Outside of those that plan and carry out
the carnival celebrations, there are a variety of other Caribbean organizations
in Atlanta, including cricket and soccer clubs, a Caribbean theater group, and many
cultural associations, such as Atlanta Jamaican Association and Dominica
Atlanta Cultural Association. These organizations play a major part in
developing a pan-ethnic Caribbean social network in Atlanta. They connected the
earliest migrants, who arrived around the early 1990s when the population was
beginning to grow, and helped them navigate the social landscapes of their new
environment. Several respondents that migrated to Atlanta prior to the mid-1990s
explained how finding out about the group from others and newspaper ads helped
them connect with other Caribbean people in the area. The Atlanta Caribbean Association (ACA)
has the longest history. ACA serves as an umbrella organization for the
Caribbean groups and events in the Atlanta area. In the early 1990s, when the
migration to the city began to surge, ACA was flourishing and at its peak, but
has faded since then. In 2009, when I started my research in Atlanta, ACA membership
had dwindled down to a handful of people.[1] The growth of
the Caribbean community in Atlanta has been both a good and bad thing for ACA. The
late 1990s saw a proliferation of island-specific groups, with Afro-Caribbean
immigrants gravitating towards their island-specific organizations. With the
influx of new Caribbean immigrants in the Atlanta area, each organization has
accumulated a sizeable enough population to sustain an active membership.
The Georgia Caribbean American Heritage Coalition, Incorporated (GCAHC)
is a recently created nonprofit organization that is making efforts to bring
together Atlanta’s Caribbean community and to incorporate the community and its
culture into the region. GCAHC was founded in 2006 in response to efforts to
establish June as Caribbean American Heritage Month (CAHM). Under the
leadership of Dr. Claire Nelson, the Institute for Caribbean Studies (ICS) in
Washington, D.C. initiated the campaign
to designate June as National Caribbean American Heritage Month recognizing the
significance of Caribbean people and their descendants in the history and
culture of the United States. ICS began their efforts to establish a National
Caribbean American Heritage Month in 1999 with a letter to President Bill
Clinton asking to recognize August as National Caribbean American Month. June officially became National Caribbean
American Heritage Month when President Bush signed the proclamation on June 5, 2006.[2]
One year later, GCAHC worked with State Representative Billy Mitchell of Stone
Mountain to get the resolution adopted by the Georgia General Assembly. The
Georgia General Assembly adopted the CAHM Resolution designating June as
Caribbean American Heritage Month.[3]
The main objective of the GCAHC is to organize events in the Atlanta
area in observation of CAHM. The founding president of the organization, Valrie
Sanders, told me about the events that they organize in Atlanta for Caribbean
American Heritage Month. Every year, since its inception, GCAHC has partnered
with different Caribbean organizations and the libraries in the metropolitan
area to put together events for CAHM.[4]
The Atlanta Central Library and Auburn Avenue Library on African American
Culture and History together host a Caribbean film festival. Throughout the month of June, GCAHC puts
on a number of other activities including educational events, dinners, cultural shows, plays,
advocacy events—such as getting a representative from the Carter Center to
discuss their involvement in the Caribbean—and a small business seminar sponsored
by the Small Business Association.
The month is kicked off in Atlanta City Hall with an opening reception that
each year highlights a country or region of the Caribbean. When I attended the
reception in 2010, they spotlighted the sister islands of Antigua and Barbuda. When
I entered City Hall, it had a feel of a Caribbean market. Around the large room,
Caribbean organizations had set up table exhibit, displaying their national
culture, food, national costumes, and art.
After taking a moment of silence for the victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the
proclamation of President Obama recognizing June as Caribbean American Heritage
Month was read. As the program progressed, which included musical performances,
an awards ceremony, and fashion show, I noticed that the Mayor of Atlanta Kasim
Reed, who took office in 2010, was absent, though the reception was held in
City Hall. I was surprised because I had seen the mayors of Boston and New York
on floats at each city’s Caribbean carnival, showing their support for the
event to hopefully garner new supporters and voters among the community. Nancy Foner
(2005: 148) states: "Attendance at the West Indian American Day Parade on
Eastern Parkway has become a requirement for politicians seeking city and state
office and those representing districts with large concentrations of West
Indians." Mayor Reed instead sent one of his aides of Jamaican descent to
read a letter. In it, he acknowledges the Caribbean community in metro Atlanta
and states that Caribbean Americans are aiding to the culture and makeup of
Atlanta. However, I saw his absence as a clear sign that the Caribbean
community is not fully acknowledged or valued in Atlanta. It is possible that
major African American political figures in Atlanta do not view Afro-Caribbean
community as potential political assets because of its relatively small size
(in comparison to the city’s large African American population) and of its
residential dispersion across the metro area. For city politicians,
Afro-Caribbeans are not big part of their potential voting pool since they have
settled mostly in the suburbs rather than in the city. The event had many other
leaders in attendance, including the consul of Barbados Edward Lane and State
Representative Billy Mitchell, who was recognized for his work with the Caribbean
community in Atlanta.
[2]
Since 2006, the
White House has issued an annual proclamation, signed by the president,
recognizing June as Caribbean American Heritage Month.
[3]
Georgia was the
third state to adopt the CAHM Resolution.
[4]
Margaret informed me that they are required to
work with the local libraries, based on guidelines set up by ICS.
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