There have been a lot of moments in my life where I’ve felt empty and confused. However, after the Central Committee the Py20-21 Central Committee Meeting #12: Update on the negotiations with the Netherlands and the third tranche liquidity support,I’ve never felt so hopeless about Sint Maarten. It has really opened my eyes more to the crazy realities that are going to plague us. 

And dawg, we are screwed! 

I know it doesn’t sound very uplifting to say such, but after all the speeches and conversations throughout the year, we have to come and accept the fact that if we take the money we shaft, if we don’t take the money, we shaft. Once again, neocolonialism is up 100 points and it’s only in the first quarter, again. I usually take this time to sit down and break down everything and find ways on how our country’s leaders can help navigate this situation, but I am tired. I’ve lost hope in all of our systems. 

However, my name is Kamilah Gumbs and all I do is overthink. In this overthinking process, I’ve reflected on the various conversations I’ve had with friends and various Twitter discourses. What we man ga do, is bring back this “community” that everyone, especially our parents and grandparents love to boast about and how they reminisce on how things used to be. If I’m being completely honest, I am starting to believe that this grand “we feed everybody, we got you” community is just an over-exaggeration of the fact that most families just lived next to each other so they created this bond. Because of this, it has become our brand but always question why we do not have this community today? (and I do not want to hear it’s the young people’s fault because who are the ones who raised us?). 

We have to bring back or create this community that we always boast about. This is literally the only solution I see. We got to pour in and support us. We have to come together and say we are going to make sure x, y, and z will be able to survive this month, no matter what’s happening in their lives. So yes let’s pour back into our communities and stop hoarding the money in your Koffers, and yes I’m watching all you big money people. 

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In the second form, my high school started an anti-cyberbullying campaign in order to curb the high levels of cyberbullying within the school. They had people come in to speak of the harms of bullying and the trouble you can get in for cyberbullying and even had students work on projects to address the issue. Did this help the issue? Of course, it did not. 

I start off with that story as this entire post is about why you should bully. No, not talking about troubling some person on the side of the street because of which school they go to, or how they walk, you know high school stuff. I’m talking about bullying and holding our elected officials accountable. We have to hol’ em by dem neck. 

The inspiration for this post comes from personal observation of politics and the communities’ function in the last couple of months. This ranges from the US federal and local politics (here in Wichita, Kansas) to the various governments of Caricom nations to our own Sint Maarten government. A lot of the time, when someone that we “like” or can relate to holds a position, we tend to give completely different treatment to them than the ones our beliefs don’t align with. This is a major issue. We have to remember, no matter what type of relation or infatuation you have with an elected official, they are still an elected official. Their job is to serve the people, not for the people to bow down to them. We have to make sure that they are doing the job which they were hired (through votes) to do. 

This celebration of the politician in our current political system is an issue that stems down from monarchies, especially European ones. Monarchs, who controlled most of the functions of the countries, demand a level of reverence and idolatry to them from anyone that was “lesser” than them. With the “birth” of democracy in western Europe, this was slowly transcended into the parliaments and into all of the new world systems of democracy. Many people think this is an issue only within dictatorships but if we look at our own backyards, you can see the level of reverence that has to provide to these elected officials simply through the ceremonies that happen around them under the guise of “respect.” 

Now we have a mention, we can’t critique the “good ones.” Good ones being subjective to your personal views and understandings, but if you’re someone who tends to have left-leaning ideologies and you criticize an elected official that says they function on those same ideologies, apparently you are attacking someone that is on the same side as you. In a Caribbean sense, this can be seen as a problem if you come for a politician that is a part of the political party that your family, or community supports. While over the years this has led to violent outbreaks, today, it has resulted in back and forths across social media. 

Apparently, we cannot be mean to “ALL” of our officials, just some. 
My belief is that we should drag everyone from dem collar. 

We all live in cities, villages, towns, countries where there is a visible struggle for the people to survive. For years, these same elected officials have spoken about the change they will do in the positions. If these people who have had these positions for a pretty long time and not one change has happened, we must just sit and say “change will come?” 

Nah dawg, tings doh wuk like da. 

If my road had to fix since 2017 and it’s 2020, I will be making noise. Many people run on the notion of change and development and better living and many of us are living in worse conditions now. We have politicians in our parliaments that’s been in government longer than some of the younger and upcoming politicians have been alive. We have politicians that have other agendas other than the one present. And I must not bully? 

We also have to remember that is “we who got we” and no I’m not talking about the ones in these positions who look like us or we “relate” to. I’m talking about us as a community. It’s the community leaders that are teaching and feeding our children. It’s our community leaders that are knocking on these doors pushing and yelling for some type of reform. It’s a pity that I have to spend time helping young people draft up advice on what’s need to be done in our country, cities, villages, etc, to present to these officials who ran on “we going to fix this.” It’s a shame that a lot of us have to fight but if our officials ain’t doing it and we can’t technically hold dem accountable to do it, then I guess we got to continue the work. 

So here is a kind reminder to hol’ em by dem neck!

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We are in the election season. Everywhere you look there is an ad, a person, or just a simple notice about voting for the November 3rd election. You can’t simply mind someone’s business on Instagram without them telling you to vote. However, there is a problem with this situation. The “make sure you vote” campaign that has plagued the lives of us that consume American media. And that’s the major issue. Everyone yells vote but no one goes into any deeper details as to why?

Democrats push this narrative to “get that man out of the white house” whereas republicans push the narrative because “Biden and the democrats are bringing socialism and communism to the country”. If you do not conform to either of these two ideologies, people believe that you don’t care for the development of the country. It’s even worse than if you tell someone they aren’t going to vote. 

The shaming of non-voters is one of the major issues of this election period from both sides. I believe that people should go out to vote, but I am not yelling at non-voters and you shouldn’t as well. Here are a couple of reasons why you shouldn’t shame non-voters: 

• Voter Suppression

Did we all of a sudden forgot that voter suppression is ingrained in the structure of the United States? The founding colonizers (fathers) of this nation wrote the constitution to limit who can vote for the leaders of the country. Since then “voting rights” have increased by time and time low income and people of color, especially Black and Indigenous people are disenfranchised every election period. Many low-income people also aren’t able to get off to go vote (especially if they aren’t able to do mail-in ballots) as they are usually essential workers.  

Another major issue that has plagued the news world right now felons and their right to vote. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, only two states, Maine and Vermont, the felons never lose the right to vote. In 18 states felons only lose their rights while incarcerated, but have an automatic restoration after release, and 20 states their rights are lost until completion of sentence (parole and/or probation) with an automatic restoration after. However the last 11 states their rights are lost until completion of sentence, some states there is a post-sentencing period and there is a need for additional action required for restoration.  

While prisons shouldn’t exist in the first place (another post for another day), restricting the rights of these humans, especially with these states such as Mississippi which has the highest populations of Black people at 39% with Alabama following at 28%, Virginia with 21% and Florida with 18%. 

Florida, which is a part of the last 11 states, is a part of that issue where the judges push that felons currently can’t vote until they pay fines and fees. This is a major problem as many of these felons are people who fall under the poverty lines and do not have the time to run around to do all the paperwork. 

• Privacy issues: 

Another reason people aren’t voting is that when they do register to vote, there is a high chance that their address will be available to the general public. This is worrying for a lot of people, but it’s even worse for those who are victims of sexual assault and other domestic violence situations. Many states have the option to go have address confidentiality programs, which of course you will be accepted in based on how the programs are run. Then there are seven states, Alabama, Alaska, Georgia, Michigan, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming, and the District of Columbia who does not have that option. 

• They don’t want to and you can’t fight them. 

Unfortunately, most non-voters who are shamed tend to be Black. Those who decide not to vote to have all the right not to do so. In most cases, these are people who are doing work within the community while the shamers yell at them from behind their screens. Lef dem be.


If you do go the polls this election season, please remember a couple of things: 

• Make sure to send in your mail-in ballots on time. 
• Find out your nearest early voting station 
• Pay attention to your local and state candidates, they are more important 
• Voting is not the solution to our issues. Community work and mutual aid is always a better way to fix our issues. ​

Sources: 

Anderson, C. (2020, September 11). Judges: Florida felons can't vote until they pay fines, fees. Retrieved September 30, 2020, from https://apnews.com/article/florida-voting-rights-elections-courts-voting-b4f68dd4f11a6df4430fbdc74ae93de3

Peritz, A. (2019, April 08). Perspective | Registered to vote? Your state may be posting personal information about you online. Retrieved September 30, 2020, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/04/09/registered-vote-your-state-is-posting-personal-information-about-you-online/

Potyondy, P. (n.d.). Retrieved September 30, 2020, from https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/felon-voting-rights.aspx

Voting & Survivor Privacy. (n.d.). Retrieved September 30, 2020, from https://www.techsafety.org/voter-registration-privacy

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My name is Kamilah Gumbs and I am your 2019 Delta Mu Chapter Miss Black and Old Gold.

Two months later, I am still not used to that sentence. On November 8th 2019, I took the opportunity to grace the stage with eight other marvelous women, and put on one of the best Miss Black and Old Gold pageants, the Delta Mu Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated. While we did one good job on that stage, our journey, especially mine didn’t start there. 


Summer 2018 was an interesting one. It was my first summer as a college student, exploring all the opportunities and unemployment home brought me over the vacation. While deciding and debating on what I am going to do this semester, Miss Black and Gold popped up in my head constantly. I remembered being amazed by the pageant the year before. It was beautiful, all of the girls were all different, they won scholarship money and it started on time (West Indian pageants could never). I also wanted to get back into my community service mode and do something for this community that has become my home. All of these factors, including me wanting to get out of my comfort zone, motivated me to sign up for the pageant. 

I was nervous. From the information session to the day of the pageant, I was scared. At the information session my social anxiety was out of the roof and I tried to stick to the corner and gain all the information. Somehow, I found a way to fight through it and write down my information. I felt like I overcame the biggest obstacle in the world, but then I was reminded that I had to do an interview. I was obsessed over the interview. I made sure my application was filled in correctly, that I had enough money to pay the application fee, and to make sure I looked like a human that day. I was stressed. My anxiety didn’t help and I was text rambling to my good big “sister” Gabby.  Walking into the room, earlier than I needed (I blame my father for my super punctuality), our pageant coordinator, the great himself, Payton Morgan, was intimidating. I’m not sure if he knows this, but he scared the crap out of me. Thankfully it was only him, but the interview went well. Well enough to get an email saying we have practice to attend. 

I was excited. I made it on the court. A person who has never done a pageant a day in her life. The closest thing to pageants I’ve been too is attending the children and teen pageants during carnival and laughing at the mean, oh so mean text messages that would pop up on the TelCel board in the carnival village. I had no experience. 

Reading the email, it was stated, be there, on time (we never started on time), in your heels. I read the word heels over and over again and mumbled to myself “what did I do to myself.” 

If you know me, you know heels only come out for Youth Parliament public meetings, the occasional fancy dinners and sometimes church. Heels were not a part of my daily vocabulary. Thankfully, I had a pair of heeled boots that were high enough to function as heels for a couple weeks. 



Walking into that dance room where we held our practices, I was nervous. I knew some of the Alpha’s through our Black Student Union, but I was scared. I wasn’t the most social person on campus, and I was certain I didn’t know half of the folks that were going to be in the room. I was also worried that they would’ve been mean as hell, and I would have to bring out full dialect and cuss out somebody. Luckily for me, I was wrong. I ended up meeting eight wonderful, beautiful and gracious women. Sky Freeman, Kiah Nisbett, Sydney Smith, Courtney Price-Dukes, Michele Valadez, Celine Sengvilay, Madi Laughlin and Brittany Smith, were the best court a girl could ask for. These strong women taught me so many lessons over the nine weeks. From patience, to confidence, they showed me things that I wasn’t expecting to learn during a pageant process. They made every practice fun, held me through countless mental breakdowns and became one of the best support systems I’ve had in a long time. 

Over the weeks, I noticed that we were becoming a family. Not just us girls, but us and the Ice Cold Brothers, of the Delta Mu Chapter. We were laughing, crying, shaking heads, slightly judging and doing everything a family would do. Those men also had a great impact throughout this journey. I would sit down and name all of them, but thirteen names is a lot. 

The journey to November 8th was great. It reminded me on how much I loved dancing, how thrilling it is to put on a production, and that all of this does not come without stress. 



The instrumental of Partition played throughout the CAC Theatre. I, alongside my even numbered sisters, were behind the door, getting ready to walk in and start the opening number. At that moment, everything became real. I was in an opening number outfit, I had on a full face of makeup, and I could’ve heard my roommates yelling from outside. I was brought out of that trance when I realised the door wasn’t opened for us to enter and that our music was ahead. 

I highkey started to panic. But every good performer knows to smile and pretend that everything is going right. So said, so done. We killed the opening number, we killed the show, we were exhausted but we had fun. 

Reality finally set in that this was a competition during the intermission where they were tallying the scores and everyone was backstage together. I quickly grabbed my phone and looked through my messages. Since the pageant wasn’t live streamed, I had my friend Laura record my segments and send it to my mother and my sister. My sister then sent it to the best group chat in the world, Cross Caribbean Link Up. My phone was overwhelmed with positive messages that I started to tear up.

When they called us out on stage for the final time, I was relaxed. I went with the mindset that we put on the best show and whichever one of my girls won, I was screaming for them. I honestly had a full fledge plan to yell out “GOODIE” throughout the entire sashing process. When they called Kiah name for Ms. Black, I was so excited. When they called Courtney’s and I named them for the next two places, I almost threw up. I was in shock. There was no way I was going to win. 

Courtney and I held hugged each other and held hands, and I was telling her that she won, she was telling me that I won, i told her to shut up because it made no sense. She was going to win.

So, as from the beginning of this essay shows, I was wrong. When I was crowned, I cried. Like ugly cried, still not proud of that. I couldn’t believe that it happened. I was in disbelief. From the final walk, to the Alphas singing their hymn and prayer (p.s. I saw some mumbling), to everyone bombarding the stage to congratulate me and ask me about Miss Kansas (like hello, you heard I was from The Friendly Island, Sint Maarten, I don’t have American papers sugah), to my feet killing me, all I wanted was a chair and my mommy. 

Luckily, at the end I got my seat and on the phone with her. I felt at peace. This was a journey, that she was by my side with, even hundreds miles away from me. I felt that I made her proud and that was the only thing that mattered that night. And oh, the after party. That was also very important. 

I end this essay, story, blurb, post, whatever you call it by saying thank you. Thank you to my mommy, my court, my friends, the Alphas, those who cheered for me at the pageant, those who was confused and wanted to yell “THEY CHEAT” at the end of the show, to those who hyped me up on campus, and to those who plastered my face all over the place.

My journey as Miss Black and Gold has just begun. I would be a little MIA on that platform for a moment as I’m taking a break to focus on myself and this blog, but when I do return, I hope you are ready for what I have instore for this wonderful community here in Wichita.

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The Spring 2019 semester has been over for almost two weeks now, and I’ve been home doing a lot. Finally, I have this moment to sit down to recollect on all the things that I’ve learned and experience during my freshman year at Wichita State University. It’s been one interesting year, from dealing with long travels, celebrating my first birthday without my mommy (we share the same birth date), to dealing with the ridiculous weather the state of Kansas can bring you. So here is a list of things I learned during my freshman year: