The concept of the ghetto, referring to specifically urban experiences of sociospatial marginalization, has played a prominent role in black popular culture. This article explores the role of the ghetto as a discursive space of immobility and traces its global journey as a mobile imaginary.
The intimate relationships between white men and women of color in antebellum New Orleans, commonly known by the term plaçage, are a large part of the romanticized lore of the city and its history. This article exposes the common understanding of plaçage as myth. First, it reveals the source of the myth in a collection of accounts by travelers to the city in the decades leading up to the Civil War. Next, it uses a database of information on hundreds of white male-colored female relationships during the period to provide a more accurate account of the people in and nature of these relationships. Finally, it explains the purpose served by the myth by identifying three traditions that shaped its development.
To many in the West, the League of Nations was to establish political peace between nations. To the Cuban sugar-producing elite of the 1920s and 1930s, however, the League was an important socioeconomic institution used to augment many of Cuba's first modern state institutions. This article explores how and why Cuban delegates were the principals behind the 1937 International Sugar Agreement.
At different times in its history, the Caribbean has been a strategic region -- initially with the arrival of the first Europeans in the late 15th century, then, among other things, by its proximity to the Panama Canal & later as a result of the Cuban revolution. But for some years now it has played a less important role internationally. However, as Viktor Sukup points out, "Russia's recent rapprochement with Cuba & Venezuela & the increasing engagement of China in the region" suggest that the Caribbean still has strategic importance.
It is not uncommon to hear about how corporations bring investment to developing countries and even their willingness to address problem areas such as environmental contamination and child labor practices. But in some cases, corporations leave a trail of destruction of violence. The article highlights the Caribbean region of Colombia, where the construction of a mega-port has seen the displacement of communities and takeover of property and livelihoods with complete impunity.
Discusses the imperative to establish a functioning education system and explores how the earthquake exacerbated perennial challenges to the Haitian education system, while also perhaps offering some hope. Analyzes reconstruction efforts involving the Government of Haiti and such organizations as the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, arguing that an education system premised on local ownership and focused on sustainability is Haiti's best hope.
This article uses the details of those who fled to Trinidad from the violence of the Venezuelan war of independence in 1814, 1815 and 1816 as a prism through which to view female agency in the southern Caribbean during first two decades of the nineteenth century. In particular it focuses on free coloured women as being able to exploit the poorly controlled edges of empire for their own advantage. Characterised by a self-reliant independence these women were at once highly mobile, independent and influential. These women have been marginalised in the histories of the region and yet this research suggests that they had a far more prevalent and powerful role in shaping its character and history than has been recognised to date. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR].
Guyana is often referred to in the literature as the "land of the six races", comprising East Indian, Blacks, Whites, Portuguese, Chinese and Amerindians. This diversity has attracted in the interest of many social science scholars who have labeled Guyana a "plural society". Here, Ramraj examines the aspects of the demographic history of Guyana and current demographic trends, and notes the changes in the ethnic composition of the country's population, and aspects of its spatial distribution especially in relation to the black population. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT];
When Ernesto Estupinan Quintero was elected mayor of the city of Esmeraldas, Ecuador, in 2000, he was the first self-identifying Black person to reach this position. The city of Esmeraldas is the capital of the only province of the nation where Afro-Ecuadorians are the largest racial and cultural group. Immediately upon his election, Ernesto began commissioning murals and statues that contested traditional representations of Blackness.
The article discusses the history of Santo Domingo (which was renamed the Dominican Republic) under the French General Jean-Louis Ferrand from 1804 through 1809. Particular focus is given to Ferrand's efforts, under the direction of the French Emperor Napoleon I, to re-enslave Santo Domingo and overthrow Haiti's ruler Toussaint Louverture. An overview of the slavery laws in Santo Domingo is provided. Ferrand's use of black Haitian captives as slaves, including the Haitians captured by the French who lived near the border with Santo Domingo, is provided.
Examines the impact of the U.S. media on gender relations in the Caribbean area. The U.S. media have created a cultural dependency whereby Caribbean people tend to reject their indigenous culture and favor the American culture. The author asserts that Caribbean men behave in a certain manner and contribute to social problems because they have been improperly socialized by the U.S. media. Moreover, the portrayal of sports celebrities has created a feeling of victimhood among blacks.
Analyzes the use of text messaging and crisis mapping in disaster response by drawing on Haiti as a case study. Describes the design and deployment of the system, outlines what worked and did not work, and considers organizational and institutional implications of this response and articulates policy recommendations.
"Findings suggest that, controlling for numerous aspects of worker qualifications, workers with greater financial responsibilities to their families receive higher wages." (author)
Examines the sentiment of love among the indigenous Miskitu people along the Honduran and Nicaraguan Caribbean Coast. The Miskitu are a Native American ethnic group in Central America. The people are primarily of African Native American ancestry. Miskitu women historically have held high positions of power in their matrilocal society. Since the lobster-diving industry began in the 1970s, however, gender and power relations have shifted, rendering women more dependent on men who earn wages. Women's loss of power is not only due to the economic changes, but it is also caused by the ideology and discourse of romantic love in Miskitu society.
Discusses the emergence of Afro-Hispanic literature over the past 25 years. Details the many social and political factors that have influenced the literary movement. Argues that the emergence of Afro-Hispanic literature is timely in its challenging of traditional views of what is admissible into the literary canon.;
Presented at a conference on "Changing Patterns in the Caribbean," University of Wichita, June 13, 1961., "We are interested not only in the size of population in the Caribbean area at present, but in the rates of population increase. In the West Indies, the highest birth rates (40 and over per thousand population) are found in islands which include about 23 percent of the population (the Windward Islands, Dominican Republic, Trinidad, the Leewards, Guadeloupe, and Martinique). Birth rates that intermediates for the West Indies (35 to 37) are found in 41 percent of the region's population (Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Jamaica, and Haiti). The lowest level of fertility in the West Indies (33 or less) is found in 36 percent of the Caribbean population (Cuba, Barbados, and the Netherlands Antilles)."
Discusses the poetry of Afro-Cuban writer Nancy Morejón, focusing on her poetry collection, Paisaje célebre (Fundarte, 1993). Compares the book to her previous work, and discusses the political and social influences that shaped it. Notes that this book marks an important stage in Morejón's poetry, in that it celebrates a new and different country and voice - one of indepedence and freedom.;
