NYC honours veteran journalist Dominic Kalipersad

VETERAN JOURNALIST Dominic Kalipersad has been awarded a special citation by the Mayor of New York City Eric Adams.

The certificate of recognition was presented to him at the Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival (BCLF), held in Brooklyn, New York City, from September 5-8.

BCLF founder Marsha Massiah said the mayor wanted to recognise the longstanding journalist and television news presenter for his “excellence in Caribbean journalism and storytelling.”

The citation states, “The City of New York Certificate of Recognition is presented to Dominic Kalipersad on the occasion of the Brooklyn Literary Festival for your contributions to our cultural landscape. Through your tremendous accomplishments as a journalist and media broadcaster you have engaged and inspired diverse people in New York and beyond. I look forward to the many ways you will continue to make a positive difference and strengthen our vibrant Caribbean American community as we take bold steps to #getstuffdone to forge a brighter, more equitable, and prosperous future for our global city. Eric Adams, Mayor. September 5, 2024.”

After receiving the award, presented to Massiah, Kalipersad said the citation was a tribute to the profession of journalism in TT and all those who strive to maintain high standards.

The award also coincided with the upcoming 50th anniversary of Kalipersad’s work as a television news presenter, the longest-serving news anchor in the history of the television media in TT.

Kalipersad, who has developed a post-retirement reputation as a history enthusiast and digital storyteller, was invited to the BCLF as a result of his “decades in journalism and documenting the history of TT and the wider Caribbean.”

Massiah said he was identified because of his “storied career and accomplishments which, in itself, is a journey in storytelling.”

She said it was “the highest honour” and “an unbelievable accomplishment” for the BCLF team to have Kalipersad appear under the rubric of “archivists, preservers, making new(s),” a new category in the six-year-old festival which celebrates Caribbean literature and diaspora stories.

In an on-stage conversation with university professor Dr Kevin Browne, they explored Kalipersad’s work in legacy media and social media platforms, their importance in presenting narratives on TT history, and how they stimulate perspectives among wider demographics.

Kalipersad’s attendance was positioned as the culmination of the four-day annual festival. The organisers described his session as “the grandest of all finales.”

The BCLF, founded in 2019, celebrates Caribbean literature and diaspora stories.

This year’s theme was Faces of the Caribbean, bringing together regional scholars, writers, artists, archivers, preservationists and practitioners to discuss, reckon with, and examine the relevance and expansive value of Caribbean writing and the Caribbean writer to the modern world.

At its end, the organisers reported that the festival was “a bumper year for book sales.” Massiah said, “All copies of books by Edwidge Danticat, Derron Sandy, Sir Hilary Beckles, Diana McCaulay, Mervyn Taylor, and Jive Poetic were sold out.”

She added, “We firmly believe in the preeminence of Caribbean scholarship, our historic track record in thought leadership and the assertion that the Caribbean has been the tip of the spear in every single significant change movement in the modern world.

“It may be said that all of our efforts at the organisation are driven by a commitment to insisting that societies that benefit from the Caribbean presence acknowledge our contributions, provide reparative support for our art and institutions while we simultaneously create platforms to empower our people to take ownership of our narratives.”

Of Kalipersad, the BCLF team said: “Please accept our deepest and sincerest gratitude for the sacrifices you make and the way you donate your expertise in service to the higher cause of elevating Caribbean letters.”