Florida Candidate Leaning on Strong Bahamian Heritage

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MIAMI GARDENS, U.S.A. – Karen Hunter Jackson, a candidate of Bahamian descent says she draws her strength from overwhelming grassroots support.

Running for seat no. 5 on the Miami Gardens City Council, Hunter Jackson aims to represent all 118,000 residents. She stresses the importance of local elections, noting the need for a responsive council, small business support, and elder care.

“Those are the ones that govern our everyday life, where it comes to code compliance,” Hunter-Jackson said. “You know? How you live, and the rules you’re governed by on a daily basis. Your local taxes, your schools, what’s being taught in your schools.”

“We need to have some policies, that are cookie…not cookie cutter, but tailored to each population.”

And as she makes her run for political office, Jackson, who has strong family roots in Cat Island and Eleuthera says she values her Bahamian heritage.

“I even have cousins in Abaco, who took the barge from, took the home from Bimini on the barge to Abaco and I have relatives in Nassau as well. So I have just as many relatives or more I think in The Bahamas than I have here.

She also credited the powerful support of the bahamian diaspora during her run, including longstanding community churches.

“The churches are still the churches that were founded by the first Bahamians that came here. And their descendants have continued to attend those churches, and all of those churches have relatives that are relatives of the relatives. So you know, everybody is an extended cousin in some way or another.”

Jackson’s campaign is deeply rooted in family, legacy, and the Bahamian community’s support fighting to be the voice of the people. 

Her sister, Kim Hunter heard, who is managing her campaign, emphasizes the power of black women leading in their communities.

“Black women are powerful,” Hunter said. “And when we get together, we’ve been the backbone of families. I don’t care what culture you look in, the black women we’re different, we’re special right? And so that’s what you see coming together.”