State Rep. Marie St. Fleur, lauded by Haitians across the U.S. for her pioneering role as the nation's first Haitian-American lawmaker, gained further strides in the Massachusetts Legislature in 2003. A key lieutenant to powerful House Speaker Tom Finneran, St. Fleur was once again elevated to a leadership position, this time as chairwoman of the Legislature's Committee on Education.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
289 p, Synopsis Examining the relationship between democracy and the politics of race from a cross-national comparative perspective, this study examies specifically how black people fare in the political systems of Britain, Brazil, and the USA. Questions concerning the role of race in the development of democratic ideology, theory and systems of governance, and the levels of difference and commonality in the policitical experiences of people of African descent in the diaspora are addressed. This text uses the traditional tools of comparative political science in order to examine the role of race and race-related issues in each nation. Each of the nation-state chapters traces the historical relationship between the development of democracy and the politics of race. Also discussed are the processes and factors that are the result of the specific national or political differences and those that may be the result of systemic factors that commonly occur in democratic contexts. ; Includes bibliographical references (p.267-281) and index.
Rep. St. Fleur and the panelists also called for a change in the Bush administration's policy denying safe harbor to Haitians fleeing Haiti for the shores of Florida by boat. In a strong show of support for St. Fleur's resolutions, representatives of presidential hopeful [John Kerry] circulated a statement from the candidate supporting the presence of a multinational police force in Haiti including police from the United States, OAS and CARICOM. The statement also called for U.S. funded training and support for Haiti's police force, the lifting current sanctions on aid to Haitians for health and education programs, and renewed pressure on international financial institutions to assist the Haitian government in confronting these issues. Kerry's statement went on to state, "If we hope to lead the nations of the world toward a more democratic future, we must act now to protect a fragile democracy in our own backyard."
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
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Journal Title Details:
p. 391
Notes:
Santiago-Valles, Kelvin. (chapter) "The Sexual Appeal of Racial Differences: US Travel Writing and Anxious American-ness in Tuirn of the Century Puerto Rico."
