Compiled By NAN Staff Writer
News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Tues. Oct. 18, 2016: Caribbean roots run deep in every facet of life in the U.S. and that includes in U.S. media – including television news. Here are five Caribbean roots anchors currently on US television that you should know:
Joy Reid
Bet you did not know MSNBC’s ‘AM Joy’ host has Caribbean roots? Host Joy Reid’s mother is Guyanese. Reid is the current host of the political weekend-morning talk show from 10 a.m. to noon on MSNBC. Her mother raised her and her siblings as a single parent.
As Reid, 47, told the Grio.com in 2014: “I really didn’t have my father in my life for most of my life. He would come visit us once every couple of years. He didn’t really do a good job at fatherhood, but what we did get out of the experience of his absence was a sense of real self-sufficiency. We were very self-reliant kids.”
Reid, a Harvard University graduate, previously hosted ‘The Reid Report’ from February 2014 to February 2015 but the show was cancelled on February 19, 2015 and Reid was shifted to a new role as an MSNBC national correspondent. Prior to her TV roles, she was the managing editor of TheGrio.com (2011–2014), a political columnist for The Miami Herald (2003–2015) and the editor of The Reid Report political blog (2000–2014). She is the author of the book ‘Fracture: Barack Obama, the Clintons and the Racial Divide’ and has three children with her husband Jason Reid.
Lester Holt
You may know Lester Holt as the anchor of the weekday edition of NBC’s Nightly News and the moderator of the first Presidential debate of 2016. But did you know Holt’s roots run to the Caribbean too? Born Lester Don Holt, Jr. in Marin County, California, the 57-year-old television anchor is the grandson of Jamaican immigrants on his mother’s side.
His grandparents moved to New York and had his mom. He has said he ate a lot of Jamaican food growing up and was exposed to some of the culture and customs but never felt a pull to explore that part of my background until 2007 when his mother, June, made her first trip to Jamaica.
Holt, who never graduated college but worked his way up as a reporter at CBS where he was hired in 1981, replaced Brian Williams as the NBC Nightly News anchor last year after Williams admitted he had exaggerated a story on Iraq. Holt is married and publicly admits to being a member of the Republican Party.
Maurice Dubois
Maurice DuBois is an award-winning anchor for WCBS-TV in New York City and the CBS network. DuBois, 51, was born on Long Island, New York to immigrants from the Commonwealth of Dominica. While accepting an honorary doctorate from The City University of New York held in 2002, DuBois was quick to remind all gathered of his roots. “Did I mention that he and my mom came here from Dominica in the Caribbean?. Dominica in the house! It is a very small island. We are very proud. 67,000-70,000 people.” He also spoke of the value of hard work and perseverance his parents taught him and how his father worked and then took night classes at Nassau County and then Hofstra and C. W. Post to earn, not just a bachelor’s, but a master degree as well.
DuBois received a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois and began his career in 1987, when he worked as a desk assistant at KING-TV in Seattle, Washington. In January 2011, DuBois began co-anchoring – with Kristine Johnson – on CBS 2 News at 5 and CBS 2 News at 11. He is also an occasional substitute of the weekend edition of the CBS Evening News. He is married and has two sons.
Maureen Bunyan
Maureen Bunyan, a 44-year veteran of television news, is the lead anchor of the 6 o’clock weeknight newscasts for ABC7/WJLA-TV. She was born in Aruba to Guyanese parents. Her parents had moved from Guyana to Aruba in the 1930s, looking for better work opportunities.
During the many years she has worked in Washington, Bunyan has received numerous awards. Bunyan is a founder and board member of IWMF (International Women’s Media Foundation), a founder of the National Association of Black Journalists and President of Maureen Bunyan Communications, Inc. She was named a “Washingtonian of the Year” in 1992 and has been inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Washington Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, “The Silver Circle” of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), and the Broadcast Pioneers Club of Washington. She is a graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and the Harvard University Graduate School of Education.
In June of 2014, Ms. Bunyan was knighted and inducted into The Order of Orange-Nassau, a Dutch order of chivalry. The Order of Orange-Nassau is a chivalric honor given to those who deserve recognition for exemplary contributions to society. Over the years, Bunyan has used her extensive network and experience as a journalist to mentor young Arubans, and create educational opportunities with the Aruban Ministry of Education and American universities such as Harvard University. Bunyan is a graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and the Harvard University Graduate School of Education.
Neki Mohan
Born in New York to Trinidad parents and raised in Trinidad, Neki Mohan is a veteran anchor and reporter at WPLG-TV, an ABC TV affiliate in South Florida.
A graduate of the University of Maryland with a degree in journalism and politics, Mohan credits the education she got on the streets with her ability to talk to just about anyone. She has had the opportunity to be mentored by journalism greats like Peter Jennings, Carole Simpson, David Brinkley, Bob Schieffer, Cokie Roberts and many more, and today she has become a mentor as well to high school girls via the Women of Tomorrow organization.
Mohan connects with the thousands in the Caribbean community that have made their homes in Florida. She is also very active in the Caribbean community and understands the unique qualities that contribute to the diverse blend that is South Florida. When she’s not in front of the camera, Mohan is an avid runner, a student mentor and loves to travel with her family.
