Mayor [Rudolph Giuliani] proclaimed Monday, August 4, "Jamaica Independence Day" in the city. He presented Jamaica's consul general to New York - Fay Baxter-Collins - and Jamaica's permanent representative to the United Nations - Ambassador Patricia Durrant - with a written proclamation of "Jamaica Independence Day".
"I wanted to write a play that celebrated the journey of our parents," explains [Kwame Kwei-Armah]. "A lot of the previous plays tell us the old, grey story about `No Blacks, No Dogs, No Irish,' but that isn't very entertaining. "Growing up, I had a big nose but when Afrocentricty came in the '80s suddenly I had an African nose," recalls Kwame. "[Chris Monks] is White and together we have a play that is accessible to all communities," says Kwame. "It's not just about Black issues, it deals with universal themes like love, feeling inadequate and beauty."
"It's a complete tragedy, a complete disregard for human life," said Lemorin's lawyer, Charles Kuck. "Haiti is still an unmitigated disaster.'' In January, the moratorium not in effect will be lifted and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will resume the deportation of Haitian nationals convicted of crimes in the U.S. Lemorin's lawyers says that while his client has no conviction, he is being included with those who do. However, his deportation under the specific circumstances of his case would be highly unusual, according to legal experts. But his ability to remain in the U.S. is not the only issue at hand. He would be forced to leave his wife and their three children who reside in North Miami Beach. His wife, Charlene Mingo Lemorin, 31, is being treated for kidney failure and her medical condition precludes her from moving the family to Haiti. "Without letting us know they'll resume deportation to Haiti, at a time when Haiti is living under its gravest crisis, it's so unfair," said Marliene Bastien, who heads the Haitian Women of Miami. "It's supposed to be a progressive government. We're gravely disappointed."
The irony of the black man with his top off - such as almost any black music star you care to mention - is that it doesn't say to me: "Look at this wonderful black man with his six-pack." We were never wanted for our minds, which was why it was illegal to teach slaves to read. We were flesh, a commodity, labour. As today's black man shows off his pride and joy, the modern billboard becomes the equivalent of yesteryear's slave stocks. The tragedy with the flesh doesn't end there. Too many of us are impressed by a black fascism which fails to question the oppressive power structures of idealised family structures or the obsession with genes, blood and national pride.
Let me say this again: The Haitian community is not going anywhere. Instead, the Haitian community is looking ahead, to move forward to a better community. We welcome people from different ethnic backgrounds to come and join us in our efforts to move forward. If you don't want to or cannot help the Haitian community to overcome the economic adversity we face, at least don't spread rumors trying to create a false division between the Haitian and Black American communities.
-, [Joseph Lowery] indicated that he was decline the government's invitation because "more conventional means of protesting U.S. policy toward Haitians have failed miserably since the U.S. still greets the Haitians with clenched fists rather than open arms." "These people are imprisoned on military bases, politically quarantined and denied rights afforded other refugees," said Lowery, who went on to urge President-elect Bill Clinton to act "swiftly" to right the wrong and send emissaries to Haiti immediately to negotiate the return of the country's first freely-elected president, Jean Bertrand Aristide, as well as to set the stage for new elections.
Last May, President Bush signed an Executive Order allowing the Coast Guard to immediately turn back Haitian boat refugees without checking to determine if they were fleeing political persecution. Before that, thousands of Haitians had crowded into unsafe boats to try to get away from their dangerous homeland. The U.S. tagged them "economic" rather than political refugees. "The fact is our government has turned a blind eye to Haitians," said Wade Henderson, director of NAACP's Washington bureau. I have a dream that I intend to make a reality. I'm calling on African Americans and Haitians here in Miami to come together to sit down, talk and work out a plan to help Haitians. But I'm also asking that Hispanics, Jews, Anglos -- everyone -- pitch in to help.
Amid the flurry of designations by the media, law enforcement officials, and advocacy organizations--terms ranging from "migrants" to "asylum-seekers" to "economic refugees"--one thing was clear. The people aboard that boat had fled desperate conditions for safe harbor in the U.S. What awaited them when they touched land was then, and remains, a matter of great contention. When asked about the implications of the designation "migrant," Miami field office INS public relations officer Barbara Gonzalez said that in the context of INS policy, "There is really no such thing as a migrant." She said, "Many use the word," when the correct terminology for what they intend is "non-immigrant." How about the terms "alien" and "refugee?" Amnesty International notes that the term "alien" has been used in U.S. legislation to describe various types of non-citizens, including those Amnesty would call "asylum-seekers." Similarly, the INS describes an alien as any non-citizen or national of the U.S.
The Department of the Interior is seeking interviews with black people who went through Ellis Island when coming to America as part of an oral history project for the Ellis Island Immigration Museum.
