By Sheri-kae McLeod
(Source Caribbean National Weekly)
The Brooklyn-based Guyana Independence Celebration Committee New York (GICCNY) has announced plans to honor the late Adrianna Younge during Guyana’s annual Independence Parade and Celebration in Brooklyn on June 1.
The 11-year-old, whose tragic murder sent shockwaves through Guyana and the global diaspora, will be remembered during the 2025 festivities marking the country’s 59th Independence Anniversary. Younge was reported missing on April 23 and was found dead the following day in a hotel swimming pool.
GICCNY described the incident as a national tragedy that has united people across lines of race, ethnicity, and creed. “The impact of her death will be momentous and indelible,” the committee said in a statement. “Consequently, Guyana’s Independence commemoration in New York 2025 has been dedicated to Adrianna Younge’s memory, and will include a powerful tribute to Adrianna, as well as the presentation of a posthumous US Congressional Proclamation for Adrianna in recognition of life and to celebrate her memory and legacy.”
In tribute, the annual Guyanese Independence Parade has been redesignated the Adrianna Younge Justice March, which will proceed along Church Avenue beginning at noon. It will be followed by a flag-raising ceremony and the Guyana Independence Unity Concert, which GICCNY says will feature well-known Guyanese DJs, radio personalities, and “a surprise Caribbean international superstar artiste.”
“Therefore, we ask all Guyanese and friends of Guyana in the New York tri-state area and beyond to attend and celebrate her life,” the committee urged.
In addition to the tribute, the event will also include the presentation of the customary Kaieteur Award of Distinction and several U.S. Congressional Proclamations to outstanding members of the Guyanese community, both at home and abroad.
The 2025 honorees include:
*Dr. Gregory Benn, MD
*Sookranie Dhanpat of the Office of NYC Mayor Eric Adams
*Dr. Orin Douglas, MD
*Linda of Linda’s Restaurant on Church Avenue
*Sharon Barnwell, CEO of Caribbean International Shipping, Atlanta
*Roysdale Ford, MP and Shadow Attorney General, Guyana
*Dr. David McKenzie, Vice President for Youth and Young Adult Ministries, Atlantic Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
*Nima Flu Bess, MP, Guyana
*Adrianna Younge (posthumous)
*Brooklyn mechanic Harry Hazle
*Deputy Warden Duayne John, NYC Department of Corrections
*Akira Mackel, GM of Newport Hospitality Group/Marriott, Philadelphia
*Chelsea Grant, marketing and DSP relations manager, Rutgers University
“This celebration is the largest Guyanese celebration outside of Guyana, and one of the largest for West Indian celebrations in New York City after the Labor Day parade,” GICCNY said. The event is expected to draw thousands in person and over a million viewers onli
