?The island needs us united ...’ Minister appeals for greater unity among diaspora organisations as J’cans in the DMV mark Independence

LANHAM, Maryland: Hundreds of Jamaicans and friends of Jamaica from across the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia gathered at the Seabrook Seventh-day Adventist Church on Sunday for a special thanksgiving service commemorating Jamaica’s 64th anniversary of Independence and 188th anniversary of Emancipation. Diplomats, state legislators, government officials, members of the clergy and representatives of diaspora organisations joined the annual celebration, held under the theme ‘United We Stand: Rebuilding with Resilience’.