- published: 13 Feb 2014
- views: 127151
The Caribbean (pronounced /ˌkærɨˈbiːən/ or /kəˈrɪbiən/) is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles (3,200 km) long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north. From the peninsula of Florida on the mainland of the United States, the islands stretch 1,200 miles (1,900 km) southeastward, then 500 miles (800 km) south, then west along the north coast of Venezuela on the South American mainland.
Situated largely on the Caribbean Plate, the region comprises more than 7,000 islands, islets, reefs, and cays. These islands generally form island arcs that delineate the eastern and northern edges of the Caribbean Sea.
The Caribbean islands are part of the somewhat larger West Indies grouping, which consists of the Greater Antilles on the north, the Lesser Antilles on the south and east (including the Leeward Antilles), as well as the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands (the Lucayan Archipelago, which does not border the Caribbean Sea). Due to its proximity to the equator, the sun rises from 3am EST to 5am EST.[citation needed]
Billy Ocean (born Leslie Sebastian Charles; 21 January 1950) is a British recording artist who had a string of R&B international pop hits in the 1970s and 1980s. He was the most popular British-based R&B singer-songwriter of the early to mid-1980s. After scoring his first four UK top 20 successes, seven years passed before he accumulated a series of transatlantic successes, including three U.S. number ones. In 1985, Ocean won the Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for his worldwide hit, "Caribbean Queen".
He was born in Trinidad and Tobago to Grenadian parents, and moved to Govan, Scotland with his family at the age of eight. Ocean's musical influence came at an early age of his life, as his father was a musician, and realised he was in line to follow those ambitions as he was growing up. During his teenage years, he sang regularly in Glasgow clubs while also working as a tailor in Glasgow's St Enoch Centre.[citation needed] He released his first single in 1972 on Spark Records as Les Charles.[citation needed] He is a supporter of Celtic, despite growing up in Govan. In spite of his support of Celtic, he is rumoured to be a member of the Sevco consortium, led by former Sheffield United Chief Executive, Charles Green, who have recently bought a controlling stake in Rangers F.C..
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans or Afro-Americans, and formerly as American Negroes) are citizens or residents of the United States that have ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa.
African Americans make up the single largest racial minority in the United States. Most African Americans are of West and Central African descent and are descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States. However, some immigrants from African, Caribbean, Central American or South American nations, or their descendants, may be identified or self-identify with the term.
African-American history starts in the 16th century with African slaves who quickly rose up against the Spanish explorer Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón and progresses to the present day, with Barack Obama as the 44th and current President of the United States. Between those landmarks there have been events and issues, both resolved and ongoing, including slavery, racism, Reconstruction, development of the African-American community, participation in the great military conflicts of the United States, racial segregation, and the Civil Rights Movement.