West Indians in Columbus Unite

In 2006 Columbus was ranked as the United States  15 largest city, with 733,203 residents, and is the country's 32nd largest metropolitan area..  Columbus may in fact have the most diverse population of all the cities in Ohio . The range , particularly in the African diaspora is quite broad and varied. There are well over 30,000 people of Somalian orgin here in Columbus , over 18,000 hispanics mostly from Mexico, and thousands of West Africans. What isnt well known is the number of poeple from the Caribbean living in Columbus, but the estimates range from 5000-10,000. In 2000 Cleveland reported that Asian Indians, Koreans, Chinese, Jamaicans, Dominicans and Nicaraguans are among the region's fastest-growing ethnic groups. They estimated close to 9000 Jamaicans  living in that city.

Incidentally  Cleveland is the nation's 32nd largest city.

Efforts have been made before in order to organize and consolidate of this emerging group in Columbus with marginal success. This year two organizations with close but separte links have emerged in order to tap into this vast resource and assist in moving it forward , Frontline Columbus and the newly formed  Caribbean Association of Columbus.

Frontline Columbus  ,  which was initially founded by three local entrepreneurs of Caribbean heritage , Courtney Robinson, Dwight Ayers and Dates Buckley, is a social networking group that have done up to this point 6 "get togethers" with gathering success over the past year, at the rate of about 1 each summer month. This August 12th represents the 1 year Anniversary of Frontline Columbus and also the official launching of The Caribbean Association of Columbus.