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US Congress Passes Caribbean Educational Exchange Bill
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Leo Chambers
WASHINGTON (CMC) – The United States’ House of Representatives has passed a bill that seeks to fortify educational exchanges between the Caribbean and the United States. The bill, known as the Shirley A. Chisholm US-Caribbean Educational Exchange Act of 2007, was passed on July 31, by a margin of 371 to 55 votes.
Introduced by California Democratic Representative Barbara Lee, the bill would create “a system” for Caribbean Community (CARICOM) students to study in the United States.
It would also implement a plan for, among other things, the enhancement of teacher training and primary and secondary education development in CARICOM-member states.
“This bill will establish a mutually beneficial educational exchange between the United States and the Caribbean,” Lee said after its passage. “And, it is an important step towards strengthening our relationship with our neighbors,” she added.
The bill’s passage comes on the heels of last month’s agreement between US President George W. Bush and CARICOM leaders, during their summit, in Washington, on increased cooperation in education and workplace training.
“We commit to strengthen teacher training by expanding the Caribbean Centers of Excellence,” they said in the joint communiqué. “We also commit to strengthen human capacity in the Caribbean to meet the demands of a 21st century employment environment, through partnering with academic institutions and non-governmental groups, as well as through skills training for youth via the Entra-21 program,” it added.
The late Shirley Chisholm, the daughter of Barbadian and Guyanese parents, was the first Caribbean American to be elected to the United States Congress. She became the first representative for the predominantly Caribbean, 11th Congressional District in Brooklyn, when she was elected in the late 1960s. That seat is now held by another Caribbean American Congresswoman, Yvette D. Clarke, whose parents are Jamaican immigrants.
Lee, considered a “champion of Caribbean issues,” worked on Chisholm’s futile US presidential campaign in 1972. She was also instrumental in getting Congress to declare the month of June “Caribbean American Heritage Month”, which was celebrated in the United States for the second time this year.
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Damian Williams top-class achiever at Harvard, Yale
Damian Williams
It's refreshing to hear of persons with Jamaican heritage doing well in other parts of the world. Andre Damian Williams is one of those persons.
His academic achievements are outstanding and now he is all set to pursue clerkships with the highest courts in the United States.
Jamaican-born parents Hailing from Decatur, Atlanta, Williams is the son of Jamaican-born parents Andre Williams Sr. and Monica Williams (née Smith). His father is a well-known obstetrician and gynecologist; his mother is the owner and director of Decatur's Alpha Academy Day Care. Both of them are high achievers themselves, a trait they evidently passed down to their son.
info by
Leo Chambers
WASHINGTON (CMC) – The United States’ House of Representatives has passed a bill that seeks to fortify educational exchanges between the Caribbean and the United States. The bill, known as the Shirley A. Chisholm US-Caribbean Educational Exchange Act of 2007, was passed on July 31, by a margin of 371 to 55 votes.
Introduced by California Democratic Representative Barbara Lee, the bill would create “a system” for Caribbean Community (CARICOM) students to study in the United States.
It would also implement a plan for, among other things, the enhancement of teacher training and primary and secondary education development in CARICOM-member states.
“This bill will establish a mutually beneficial educational exchange between the United States and the Caribbean,” Lee said after its passage. “And, it is an important step towards strengthening our relationship with our neighbors,” she added.
The bill’s passage comes on the heels of last month’s agreement between US President George W. Bush and CARICOM leaders, during their summit, in Washington, on increased cooperation in education and workplace training.
“We commit to strengthen teacher training by expanding the Caribbean Centers of Excellence,” they said in the joint communiqué. “We also commit to strengthen human capacity in the Caribbean to meet the demands of a 21st century employment environment, through partnering with academic institutions and non-governmental groups, as well as through skills training for youth via the Entra-21 program,” it added.
The late Shirley Chisholm, the daughter of Barbadian and Guyanese parents, was the first Caribbean American to be elected to the United States Congress. She became the first representative for the predominantly Caribbean, 11th Congressional District in Brooklyn, when she was elected in the late 1960s. That seat is now held by another Caribbean American Congresswoman, Yvette D. Clarke, whose parents are Jamaican immigrants.
Lee, considered a “champion of Caribbean issues,” worked on Chisholm’s futile US presidential campaign in 1972. She was also instrumental in getting Congress to declare the month of June “Caribbean American Heritage Month”, which was celebrated in the United States for the second time this year.
--------------------------------------------
Damian Williams top-class achiever at Harvard, Yale
Damian Williams
It's refreshing to hear of persons with Jamaican heritage doing well in other parts of the world. Andre Damian Williams is one of those persons.
His academic achievements are outstanding and now he is all set to pursue clerkships with the highest courts in the United States.
Jamaican-born parents Hailing from Decatur, Atlanta, Williams is the son of Jamaican-born parents Andre Williams Sr. and Monica Williams (née Smith). His father is a well-known obstetrician and gynecologist; his mother is the owner and director of Decatur's Alpha Academy Day Care. Both of them are high achievers themselves, a trait they evidently passed down to their son.
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