The Caribbean American Poetry Association (CAPA) observes Caribbean American Heritage Month and Juneteenth with live music and self-guided tours of the Joseph Lloyd Manor, followed by a responsive reading of one of poet Jupiter Hammon’s works, and performances by poets, a student open mic session and more.

Paying tribute to Hammon, the first published Black poet in the United States, this celebration includes the following featured poets:

• Keisha-Gaye Anderson, a talented Jamaican-born poet, writer, visual artist, and media strategist based in Brooklyn, New York. 
• Yasmin Morais, a prolific writer and Jamaica-born poet who has lived and worked in Canada and the United States, is the author of From Cane Field to the Sea and Questions in Jamaican Patois. 
• Lindamichelle Baron, EdD, an African-American poetic artist with lineage from Jamaica and Dominica, is best known in the world of education for her poetry collections and idea books: The Sun Is On, Rhythm & Dues and For the Love of Life. She is the inaugural Poet Laureate for the Town of Hempstead.

This celebration includes a Student Open Poetry Mic led by Suffolk County Teen Poet Laureate Sarah Goodman, a junior at Commack High School, and Nassau County’s first Teen Poet Laureate, Katherine Galbraith-Chan, a student at East Williston High School. 

Reggae artist Khalilah Rose and Guitarist Jhony Victor provide live musical entertainment, while guests enjoy the creative mini hip-hopera, Every Family Got Beef, by award-winning playwright and poet Marsha M. Nelson.

The event closes with A Taste of the Caribbean Table - refreshments and samples of Caribbean treats provided by local eateries and markets. Hosted by the Caribbean American Poetry Association and Preservation Long Island.