Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams joined the Garifuna Coalition USA and HealthFirst in hosting a Garifuna heritage reception at Brooklyn Borough Hall this week, the first such celebration in the borough. He celebrated the culture of the Garifuna, descendants of West African, Central African, Carib and Arawak people.
Today, the Garifuna live primarily in Central America, along the Caribbean coast in Belize, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Honduras. More than 200,000 Garifuna live in New York City, the largest such community outside of Central America.
Adams presented a proclamation declaring this April as Garifuna-American Heritage Month in Brooklyn. He also awarded citations to a group of community honorees, including Abelardo Guerrero Jr., Dr. Eulalia Sentino, Rosita Alvarez, Sylvin James Lovell and Lucy Blanco.