Carmelau Monestime (April 6, 1931 – January 16, 2016) was a Haitian-born American community leader, activist and broadcaster.
Monestime was a pioneer of Haitian Creole radio broadcasting in South Florida.
In 1978, Monestime co-established Express Publicite Radio on WMBM, the first Haitian radio show to be broadcast in South Florida and the Miami metropolitan area.
Express Publicite Radio aired on WMBM (1490 AM) for thirty years.
Monestime also established and launched Radio Collective Internationale on 99.1 FM, the first radio station to be owned and operated by Haitians and Haitian Americans.Monestime was born in Gonaïves, Haiti, on April 6, 1931.
He fled from Haiti to the United States in 1964 to escape the dictatorship of François "Papa Doc" Duvalier.
He settled to New York City.
During the 1960s and 1970s, Monestime operated some of the first Haitian nightclubs in New York City, including The Flatbush Terrace, which was located in Brooklyn.In 1977, he and his wife, Elvire Monestime, moved from New York to Miami, Florida.
He owned his driving school, Panorama Express Driving School, which he opened shortly after relocating to Miami.Monestime became a noted broadcaster and activist for the Haitian community in South Florida.
He lobbied the U.S.
federal government to grant legal resident status to undocumented Haitian immigrants.