Long before recognition programs for Caribbean-American mothers became commonplace, Carib News was already setting the standard. Since its founding in 1981, the publication has made the honoring of mothers one of its most enduring and cherished traditions — a reflection of its deep commitment to the community it serves.
From its very inception, Carib News felt the need to salute women, and the very first program it instituted was that of recognizing mothers. For those years, the publication held to the theme “Mothers — The Backbone of Our Community.”
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That tradition dates back to at least 1984, when Estelle Dubisson became the first Caribbean-American Mother of the Year honored at a Carib News community event. Dubisson would go on to found Friends of the Children of Las Cahobas, Haiti — a testament to the kind of community-minded, service-driven women the program has always recognized. That milestone set in motion a program that would span decades, evolve in format, and touch the lives of countless families throughout the Caribbean diaspora in New York and beyond.
For more than 40 years, Carib News has carried that simple but powerful truth in its pages — a testament, a tribute, and a reflection of the lived experience across the Caribbean, throughout the diaspora, and deep within the African-American journey.
What began as an in-person celebration grew into something even broader. Over the years, as the publication evolved into a multimedia platform, so too did its recognition of mothers — extending the tribute through the pages of the newspaper itself and reaching readers far beyond a single event venue.
The Mother of the Year Recognition Program has long been listed among Carib News’s signature community programs, alongside the
Caribbean Multi-National Business Conference, Caribbean Expo, Health Fairs, and the Beating the Odds Scholarship Program. The Mothers and Fathers Recognition Celebration acknowledges mothers as the backbone of the community and fathers who are leaders and positive influences, recognizing personal achievements, spiritual empowerment, and community involvement.
In the Caribbean, motherhood is not just biological — it is cultural, communal, and spiritual. The matriarch is often the glue that binds families and entire neighborhoods. From Trinidad to Jamaica, Barbados to Haiti, Antigua to Guyana, mothers have historically stood as moral compasses, economic engines, and cultural custodians.
The demands on women, from childcare to juggling work and family, to sustaining the integrity of the family, and still making advancement in the business and corporate world are something worthy of celebration. Carib News has never lost sight of that truth.
As the publication marks more than 45 years of service to the Caribbean-American community, its tradition of honoring mothers stands as one of its most meaningful legacies, a reminder that behind every strong community, there is a mother who helped build it.
