Speeches

Remarks by U.S. Ambassador Cesar Cabrera at the Launching of the African-American History Month
A Tribute through Films

Monday, March 5 2007
Indira Gandhi Center for Indian Culture

His Excellency, Raouf Bundhun Acting President of the Republic of Mauritius;

Honorable Rama Valayden, Attorney General, Minister of Justice and Human Rights;

Honorable Mahendra Gowressoo, Minister of Arts and Culture;

Diplomatic Corps;

Distinguished Guests,

Thank you all for joining us this evening at the Indira Gandhi Center as the U.S. Embassy launches its film tribute to Black History Month through films.

I’d like to thank the Indian High Commission Chargé d’Affaires Sanjiv Ranjan and the staff of the Indira Gandhi Center for allowing us to hold our week-long film fest here in these beautiful surroundings.  It is relevant that we hold our Black History Month program here.  Martin Luther King was an active leader in the U.S. civil rights movement.   He advocated non-violent action as a means to overcome the evil of racism in America, and he led the effort that resulted in the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  He was pivotal in persuading his fellow Americans to end the legal segregation that prevailed throughout the South and other regions in the United States, and in sparking support for the civil rights legislation that established the legal framework for racial equality in the United States. As a student of the philosophy and principles of nonviolence enunciated by Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. King traveled to India where he studied the legacy of his “political mentor.”  Dr. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.  In his acceptance speech he stated, “. . . that nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time:  the need for man to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to violence and oppression.  . . . nonviolence is not sterile passivity, but a powerful moral force which makes for social transformation.”

Each February, Black History Month honors the struggles and triumphs of millions of American citizens over the most devastating obstacles -- slavery, prejudice, poverty
– as well as their contributions to the nation’s cultural and political life.

2007 marks the 81st annual celebration since Carter G. Woodson, a noted American scholar and historian, instituted Negro History Week in 1926.  He chose the second week of February to coincide with the birthdays of President Abraham Lincoln and the abolitionist Frederick Douglass. The celebration was expanded to a month in 1976, the
nation’s bicentennial.  President Gerald R. Ford urged Americans to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”

Since 1926, The Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History (ASALH) has established the national theme for the month-long celebration.  The National Theme for the celebration this year is “From Slavery to Freedom:  The Story of Africans in the Americas.” 
 
I believe the films chosen for viewing demonstrates the diverse society of the United States, and how a segment of our society has dealt with their pursuit for freedom and equality.  I’d like to quote American author Anna Julia Cooper who wrote, “The cause of freedom is not the cause of a race or a sect, a party or a class – it is the cause of humankind, the very birthright of humanity.”

I thank you once again for spending your evening with us as we view the film, “The Rosa Parks Story”, a story of another great American who led the way for the struggle for equality in the United States.

Thank you.