CaribNation Television

One People - One Culture - One Caribbean - One Nation

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Loriston (Larry) Sindass
Creator/Executive - in- Charge

Larry Sindass is the creator of the longest running Caribbean public affairs television show in the Americas, CARIBNATIONTV. Started as a franchise program for a university cable station, CaribNation TV expanded to world-wide syndication within a couple of years under Mr. Sindass' direction. In 1999, viewership reached a whopping 5 million, with shows airing across North America, specifically, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, New York, Florida, and the Caribbean. Since its inception in 1995, CaribNation TV and Mr. Sindass has been honored by the Caribbean Communities in North America, and the Caribbean, including the 1999 Caribbean Business and Professional Outstanding Service Award. Larry Sindass

Mr Sindass came to the United States in July of 1988 from his native land of Jamaica. He enrolled in the University of the District of Columbia, and in 1992 graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BA Degree in Mass Media - Film and Cinematography. While at UDC, Mr. Sindass worked part-time with the university's cable television station as an editor and later as a producer/director. Sindass recalled this to be the period that shaped, and pushed him to developed his technical and artistic skills as a television producer. That same year, Mr. Sindass was awarded the prestigious Hall of Nations Scholarships to do post graduate work at the American University, in Washington, D.C. At AU, Mr. Sindass embarked on a curriculum combining his love for television with film theory, and documentary filmmaking. In 1994, he produced his first feature-length film about a Jamaican migrant that got blind by American imperialism. The film, YADIE, got rave reviews by academia, and was featured in many non-commercial film festivals, and used by professors at various university as a teaching tool on the topic of Caribbean Immigration. Mr. Sindass received is MA Degree in 1994 and setup plans to begin what would later be called, CARIBNATION TELEVISION.

His ambition to produce a television show about Caribbean people gains the support of his peers at UDC TV-19, and the University of D.C. administrators, and after much negotiating, CaribNation TV was launched in the fall of 1995. That was the beginning of CaribNation TV, which, eleven years and hundreds of episodes later, is seen throughout the D.C. area on Howard University’s WHUT, MHZ Network, and on Prince George’s, Montgomery Counties, and District of Columbia public educational cable stations. Sindass also distribute programs, which is underwritten by UDC, nationally and internationally. The show can be seen throughout North America and 19 Caribbean Countries including Jamaica, Guyana, and St. Kitts and Nevis. Sindass also began streaming episodes on the web in September of 2000.

Although CaribNation is conducted like a TV magazine (“We went to Grenada recently and looked at woodcarving, documentary-style”) or features profiles of famous personalities (such as late Jamaica singer Dennis Brown), the program core is round table discussion of the “hot” issues impacting the Caribbean and the Diaspora. The show’s approach and subject matter are diverse: One episode showcased David Hinds’ tough-nosed interview of a Guyanese political leader; another featured Derrice Deane casually asking a former Miss Universe “how she keeps it together.” The program has covered “Women and Development in the Caribbean” and has featured interviews with the likes of Rastafarian dub-poet Mutabaruka. Other guests who have appeared over the years have included the late Jamaican leader Michael Manley, comedian Oliver Samuels, and Guyanase novelist Brenda DoHarris.

Mr. Sindass hopes CaribNation Television, like the name and in keeping with its mission, can unite the Caribbean across geographical, linguistic and ideological boundaries. The result of which he sees as a Caribbean boosting a stronger nation, stronger people, stronger economy, and stronger culture. This joining does not mandate agreement; rather it facilitates understanding [of common goals, interests, and agenda]. CaribNation exist to benefit all, but especially, the common and forgotten segments of the Caribbean. It is the medium of popular education for the people of the Caribbean. It is a place for discussion of their ideas and their experiences in their daily lives, and in a language and style that they understand.

Mr. Sindass hails from Lionel Town, in the parish of Clarendon, on the island of Jamaica. The Sindass family lives in Takoma Park, Maryland.