Photo Caption: Ambassador Her Excellency Mrs. Jacinth Henry-Martin and Ms. Kadeema Blanchette, the newly-crowned winner of the Haynes Smith Caribbean Talented Teen Pageant alongside Mr. Morial and Mrs. Morial.
BASETERRE, ST. KITTS – With the Donald Trump Republican Administration about to take control of the White House and the PLP/CCM/PAM government in St. Kitts at the helm for nearly two years, a period of uncertainty exists for both St. Kitts and Nevis and the United States in 2017.
“We have a period that can erase some of the gains that we have made. We have to determine to work and to fight and to stand on values and stand on principles as we move in 2017. 2017 is not a year for the comfortable and convenient. 2017 is not a year of ease of effort. 2017 is not a year of excessive partying, although we like to party. 2017 is a year where we must confront conflict, we must confront challenges, and we must confront the very difficult headwinds that we face. I call on you let us join together, let us work together, let us build together and let us make 2017 a year of great progress,” said Marc Morial, CEO and President of the National Urban League.
He was at the time addressing some 800 patrons which comprised of the SKNLP leadership, representatives of the Diplomatic and Consular Corps, the Business Community, Returning Nationals, and residents at the 17th Annual New Year’s Gala hosted by Leader of the Opposition, the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas, who is also National Political Leader of the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP).
Photo Caption: Constituency representative for #8 Dr. Terrance Drew welcomes Mr. Morial to the podium
Mr. Morial, who was introduced by Dr. Terrance Drew, the SKNLP’s caretaker for St. Christopher 8, said that the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party has been a force for years in the fight for the issues of equity, justice, human dignity and good jobs that pay good wages for each and every one.
“My other appeal to you is a collective task must be that each and every child born on St. Kitts or Nevis, or born in Chicago or born in Lima or born in Haiti, New Orleanais or New Yorker has the opportunity to become as great as they can be, has the education, has the support, and indeed has the help,” said Morial, who at 26, was also one of the youngest lawyers to argue and win a major case before the Louisiana Supreme Court.
The former professor, who served on the adjunct faculty of Xavier University in Louisiana where he taught Constitutional Law and Business Law said the challenges St. Kitts and Nevis face, “sound similar to the challenges we face in the United States when it comes to our young people, our teenagers, our younger adults, who are working and struggling and who sometimes go in the wrong direction when seeking opportunity.”
“We have to show them love, respect and investment. We have to show them the way to a skill, the way to an education, and the pathway to a job,” Morial said.
He called for collaboration with the National Urban League, which last year helped over 38,000 people, many of them young people under the age of 35, find jobs that pay a meaningful wage after participating in training programmes.
Photo Caption: Her execellency Hon. Jacinth Henry-Martin presents gift to Mr. Morial and his family
“Those young people now for the first time have a chance for dignity and respect and self sufficiency. We have so much work to do. We have a collective task and we must work towards that collective task,” said Morial, who called for a collective task in the United States and in the Caribbean for building a Western Hemispheric community based on equity and justice, human dignity and opportunity for all.
“We must embrace and while we live in different nations, and those nations have territorial jurisdictions, we must find greater ways to connect and work together on shared interests and concerns,” he said.
Former St. Kitts and Nevis Ambassador Her Excellency Mrs. Jacinth Henry-Martin and Ms. Kadeema Blanchette, the newly-crowned winner of the Haynes Smith Caribbean Talented Teen Pageant presented gifts to Mr. Morial and Mrs. Morial.
