To all who have expressed outrage, disgust, anxiety, empathy, or bewilderment at how this crisis in social justice can be our reality in 2020, I ask you to take some time and call a friend, colleague, a mixed race relative-someone who is Black or looks Black-and have a real conversation with them. During this conversation, ask them what it is like for them day to day as a citizen in American society, what their experiences have been as it pertains to racism. This is not likely to be a five-minute conversation. But if you really care to understand, if you really want to fix this problem, if you really want the protests to bring sweeping change, if you really want to make a change in society for the better, you need to start with an understanding of what is it like to be Black in America.

In a column I penned just under a year ago, entitled "CARIBBEAN SUSTAINABILITY", I posed the question “When are we going to open the Caribbean parachute?”

Dear Neighbors:

Tallahassee, Fla. — The State of Florida’s 2020-2021 budget was signed by the governor. As COVID-19 cases increase, and the pandemic causes state revenue shortfalls and funding needs for response efforts across the board, $1 billion in cuts was announced from projects for affordable housing, education, social services, and more. Commissioner Nikki Fried offered the following statement:

What happens in prison does not stay in prison. The cell blocks and bars give us a false sense of containment. Nothing could be further from the truth. According to the Justice Department, "The average time served by state prisoners released in 2016, from initial admission to initial release, was 2.6 years, and the median time served was 1.3 years."

America is at a breaking point, and many critical issues and problems must be addressed with integrity, knowledge, and transparency. It is easy to put our heads in the sand and tell America, that mainstream media is the fake news and they are lying. But it will take courage, truth, and knowledge to improve and change the trajectory of America in 2020.

Most of the time in America, when you break a record, you are congratulated for a job well done. During the reality of Covid-19, breaking a record generally means that the numbers are going in the wrong direction. In the last week over 56,000 Americans on a daily level are being infected by the coronavirus pandemic.

As President Trump and Vice President Pence tell lie after lie, it is time for the truth. When there are catastrophic problems in every industry, and the country is being held together with stimulus money, it will eventually crash. President Trump has been a failure and criminal in business, and as President of the United States, he has been incompetent, a criminal, been impeached, and has contributed to thousands of Americans dying with the Covid-19 pandemic.

Dear defenders of the Lost Cause, wavers of Confederate flags, and keepers of marble monuments to soldiers long dead,

African Americans knew that Donald Trump was going to be a problem.  Nearly ninety percent voted against him, voicing their strong opposition. That vote was higher than any other ethnic group in the nation.

On 6-4 and 6-10-2020, “The Concerned Citizens of the Unsung Essential Workers” gave two parades at Carver Middle School and McCoy Elementary School in Orange County - also Wicklow Elementary School Midway Elementary and Sanford Middle School in Seminole County. The purpose of these parades/events was to show our appreciation for the workers, whose heartfelt dedication has kept us safe and serving food in their community during a worldwide pandemic.

The campaign to designate June as National Caribbean American Heritage Month was spearheaded by Dr. Claire Nelson, visionary, Founder, and President of the Institute of Caribbean Studies, Glenn Joseph Executive Vice President of the Institute of Caribbean Studies and President of the Greater Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce Inc. and Mr. Anthony Carter of the Guyanese Association of New York and New Jersey.