President Bush and Secretary of State Rice Meet With Caribbean Heads of State, Diaspora
Posted 06-18-07

E-mail to a friend

Washington, DC (June 18, 2007) -- In an effort to strengthen the relationship between the United States and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the U.S. State Department will host Conference on the Caribbean: A 20/20 Vision June 19 through 21 in Washington, D.C.

A meeting with President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, scheduled for June 20th 10 A.M. at the State Department, is a part of a three-day conference titled Conference of the Caribbean: A 20/20 Vision. This is the first meeting of its kind between politicians, international financial institutions, private sector and the academic community from the Caribbean. The meeting is expected to focus on mutual interests between the US and these member countries: Security, Trade, Economic Development and other matters.

The conference has special significance for the African Diaspora, one of the most diverse groups of people in the world. Yet, its varied ethnicities and cultures are rarely showcased in America.

That is changing. Thanks to Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA), who sponsored a Bill declaring June as Caribbean-American Heritage Month. After lobbying Congress and the President the bill was passed in 2006. Now, more Americans are claiming their Caribbean Heritage. NBC Today Show anchor Lester Holt recently claimed his Jamaican heritage. {http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm?g=51456002-ccd8-4567-b495-fd61afa9e7a4 }. Others have followed: journalist Gwen Ifill of The News Hour with Jim Lehrer and Washington Week, actress Sheryl Lee Ralph, and author of Blink and the Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell, among others.

For more information or to schedule interviews with heads of state, ambassadors and experts, please contact Ann-Marie Adams at 202-407-1714 or 860-997-8299. Or visit www.conferenceonthecaribbean.org.

Ann-Marie Adams, a Ph.D. history student at Howard University, is among other U.S. citizens who are now claiming and promoting their Caribbean Heritage. The goal is to highlight the many contributions of black immigrants from the Caribbean. It's a crucial area in her study of the African Diaspora. Adams is tracing their imprint since colonial times with Alexander Hamilton, a founding father and the first secretary of treasury.

He is from St. Kitts and Nevis. Jean Baptiste Pont du Sable, a Haitian, is the founder of the trading post known as Chicago, Marcus Garvey, a Jamaican, is the founder of the largest black moment in America and the world. Adams will be among more than 1,000 people attending the Conference on the Caribbean this week in Washington, DC to help establish a new paradigm for Caribbean-Americans.

Tidbits: Did you know that W.E. Dubois parents were from the Dominican Republic?
Malcolm X's mother was from Grenada? Al Roker, Rick Fox, Busta Rhymes, Alicia Keyes, Sean "Diddy" Combs, and many more Americans claim Caribbean Heritage?

About CARICOM: The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is comprised of 15 million people in 15 member nations, including Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. There are an estimated 5 million Caribbean-Americans living in the United States.

About Caribbean Heritage Month: Caribbean Heritage Month is celebrated in June in the United States of America. The campaign to officially designate June as Caribbean-American Heritage Month began with the bill introduced by Congresswoman Barbara Lee in 2004 and signed into law by President Bush in June 2006. Caribbean-American Heritage Month celebrates the contributions of Caribbean-Americans to the fabric of the Nation, and pay tribute to the common culture and bonds of friendship that unites the United States and the Caribbean countries.

>> We Entertainment :: New & Reviews

<< Go Back