Notable West Indian Americans and Canadians

This project represents notable West Indian Americans and Caribbean Canadians. These are Americans with origin in the Dutch-, English-, and French-speaking lands of the Caribbean. Their population of 2,532,380 accounted for 0.83% of the U.S. population in 2008.

The majority of Black Canadians are of Caribbean origin. Many Canadians identify as Black even though they may have multi-ethnic ancestries. Many Blacks of Caribbean origin in Canada reject the term African Canadian as an elision of the uniquely Caribbean aspects of their heritage, and instead identify as Caribbean Canadian. The vast majority of Black-targeted cultural and social institutions in Canada serve both the Caribbean Canadian and African Canadian communities equally. Black Canadians – 783,795 (2.5% of Canadian population).

• Wikipedia: West Indian Americans
• Wikipedia: Black Canadians

Definition

The West Indies is made up of three main island groupings: The Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the Lesser Antilles.

1. The Bahamas: More than 3,000 individual islands, cays, and reefs. Includes the country of The Bahamas and the Turks & Caicos. Northernmost island group.
2. The Greater Antilles: Includes the island countries of Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic (Hispaniola), and Puerto Rico. Central group.
3. The Lesser Antilles: The much smaller islands to the southeast. Divided into two groups, the Leeward Islands and Windward Islands.

The individual countries and dependencies are, by island grouping:

• The Bahamas
  • Turks & Caicos Islands (UK)
• Barbados
• Cuba
• Jamaica
• Haiti
• The Dominican Republic
• Puerto Rico
• United States Virgin Islands
• Leeward Islands
  • Anguilla (UK)
  • St. Martin/Sint Maarten (France/Netherlands)
  • Saba (Netherlands)
  • St. Kitts & Nevis
  • Antigua & Barbuda
• Windward Islands
  • St. Lucia
  • Dominica
  • St. Vincent & Grenadines
  • Grenada
  • Martinique (France)
• Guyana
• Suriname
• Trinidad & Tobago

United States

• Bahamian American
  • List of Bahamian Americans
• Barbadian American
  • List of Barbadian Americans

1. Stacey Dash
2. Rihanna

• British West Indian
• Dutch West Indian Americans
  • Dutch West Indies
• Guyanese American
  • List of famous Guyanese Americans

1. C. C. H. Pounder

• Grenadian American

1. Malcolm X

• Haitian Americans
  • List of Haitian Americans
• Jamaican American

1. Patricia Powell

• Trinidadian and Tobagonian American
  • Notable Trinidadian and Tobagonian Americans

1. Nia Long
2. Nicki Minaj
3. Tatyana Ali

• Virgin Islander American
  • Prominent Virgin Islands Americans

1. Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs
2. Alexander Hamilton
3. William Leidesdorff was born in the Virgin Islands in 1810 to a Danish planter and his African slave wife. His financing and advice as the first African American diplomat helped the U.S. win their victory against Mexico.

• Brock Peters

Canada

• Jamaican Canadians
• Haitian Canadians
• Canadians of Trinidad and Tobago origin
• Barbadian Canadian
• Guyanese Canadian

1. Deborah Cox

See also

• West Indian Day Parade - Brooklyn, NY
• Caribana - Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• List of Caribbean music genres

Further reading

• The Blurred Racial Lines of Famous Families: Fairfax

References

• Black & White: Search for roots uncovers forgotten family secret