No citizen of Trinidad and Tobago – a rich, diverse, beautiful country with opportunities for all its citizens to thrive – should have to leave simply because they are different.
This was the position of Allyn Shaw, an activist for inclusivity visiting from New York, and executive for Wells Fargo and Company. Shaw, who serves on the board of Out and Equal, an LGBT community centre in New York, is an elected member of the Victory Fund Campaign Board which seeks to actively increase the number of queer voices in public office.
He was recognised by the US State Department as a notable LGBTQI+ American, driving economic equality. He was also named to Diversity MBA World’s top 100 business leaders under 50, and in 2020 he was honoured by Adweek for his role in changing the face of LGBTQI inclusion across the global landscape. Most recently he was awarded the Tri-State Unity Council’s LBGTQI+ Leadership Award at their 2022 Unity Summit.
In a week-long visit to TT last week, Shaw was able to speak to government officials, and advocates for inclusivity in the LGBTQI communities. He learned that for many people in the LGBTQI community, there isn’t enough opportunity for them to be their "whole selves," and that is causing them to leave the country to seek better opportunities elsewhere.
But in an interview with Business Day last week Shaw noted that this was not limited to the LGBTQI community. Many people who have faced some sort of discrimination because of where they live, their physical or mental differences or because of who they love, are looking to greener pastures and causing TT to lose diverse and capable talent to other countries.
Shaw called for the public and private sectors to seek out diverse people and increase inclusivity. He said as in every other country, a more inclusive environment would greatly benefit TT’s businesses and society as a whole.
Still I rise
Growing up in Compton, and living in places such as Pomona and Claremont, Shaw’s mother made it a point to ensure that he and his sister got the best education possible. However, that was a great challenge because they lived on "the wrong side of the tracks" – poorer communities which were usually neglected and systematically separated from more developed communities.
As a result his mother sheltered them both from the outside world and the dangers of life in high-risk communities.
[caption id="attachment_968185" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Allyn Shaw stands before a poster of Maya Angelou, at the US Embassdy Public Affairs Office, Port of Spain, whose poem Still I Rise inspired him growing up in California. - AYANNA KINSALE[/caption]
“I remember growing up my mother used to tell me, ‘You will not become a statistic.’ And as a child, you don't really know what that means,” he said. “I had no idea we were poor. I had no idea there was crime. I just knew that everyone looked like me.
“I didn't understand why she was so strict growing up until I became an adult. I finally understood the environmental concerns that she was trying
