National Caribbean-American Heritage Month 2018 Painting by Shari Erickson Miami-Dade County Public Schools Department of Social Sciences

National Caribbean-American Heritage Month 2018 Papaya Morning by Patti Schermerhorn National Caribbean-American Heritage Month is celebrated each June. This occasion gives our diverse community the opportunity to recognize and celebrate the significance of Caribbean people and their descendants to the history of our community and nation.

National Caribbean-American Heritage Month 2018 The Caribbean is a region of the Americas consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands, and the surrounding coasts. The region is located southeast of North America, east of Central America, and to the northwest of South America. The Caribbean comprises more than seven thousand islands, islets, reefs, and cays and is organized into 28 territories including sovereign nations, territories, and dependencies.

National Caribbean-American Heritage Month 2018 The "Caribbean" is named after the Caribs, one of the dominant American Indian groups in the region. In 1492, Christopher Columbus became the first European to reach the Caribbean islands when he landed on an island believed to be present-day San Salvador in the Bahamas.

National Caribbean-American Heritage Month 2018 After Columbus visited the region, various European countries gained control of the Caribbean Islands. Today, most of the islands make up, or form part of, independent nations. The rest are associated with the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, or the United States. The Caribbean Islands have a population of about 43 million. About a fourth of the people live on Cuba, the largest of the islands. Mountain Pass by Edgar Brierre

National Caribbean-American Heritage Month 2018 Shari Erickson