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.
In the current crisis, the voice of Black America has been inconsistent or hushed. While the Congressional Black Caucus has been outspoken in challenging the [Bush] administration on its entire attitude toward Haiti, there has not been a widespread outcry in our communities. Our voices need to be heard insisting that, one, U.S. and French troops be immediately withdrawn and replaced by soldiers from neutral countries, that is, countries that were not involved in destabilizing the [Aristide] presidency; two, the thugs of the armed opposition need to be immediately disarmed and the convicted criminals among them must be imprisoned; and three, The Caribbean Community or CARICOM should be used as a vehicle to move a national reconciliation program that ultimately results in free and fair elections.