CaribPR Wire

CaribPR Wire, NEW YORK, NY, Weds. Mar. 31, 2010: With the return day for all Census forms set for tomorrow, April 1, Carib ID, the movement started in 2008 by Felicia Persaud to get Caribbean nationals accurately counted across the U.S., is urging all Caribbeans to make sure they fill out and return their 2010 U.S. Census form while writing in your Caribbean country of origin or ancestry under the Some Other Race section of Question 9.

“We need every single Caribbean national in the U.S. to make sure they count by filling out the form, writing in their ancestry and returning it,` said Persaud on Wednesday. “Census numbers determine every aspect of our lives in this country and right now we are largely invisible as we have no accurate means of identification on the form. We must make sure we end this trend by counting not just our ethnicities but our nationalities this Census so we can all win.”

Carib ID is urging all to help stem the tide of low Census return rates in Caribbean communities across the country by taking pride in their ancestry and documenting their presence in the U.S.

The organization reminded nationals that failure to take the Census means millions left at the table and little to no funding for social services in their communities while for Caribbean media, organizations, festivals and event promoters, Census numbers are used to determine sponsorship and advertising dollars.

For the undocumented, it is imperative that they fill out and keep a copy of the form as it provides them with proof that they are living in the U.S. so that once immigration reform comes around, they can take advantage and get a green card, said Carib ID.

ABOUT CARIB ID
Carib ID is a historic initiative from Hard Beat Communications and an endorsed effort by dozens of Caribbean media partners and key groups and individuals across the U.S. to secure an accurate count of Caribbean nationals. For more, log on to www.caribid2010.com.

ABOUT FELICIA PERSAUD
Felicia Persaud is founder of the ethnic PR and advertising agency, Hard Beat Communications, Inc., (www.hardbeatcommunications.com); CaribPR Wire, the PR wire of the Caribbean (www.caribpr.com) and CARIB ID and publisher of CaribWorldNews (caribworldnews.com).

CaribPR Wire, NEW YORK, NY, Weds. Feb. 24, 2010: Carib ID, the movement founded in 2008 by Felicia Persaud to get Caribbean nationals accurately counted in the U.S., gained a promotional shot in the arm on Wednesday as the Associated Press turned its spotlight on the organization.

Persaud has been working diligently to encourage the Caribbean communities to become accurately counted by the Census through a push for a Caribbean origin category on future census forms and a write in campaign for 2010.

For this current U.S. Census, CaribID is urging all Caribbean nationals and those with Caribbean ancestry to fill out the form and ensure they tick their race but to write their nationality or ancestry as well on the line under “some other race” on Census Forms being distributed next month.  The story has so far appeared on over 175 media outlets based on the AP syndication, including the New York Times and the LA Times, and also generated a CBS News interview.

Persaud, CEO of Hard Beat Communications, an ethnic advertising, PR and news agency, and who founded the organization in 2008 because of her frustration at being unable to tell the Caribbean American story in numbers, said the story could not come at a better time, since CaribID has been hard pressed financially to get the write in message to Caribbean nationals across the United States as Census 2010 approaches.
 
“Since 2008, we have been the lone voice speaking out on this issue.  We have utilized our own time and resources without a dime in funding to fight for this cause on behalf of the entire Caribbean community,” says Persaud.  “But we believe strongly that the Caribbean population in the U.S. cannot really move forward until we can accurately count ourselves, tell our spending power and determine our voting strength. Let us all take pride in our heritage by standing up and count.`

See full story at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-us-census-caribbean-identity,0,4000390.story
ABOUT CARIB ID

CaribID was founded by Persaud in 2008 to call for a Caribbean origins category on the U.S. Census form and to ensure an accurate count for Caribbean nationals living in the U.S.

The organization has several partners across the country – both in media and on the organizational level. Directors include Chris Chaplin and Ann Walters.

So far the organization has secured two bills in the U.S. House of Representatives, calling for the measure in 2009. The group is a national partner of the 2010 U.S. Census and is urging all Caribbean nationals to write in their country of origin on question 9 of the Census form, while filling in their race and en sure they mail it back as soon as they receive it in their mail boxes.

For more, see CaribID2010.com.

ABOUT FELICIA PERSAUD

Felicia Persaud is a Caribbean-born media entrepreneur who runs the only Caribbean-focused advertising, public relations and news agency in the U.S. – Hard Beat Communications (www.hardbeatcommunications.com) The company’s CaribPR Wire is part of the PR Newswire family and CaribWorldNews is the daily syndicated news service. Persaud is also a social activist, an immigration columnist and a radio host on WWRL 1600 AM.