultural offerings.
Backed by the St. Kitts and Nevis tourism authorities and notable local and regional supporters, participating restaurants and eateries will be offering a wide variety of lunch and dinner specials during the event. There will be lunches and dinners for $20 or less, and three-course dinners priced at $40 and $60 will be sating appetites during the week.
“Each year, participating restaurants focus on a single local ingredient, crafting special fixed-price menus that celebrate the essence of St. Kitts,” said the event organizers. “This year’s featured ingredient is the sweet and tangy tamarind, which will be used to create exciting dishes and culinary interpretations.” Find information on the islands’ many activities and attractions at the St. Kitts and Nevis tourism authority websites.
NYPL marks Carib history
The New York Public Library is celebrating Caribbean American Heritage Month through June — and on into July. The NYPL Heritage Book Club reading of “Plantains and Our Becoming: Poems by Melania Luisa Marte” on June 24 in Manhattan; and a “Movie Matinee” presentation of “A Reggae Session” — a documentary about a historic, star-studded Fort Charles, Jamaica music event — on June 28 in the Bronx are among the events . Visit the Caribbean American Heritage Month events page for more activities, and find NYPL Online Resources for Researching the Caribbean year-round. For information, (917) ASK-NYPL.
Remembering boxing’s Mike McCallum
Jamaica-born boxing great Mike “The Bodysnatcher” McCallum, who held three world titles in three different weight classes and was named to the International Boxing Hall of Fame, died on May 31 in Las Vegas, reported the Jamaica Observer, and other media outlets. Powered by his devastating, trademark body blows, he became the first Jamaican boxer to capture a world title, the World Boxing Association Junior Middleweight crown, in 1984.
To submit items for Caribbeat, send email to caribbeatnewyork@gmail.com.
