politics

Haiti on the Big Stage in NY and Washington

On April 13 and 14,  international and bilateral donors will meet at the headquarters of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to announce a major assistance package for Haiti. The donors meeting should have been held a year ago. But about this time last year, protests over the scarcity and high cost of food spread from… Read More ›

Haiti: From Natural Catastrophe to Economic Security

A Report for the Secretary-General of the United Nations Paul Collier Department of Economics Oxford University December 27th, 2008 N.B. We publish in its entirety the findings and recommendations of Professor Paul Collier, following a brief visit to Haiti in December 2008 to assess prospects for economic development. The author of “The Bottom Billion,” visited… Read More ›

Ambassador Rice: Haiti is at the Crossroads

How many times have  you heard that Haiti was at the crossroads of opportunity and despair? Forget it: no answers need be provided. Far too many people have said it far too many times (including this writer), yet opportunities at these crossroads have come and gone. And Haiti has become worse, not better. Outfitted with… Read More ›

Will Internationalism be the new US Mantra?

The United States will no longer shun the United Nations Human Rights Council. The Obama Administration announced today that it will seek a seat on the Council. More importantly, according to the Washington Post, New Zealand has offered to step aside in order to ensure that should the US bid for a seat on the… Read More ›

Will Obama grant TPS to Haitian Immigrants?

The word on the street is that President Barack Obama is seriously weighing whether or not to reverse the Bush Administration’s decision to not grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Haitian immigrants living semi-openly in the US. Patrick Gaspard, the White House Director for Political Affairs, recently made a quick trip to Miami to confer with advocates for the Haitians and communicate the Administration’s concerns. How did we get there and will Obama do right by the Haitians?

Harry Belafonte, Most Charming Revolutionary

Over the last twenty years, I occasionally shared the limelight with Harry Belafonte, in the early 1990s in particular, as the campaigns on behalf of Haitian refugees denied asylum in the United States and democracy in Haiti joined to tilt the Clinton Administration’s hand towards democracy and human rights in Haiti. Belafonte spoke with the wisdom of a man who had seen his share of injustice and faced them with the conviction that comes from a place deep within.

Ella Baker: A Political Organizer’s Organizer

Baker, born on December 13, 1903 died in New York City on December 13, 1986. During the Great Depression, she became involved with the Young Negroes Cooperative League. Afterwards, she joined the NAACP, but jumped at the chance of working with the SCLC at its inception. Baker was instrumental at helping to establish the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) — from which Congressman John Lewis emerged to become a leader –, and the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.

What was her philosophy and from which principles did she draw strength from?

What Haitian Leaders Should Take Away from Obama’s Inaugural Speech

In his inaugural speech on January 20, Barack Obama addressed mainly the expectations of the American people, but he had a few choice words for allies and foes abroad. What should Haitian leaders take away from his words? Two things: a warning and a promise.

Obama: We Will Meet the Challenges that Face Us

America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children’s children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God’s grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

From Protest to Politics: the Future of the Civil Rights Movement

Bayard Rustin is most closely identified as the master strategist behind the successful 1963 March on Washington. A consummate behind-the-scenes civil and human rights campaigner, Mr. Rustin labored in the trenches, took part in marches, sit-ins and demonstrations and initially guided Rev. Martin Luther King’s first steps as the civil rights and political leader that he was to become.