Gospel singer Carlene Davis is set to receive an award for her contribution and commitment to the performing arts on October 19 at the 36th annual Sunshine Awards in Newark, New Jersey. Even with a career spanning decades, the singer is humbled to be receiving this international recognition. “First, I would like to say how grateful I am to our heavenly Father for sustaining me.
The Sunshine Awards has been going for over 30 years — that is a long time. It has gained the respect of the Caribbean and the world’s conscious, dignified, and talented people. My career has not slowed down over and beyond those 30 years of the Sunshine Awards, so I am inspired to keep fighting [and] pressing through my music for a better deal for humanity, which will come by with the more people who come to know Christ through the music we make and the service we give through our God-given talent,” she told the Jamaica Observer .
The Sunshine Awards programme was founded 36 years ago to recognise the excellence and accomplishments in the performing arts, education, science, humanity, and sports of various Caribbean countries. It has now expanded to the United States, Africa, South and Central America, Europe and Asia. According to the release of the Sunshine Awards organisers, Davis’s artistic contribution of over 50-plus years included her songs against apartheid in South Africa, such as Winnie Mandela, Welcome Home Mr Mandela, Rise Up, Thank You Mr Mandela, alongside several albums under .