The Garifuna Story Now And Then

This collection of over 400 biographies of eminent ethnic Americans celebrates a wide array of inspiring individuals and their contributions to U.S. history. The stories of these 400 eminent ethnic Americans are a testimony to the enduring power of the American dream. These men and women, from 90 different ethnic groups, certainly faced unequal access to opportunities. Yet they all became renowned artists, writers, political and religious leaders, scientists, and athletes. Kahlil Gibran, Daniel Inouye, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Thurgood Marshall, Madeleine Albright, and many others are living proof that the land of opportunity sometimes lives up to its name. Alongside these success stories, as historian Elliot R. Barkan notes in his introduction to this volume, there have been many failures and many immigrants who did not stay in the United States. Nevertheless, the stories of these trailblazers, visionaries, and champions portray the breadth of possibilities, from organizing a nascent community to winning the Nobel prize. They also provide irrefutable evidence that no single generation and no single cultural heritage can claim credit for what America is.

Presents a social history of contemporary immigrants to the United States and describes their personal lives and cultures.

Part I, "The Old Ways," consists of vignettes that introduce the family backstory with dialogue as imagined by Wells based on the family history she was told. We meet the family progenitors, Margaret and Cervantes Diego, during their courtship, experience Margaret's pain as Cervantes takes a second wife, witness the death of Cervantes and ensuing mourning rituals, follow the return of Margaret and the children to their previous home in British Honduras, and observe the emergence of the children's personalities. In Part II, "Living There," Wells continues the story when she arrives in Belize and meets the Diego children, including the major protagonist, Tas. In Tas's household Wells learns about foods and manners and watches family squabbles and reconciliations. In these mini-stories, Wells interweaves cultural information on the Garifuna people with first-person narrative and transcription of their words, assembling these into an enthralling slice of life.

This is the first book-length analysis of the emerging literature written in Spanish by contemporary Central Americans whose grandparents came from the largely English-speaking islands of the Caribbean.