ENTERTAINMENT
NLIFEN EN ENE NE N WS WS. S. W . CO COM OM O C M EN / E N TE TER ER TAIN
Miss Great Britain Dee-Ann Kentish-Rogers in her evening gown during the Miss Universe 2018 preliminary
round in Bangkok, Thailand, Dec. 13, 2018. REUTERS / Athit Perawongmetha, File
Caribbean Life, July 10-16, 2020 23
By Nelson A. King
After making history as the first
Black Miss Universe Great Britain, a
young Anguillan lawyer and a former
Commonwealth Games athlete has
further put her name in the tiny Caribbean
island’s annals by defeating
Premier Victor Banks in her ascendancy
to Cabinet Minister.
In a stunning election triumph,
Dee-Ann Kentish-Rogers, 27, on June
29, defeated Premier Banks, 72, for
the Valley South seat. Banks had
held on to a seat in Anguilla’s House
of Assembly for more than four decades.
Anguilla, a British Overseas Territory,
is one of the most northerly
of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser
Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and
the Virgin Islands, and directly north
of St. Martin.
The territory comprises the main
island of Anguilla, about 16 miles (26
kilometers) long by 3 miles (5 km)
wide at its widest point, together with
a number of much smaller islands
and cays with no permanent population.
The territory’s capital is The
Valley. The total land area of the territory
is 35 square miles.
Kentish-Rogers, who grew up on
“a humble farm” on Anguilla, and
her Anguilla Progressive Movement
(APM), won seven of the 11 seats in
the general elections last Monday.
She told Britain’s Daily Mail that
she was still “drunk on sleeplessness”
from lengthy celebrations after
a campaign in which her opponents
tried to dismiss her as “nothing more
Continued on Page 24
Braata Theatre Production Artistic
Director, Karl O’Brian Williams.
Braata Productions
By Vinette K. Pryce
In response to upheavals stemming from
current events a coalition of three theater
companies recently launched a five-week
series in July designed to address issues
related to racism and oppression.
Queens based Braata Productions and
Conch Shell Production with Hawaii’s
Kumu Kahua Theater united to collaborate
Reset Theater Coalition for an alliance to
stage virtual online performances.
The initiative features a diverse assembly
Continued on Page 24
By Nelson A. King
Ludacris is all for it after Verzuz
promoters hinted that there will be
more Caribbean artistes featured on the
hugely popular webcast series, according
to Dancehall Mag on July 4.
But, it said, some Jamaican fans still
have not forgiven the American rapper
for comments he made after Beenie
Man and Bounty Killer’s clash on the
platform.
The Verzuz announcement, made on
International Reggae Day on Wednesday,
“has been met with much delight
by Jamaican nationals, who are still
basking in the euphoria of the Beenie
Man versus Bounty Killer battle in
May,” Dancehall Mag said.
“Happy International Reggae
Day. Taking it back to Beenie Man x
Continued on Page 24
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Coalition
fights racism
Caribbean artistes
on Verzuz series
BEAUTY &
POWER
First-ever Black Miss Universe Great Britain becomes Anguilla minister
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