Travis Air Force Base to Celebrate Caribbean-American Heritage Month Published May 27, 2008 By Caribbean American Heritage Committe 60th Air Mobility Wing TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- This is the first year that Caribbean-American Heritage Month will be celebrated at Travis. It was initially designated by President George W. Bush in June 2006 through Presidential Proclamation. During June, we celebrate the contributions of Caribbean Americans who have helped shape the spirit and character of our great nation. It is an opportunity for all Americans to learn more about the Caribbean-American historic relationship, our shared values and how Caribbean-Americans have helped our nation. The Caribbean region, also known as the West Indies, is a chain of 27 island nations, 2,500 miles long and 160 miles wide, that enclose the Caribbean Sea. To their north is Florida and to the west is South America. The islands were initially settled by people groups who migrated from South America. The Carib people, after whom the Caribbean Sea was named, raided and traded with other immigrant groups and, because of their boat building and warrior skills, became the predominant population until the influx of Spaniards in the 1400s. The Carib were then assimilated into the growing European population during the Spanish Colonial period. Descendants of the Carib people still remain in Dominica and St. Vincent. Historians estimate the population of the Caribbean to have been 750,000 before European contact. After contact, the population in the Caribbean decreased due to disease and conquest, until the arrival of immigrants from Britain, France, Spain, the Netherlands and Denmark and slaves from West Africa during the 1500s through the 1800s. By 1800 the Caribbean population was estimated to have reached 2.2 million. During the 1900s, immigrants from other countries such as China and India, who arrived there as workers and traders, added to the population. Today there are an estimated 37.5 million people who live in the Caribbean. This history gives the Caribbean its wide cultural diversity which is as varied as the geography of the islands themselves. Cultural influence by island include: British Influence: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bay Islands, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Monserrat, Saint Kitts, and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Turks and Caicos Islands. Spanish Influence: Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico. French Influence: Haiti, Saint Croix, Martinique and Guadeloupe, Saint Barthelmy and Saint Martin. Portuguese Influence: Barbados. Danish Influence: United States Virgin Islands Dutch Influence: Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. The island geography varies from one island to the other. Some islands are non-volcanic and are relatively flat such as Aruba, Bahamas and the Cayman Islands. Other islands such as Cuba, Dominica, Puerto Rico, and Trinidad and Tobago, have rugged mountain ranges as a result of their volcanic origins. The Caribbean culture is a fusion of high energy, colorful music, customs and food with cultural influences from Spain, France, India and Africa. Languages vary from French Creole, spoken in Haiti, the Afro-Anglo English of the Virgin Islands, to the Spanish of Puerto Rico, Cuba and the Dominican Republic. Famous Caribbean-Americans include Alexander Hamilton, the first U.S. Treasury Secretary, born on the island of Nevis, Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, founder of Chicago, born in Haiti, Dr. William Thornton, physician and architect who designed the United States Capital, from the Virgin Islands, Juan Carlos Finlay, famous for his work to identify the mosquito as the carrier of malaria, of Cuba, Sidney Poitier, first African-American actor to receive an Academy Award for best actor, son of Bahamian parents, Shirley Chisholm, first African-American woman elected to Congress, from Barbados, Oscar de la Renta, fashion designer, of the Dominican Republic, Antonia Novello, first female United States Surgeon General, from Puerto Rico, Patrick Ewing, NBA Basketball star and National Basketball Hall of Fame, of Jamaica and Colin Powell, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the first black U.S Secretary of State, the son of Jamaican parents. Several events will be held throughout the base during June to highlight Caribbean-American month. Those currently planned include: -- June 1 through 30 - Display at the Mitchell Memorial Library -- June 3- Story Time, Summer Reading Program -- June 5 - David Grant USAF Medical Center Dining Hall Special Caribbean-Themed Meal -- June 13 - Commissary Food tasting event -- June 19 - Theme Meal, Sierra Inn Dining Facility -- June 20 - Caribbean Flag Party, Delta Breeze Club -- June 24 - Story Time, Summer Reading Program