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DIANE ABBOTT
In the last few weeks the new American president, Barack Obama, has announced all his cabinet appointees. And there is a strong Caribbean flavour to the top black people in his administration.
His most prominent black appointee is the attorney general, Eric Holder. One of the most brilliant lawyers of his generation, <span style="font-weight: bold">Holder himself was born in the Bronx, New York,</span> and grew up in the middle of a mainly Caribbean community there. <span style="font-weight: bold">His father was born in Barbados and his mother's parents were also from Barbados</span>.
<span style="font-weight: bold">Holder grew up very much aware of his Barbados roots as his parents returned there frequently. He has been quoted as saying, "I feel that I grew up partly in Barbados and partly in New York." In his speeches he often describes Barbados as "the jewel of the Caribbean".</span>
His mother described how West Indian dishes like rice and peas were regularly on the table, and also had this to say: "He grew up, I guess you could say, in a West Indian home, and education was quite important. They knew they had to perform the way we wanted them to. Perhaps I was a bit harder than I should have been. Education is always important."
Obama's pick for United Nations Ambassador is Susan Rice. Like Condoleezza Rice (no relation) she will be very much the face of America in international matters. Obama has emphasised the importance that he places on the post by upgrading it to cabinet level.
HOLDER... has Bajan roots
Susan Rice also has a Caribbean connection through her maternal grandparents. Her grandfather, David Dickson, immigrated to Maine in America from the parish of Manchester, Jamaica, in 1911. It was there he married Mary Daly who was also from Jamaica. All his life he was employed at a relatively lowly level as a janitor. But he enjoyed a leadership role in the black community.
He established a black community service club and was active in the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP). He had five children, and all of them have enjoyed successful careers. One became a college president, one was an optician and two were doctors. The youngest was Susan's mother, Lois. She had a brilliant academic career. Susan herself remembers her grandparents clearly. She recalls that her grandparents, David and Mary Dickson, taught their children to work hard, strive for excellence and "never let race be an obstacle or an excuse".
It may be a coincidence that Barack Obama's top black appointees have Caribbean roots. Or it may be that it is intrinsically Caribbean characteristics, like a reverence for education, which has powered them to the top. In any case, there is no doubt that the whole world has a stake in the success of Barack Obama. But the Caribbean has more than one reason to follow his progress with fascination.
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