Jamaica-born broadcaster honoured in New York

When Sean Marshall started his radio station Future FM 98.9 in 2014 in Mount Vernon, New York, he was an undocumented resident.

It was risky business, and for four years, he operated without any form of proper documentation. Fast forward to 2023 and Marshall is the proud recipient of proclamations for his contributions in Mount Vernon. On October 5, he beamed with pride as the day was declared Sean Marshall Day by Westchester County Legislator Tyrae Woodson-Samuels.

Mayor of Mount Vernon, Shawyn Patterson-Howard, said that Marshall was honoured because "he has contributed a lot to arts, culture and advocacy here in Mount Vernon".

"Whether it is helping to organise Caribbean festivals, helping to organise the city's arts and entertainment events or helping to raise funds for youth programmes using his radio station, he is always on board. He uses Future FM to advocate for different issues in the community and that is very important," she said.

"It is a platform that the city utilises when wanting to make sure that we are reaching to our community in real time to get out critical information on anything from storms to voting or anything that we want the community to know about. We know that we can always go to Future FM and get information out whether it is regular or emergency information," she said. According to the mayor, a day is usually given to persons who are making a difference and going above and beyond the call of duty to make a transformational difference in the community.

A past student of McGrath High School, Marshall hails from the quiet farming community of Victoria district in Linstead, St Catherine.

"I didn't have any documents at all ... no social security number, driver's licence or anything, but I was determined and I just kept praying. It was just a really brave move with the help of God," said Marshall, who arrived in the Big Apple from Jamaica in 2010.