Celebrating Caribbean American Heritage Month
This is a special post written by Charles Warren, Curriculum Developer at Triangle. Charlie is also a member of Triangle’s Racial Equity Committee. As part of our commitment to the work of our Racial Equity Committee, we will be sharing more information with you on subjects related to racial equity and disability justice. This post continues our series dedicated to calling attention to the contributions of people with disabilities to American history.
Did you know that June is Caribbean American Heritage Month? This month, Triangle’s Racial Equity Committee (REC) is celebrating Caribbean Americans who are focused on increasing awareness and empowerment for people with disabilities. The REC’s posts strive to honor intersectionality and highlight people of color with disabilities whose lives cross over multiple identities and issues ALL at the same time.
Amanda Seales
Amanda Seales is a Grenadian-American comedian, actress, and creative who uses her voice to support positive change. Seales is multi-talented and has made her name in entertainment in a variety of ways, including music, television, film, stand-up, social media, and podcasts. Seales is a former Nickelodeon child star, who earned cameo roles on the series Blackish, became an MTV VJ, and played the role of Tiffany in the HBO series Insecure. Her podcast is called “Small Doses,” and her YouTube channel is called “Smart, Black and Funny.” Seales uses her media and artistic productions to provide “edutainment,” addressing topical subject matters and important social issues with comedy. She also has a critically acclaimed HBO special titled I Be Knowin.
Seales’ connection to the Caribbean is deep. Her mother is from Grenada, and immersed Seales in the island’s culture and traditions from childhood. Seales received the Caribbean Luminary Award from the Foundation for the University of the West Indies (AFUWI). This award recognizes Seales’ impact in instigating important cultural conversations, as well as representing her Caribbean culture and heritage in her work. As an autistic person, Seales is an advocate for disability awareness and acceptance, understanding intersectional disability experiences and neurodiversity.