At the recent Summit of the Americas, President [Barack Obama] suggested that the U.S. could learn a lesson of goodwill from Cuba. In 1998, Cuba's government began programs to send large-scale medical assistance to poor populations affected by natural disasters. Each year some 2,000 young people enroll at the school, which operates from a former naval base in a suburb of Havana. Cuba's 21 medical faculties all train young people of poor families from throughout the Americas, as well as hundreds of African, Arab, Asian and European students. The country sends teams of doctors all over the world to respond to natural disasters. Cuban doctors have provided medical services to the underserved in Africa for over a decade. Blacks' views of relations with Cuba differ vastly from those of most Cuban immigrants and Cuban-Americans. The former lily-white upper crust of Cuban society wield political clout in Florida and are dead set against normalizing relations with Cuba's government. Consequently most politicians have chosen to adopt Cuban-American views. From 1960 to 1979, hundreds of thousands of Cubans began new lives in the US. Most of these Cuban Americans came were from educated upper and middle classes and form the backbone of the anti-[Fidel Castro] movement. Cuban Americans are America's fifth-largest Hispanic group and the largest Spanish-speaking group of white descent.
HAVANA - A group of US lawmakers is working at easing dialogue between Washington and Havana, as President Barack Obama's administration weighs plans to drop its decades-old strategy of isolating communist Cuba. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee's top Republican Richard Lugar, who in February said decades of US sanctions on Havana had failed, wrote to Obama in a March 30 letter that: "additional (US) measures are needed... to recast a policy that has not only failed to promote human rights and democracy, but also undermines our broader security and political interests." U.S. Congressman [Bobby Rush], left, and Rep. [Barbara Lee], D-Calif, second from right, attend a ceremony in front of Martin Luther King monument in Havana, Saturday, April 4, 2009. Seven members of the Congressional Black Caucus arrived in Cuba last Friday to discuss improving relations with the communist government amid speculation that Washington could ease travel restrictions to the island.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
16 p, This report provides background information on current political and economic conditions in the Dominican Republic, as well as an overview of some of the key issues in US-Dominican relations.
President Obama eventually intervened to defuse the tension by inviting both the professor and the arresting officer to the White House for a glass of beer by Rose Garden. Prior to the media circus surrounding that "Beer Summit," Dr. Gates was already well known as a tenured Professor at Harvard University, as well as director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African-American Research.
In Apr 2009, shortly after taking office, Pres Barack Obama signaled that he was open to a new dialogue with Cuba. At remarks delivered at the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago, the President said that the US seeks a new beginning with Cuba. Earlier that year, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had welcomed an offer for talks from Cuban President Raul Castro, who took over duties from his ailing brother Fidel Castro in 2006 and subsequently was elected president by the Cuban National Assembly in 2008. Castro reportedly said that he was willing "discuss anything" with the US Government. Here, the US-Cuba policy is discussed. Adapted from the source document.
Campaigning in 2007, Barack Obama promised to end restrictions on remittances and family travel to Cuba, resume "people-to-people" contracts, and engage Cuba on issues of mutual interest. As President, Obama has declared his desire to forge a new "equal partnership" with Latin America. Two months later, the 39th General Assembly of the Organization of American States voted to repeal the 1962 resolution that suspended Cuba fro its ranks.
"It is important because we are black first," said Joseph, a U.S. resident since 1970 and a registered Democrat, "then we are Caribbean or American." "As a black man walking down the street (in the U.S.), no one knows if he is Caribbean or not," [Irwint Claire] added. "Plus Caribbean people have played important roles in advancement of African Americans. "It is a very significant time for Caribbean Americans," he said. "Caribbean nationals should look at it as a good time to be in the U.S...One ([Barack Obama]) from the ranks is moving forth."
Discusses the impact of the presidential campaign of Barack Obama in the U.S. in 2008 examining Obama's black ancestry as well as his self-representation, which generates uncertainty about the meaning of blackness in American life. Looks into some studies examining the social status of African-Americans in the country, including their educational and employment opportunities. Moreover, addresses the social condition of Latin American and Asian American immigrants
Garvey identified the root causes of President Obama's plight in 1922 when he wrote: A terrible mistake was made between 40 and 50 years ago when Black men were elected to legislative assemblies all over the country, especially in the southern states and even at the national capital when representatives of this race occupied seats in Congress. Following his retirement in 2010, he embraced his passion for politics and human behavior and immersed himself into his new writing career which culminated in two books: A New Perspective on Race-related Problems in Corporate American Companies (Outcast Publishing) and Whom God Has Blessed Let No Man Curse (Infinity Publishing).
Beszterczey,Dora (Author), Fernandez,Damian J. (Author), and Gomez,Andy S. (Author)
Format:
Book, Whole
Publication Date:
Aug 2010
Published:
Washington, DC: Latin America Initiative at Brookings
Location:
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
5 p., Last year, President Obama delivered the first step in his promise to reach out to the Cuban people and support their desire for freedom and self-determination. Premised on the belief that Cuban Americans are the best ambassadors for freedom in Cuba, the Obama administration lifted restrictions on travel and remittances by Cuban Americans; however, if US policy is to be truly forward looking it must further expand its focus from the Castro government to the well-being of the Cuban people. Tables.
