Whereas people of Caribbean heritage are found in every State of the Union; Whereas emigration from the Caribbean to the American colonies began as early as 1619 with the arrival of indentured workers in Jamestown, Virginia; Whereas, during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a significant number of slaves from the Caribbean were brought to the United States; Whereas millions of people have emigrated from the Caribbean to the United States; Whereas the current population of people in the United States who were born in or have ancestry from the Caribbean is estimated at over 8,500,000; Whereas, like the United States, the countries of the Caribbean faced obstacles of slavery and colonialism and struggled for independence; Whereas, also like the United States, the people of the Caribbean have diverse racial, ethnic, cultural, and religious backgrounds; Whereas independence movements throughout the Caribbean and the consequential establishment of independent democratic countries in the Caribbean strengthened ties between the Caribbean and the United States; Whereas Alexander Hamilton, a Founding Father of the United States and the first Secretary of the Treasury, was born in the Caribbean; Whereas many influential Caribbean Americans have contributed to the rich history of the United States, including Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable, the pioneer settler of Chicago; Claude McKay, a poet of the Harlem Renaissance; James Weldon Johnson, the writer of the Black National Anthem; Celia Cruz, the world-renowned queen of Salsa music; Sylvia Winter, influential feminist, writer, and human rights activist; Cicely Tyson, legendary star of stage and screen; John Russworm, co-founder of Freedom’s Journal, the first Black-owned newspaper; Mervyn Dymally, the first African-American Lieutenant Governor of California and first Caribbean immigrant to serve in Congress, and Shirley Chisholm, the first African-American Congresswoman and first African-American woman candidate for President