Result of US

Result of US Introduction The United States has had an eventful relationship with countries of Latin America. Latin America has historically been the US’s backyard as far as foreign policy is concerned (Cottam 4).Advertising We will write a custom coursework sample on Result of US-Venezuela Relations specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Given its diversity and active politics, various US administrations since Kennedy have focused on different issues including military operations to achieve predetermined political and social ambitions, narcotics control, humanitarian interventions and economic aid to Latin America. Sullivan reinforces Cottam’s suggestion that that US policy concerns in Latin America mainly center on US funding for democracy projects, oil issues, human rights concerns, counter-narcotics and concerns about Venezuela’s involvement in Latin American politics (3). US policy images on Venezuela Relations A keen observer can easily note that Venezuela features in all the above policy issues. Hugo Chavez has led the country since 1998 safe for a brief period in 2002 when he was overthrown through popular protests and pressure from the military. Given his position as leader of the country, his stance on US policies and his pursuit of populist policies in the country and elsewhere in Latin America, Chavez remains a key figure to success or failure of US policies in Venezuela. Despite close relations between US and Venezuela, there has been friction between him and various US administrations. During all those times, US foreign officials have been careful on their wording on Venezuela especially stressing on the need for Chavez to accommodate some of the opposition’s grievances and Chavez’s adherence to democratic principles. It is important to note that the US’s approach in Venezuela is chiefly aimed at ensuring a continued steady supply of oil to the US at a reasonable and stable p rice.Advertising Looking for coursework on international relations? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More According to Clemente, some scholars on US’s Latin American policy conclude that US foreign policy officials view Latin American people including Venezuela as temperamental, immature and incapable of self governance (60). There is reluctance or plain lack of effort on the part of US officials to try to learn the exact needs of people of Venezuela. Clemente further asserts that many at times, US officials will ascribe negative moral traits to Latin American leaders like Chavez when these leaders oppose policies fronted by the US in South America (60). The above view by US officials fuels the image of inferior people in Venezuela, who have to subscribe to superior and seemingly â€Å"correct† US direction in the region. This perhaps informed the Bush administration’s support of the coup in Venezuela and support for opponents of Chavez in the pretext of promoting democracy. Implications The result of the above approach has been formulation of a somehow flawed US policy on Venezuela that is characteristic of unequal footing and lack of mutual trust. It is fair to conclude that the above image on Venezuela by the US is a little misguided. As such, its policy on the country is also likely to be error prone which may not be helpful in the long-term to US interests in the country. The above image by US officials has always been a pretext for intervention in Venezuela (Domingue and Fernandez de Castro 1). As noted earlier, the US has intervened in Venezuela through assistance of anti-Chavez groups that apparently promote democracy. The approach based on the above image has so far elicited unwanted reactions from Venezuela whose leader has embarked on a diplomatic counter offensive in Latin America to counter US policies. Given the successful fueling of anti-US sentiment in Latin Ameri ca by Venezuela, it is highly likely that US policy in the region will continue to meet resistance on various quarters. There is need for a shift in the thinking of US policy makers concerning the region. Continued basing of the policies on the above images will likely fuel a more interventionist-oriented US approach in South America which is likely to lead to more backlash.Advertising We will write a custom coursework sample on Result of US-Venezuela Relations specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Clement, Christopher. â€Å"Latin American Perspectives: Venezuelan Exceptionalism Revisited†. New Perspectives on Politics and Society. 32. 3 (2005): 60-78. Cottam, Martha. Images and Intervention: U.S. Policies in Latin America, Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh Press, 1994. Print. Domingue, Jorge, and Fernandez de Castro, Rafael. Contemporary U.S.-Latin American Relations: Cooperation or Conflict in the 21st Century, New York: Taylor and Franci s, 2010. Print. Sullivan, Mark. Venezuela: Political Conditions and U.S. Policy, Washington: US Congress, 2005. Print.

Biography of Canadian Civil Rights Icon Viola Desmond

Biography of Canadian Civil Rights Icon Viola Desmond She’s long been compared to Rosa Parks, and  now late civil rights pioneer Viola Desmond will appear on Canada’s $10 banknote. Known for refusing to sit in the segregated section of a movie theater, Desmond will grace  the note, starting in 2018. She will replace Canada’s first prime minister, John A. Macdonald, who will be featured on a higher-value bill instead. Desmond was chosen to appear on the currency after the Bank of Canada  requested submissions for iconic Canadian women to be featured on the bill. News that she was selected came several months after the announcement  that slave-turned-abolitionist Harriet Tubman would appear on the $20 bill in the United States. â€Å"Today is about recognizing the incalculable contribution that all women have had and continue to have in shaping Canada’s story,† Canadian Minister of Finance Bill Morneau said of Desmond’s selection in December 2016. â€Å"Viola Desmond’s own story reminds all of us that big change can start with moments of dignity and bravery. She represents courage, strength and determination- qualities we should all aspire to every day.† It was a long road to get Desmond on the bill. The Bank of Canada received 26,000 nominations and eventually cut that number down to just five finalists. Desmond edged out Mohawk poet E. Pauline Johnson, engineer Elizabeth MacGill, runner Fanny Rosenfeld and suffragette Idola Saint-Jean. But Americans and Canadians alike have admitted they knew little about the race relations pioneer before the landmark decision to feature her on Canadian currency. When Desmond beat out the competition, however, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called her selection a â€Å"fantastic choice.† He described Desmond as a â€Å"businesswoman, community leader, and courageous fighter against racism.† So, why were her contributions to society so important that she will be immortalized on the nation’s currency? Get acquainted with Desmond with this biography. A Pioneer Who Gave Back Desmond was born Viola Irene Davis on July 6, 1914, in Halifax,  Nova Scotia. She grew up middle class, and her parents, James Albert and Gwendolin Irene Davis, were highly involved in Halifax’s black community.   When she came of age, Desmond initially pursued a teaching career. But as a child, Desmond developed an interest in cosmetology due to the dearth of black haircare products available in her area. The fact that her father worked as a barber must have inspired her as well.   Halifax’s beauty schools were off limits to black women, so Desmond traveled to Montreal to attend the  Field Beauty Culture School, one of the rare institutions that accepted black students. She also traveled  to  the United States to get the expertise she sought. She even trained with Madam  C.J. Walker, who became a millionaire for pioneering beauty treatments and products for African Americans. Desmond’s tenacity paid off when she received a diploma from Apex College of Beauty Culture and Hairdressing in Atlantic City, N.J. When Desmond received the training she needed, she opened a salon of her own, Vi’s Studio of Beauty Culture in Halifax, in 1937. She also opened up a beauty school, Desmond School of Beauty Culture, because she didn’t want other black women to have to endure the hurdles she had to receive training. Roughly 15 women graduated from her school each year, and they left equipped with the know-how to open their own salons and provide work for black women in their communities, as Desmond’s students came from throughout Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Quebec. Like Desmond had, these women had been rejected from all-white beauty schools. Following in the footsteps of Madam  C.J. Walker, Desmond also launched a beauty line called Vis Beauty Products. Desmond’s love life overlapped with her professional aspirations. She and her husband, Jack Desmond, launched a hybrid barbershop and beauty salon together.    Taking a Stand Nine years before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Ala., bus to a white man, Desmond refused to sit in the black section of a movie theater in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. She took the stand that would make her a hero in the black community after her car broke down on Nov. 8, 1946, during a trip she took to sell beauty products. Informed that fixing her car would take a day because the parts to do so weren’t readily available, Desmond decided to see a film called â€Å"The Dark Mirror† at New Glasgow’s Roseland Film Theatre. She purchased a ticket at the box office, but when she entered the theater, the usher told her that she had a balcony ticket, not a ticket for the main floor. So, Desmond, who was nearsighted and needed to sit downstairs to see,  went back to the ticket booth to correct the situation. There, the cashier said she wasnt allowed to sell downstairs tickets to blacks. The black businesswoman refused to sit in the balcony and returned to the main floor. There, she was roughly forced out of her seat, arrested and held overnight in jail. Because it cost 1 cent more for a main floor ticket than for a balcony ticket, Desmond was charged with tax evasion. For the offense, she paid a $20 fine and $6 in court fees to be released from custody.    When she arrived home, her husband advised her to drop the matter, but the leaders at her place of worship, Cornwallis Street Baptist Church, urged her to fight for her rights. The Nova Scotia Association for the Advancement of Coloured People offered its support as well, and Desmond hired a lawyer, Frederick Bissett, to represent her in court. The lawsuit he filed against Roseland Theatre proved unsuccessful  because Bissett argued his client was wrongfully accused of tax evasion instead of pointing out that she was discriminated against based on race. Unlike the United States, Jim Crow wasn’t the law of the land in Canada. So, Bissett may have triumphed had he pointed out that this private movie theater attempted to enforce segregated seating. But just because Canada lacked  Jim Crow didn’t mean blacks there eluded racism, which is why Afua Cooper, black Canadian studies professor at Dalhousie University in Halifax, told Al Jazeera that Desmond’s case should be viewed through a Canadian lens. â€Å"I think its about time Canada recognizes its black citizens, people who have suffered,† Cooper said. Canada has its own homegrown racism, anti-black racism, and anti-African racism that it has to deal with without comparing it to the US. We live here. We don’t live in America. Desmond lived in Canada.   The court case marked the first known legal challenge to segregation presented by a black woman in Canada, according to the Bank of Canada. Although Desmond lost, her efforts inspired black Nova Scotians to demand equal treatment and put a spotlight on racial injustice in Canada. Justice Delayed Desmond didn’t see justice in her lifetime. For fighting racial discrimination, she received a great deal of negative attention. This likely put a strain on her marriage, which ended in divorce.  Desmond eventually relocated to Montreal to attend business school. She later moved to New York, where she died alone of a gastrointestinal hemorrhage on Feb. 7, 1965, at age 50. This courageous woman wasn’t vindicated until April 14, 2010, when the lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia issued an official pardon. The pardon recognized that the conviction was wrongful, and Nova Scotia government officials apologized for Desmond’s treatment. Two years later, Desmond was featured on a  Canadian Post stamp. The beauty entrepreneur’s sister, Wanda Robson, has been a consistent advocate for her  and even wrote a book about Desmond called â€Å"Sister to Courage.† When Desmond was chosen to grace Canada’s $10 bill, Robson said, â€Å"It’s a big day to have a woman on a banknote, but it’s an especially big day to have your big sister on a banknote. Our family is extremely proud and honored.† In addition to Robson’s book, Desmond has been featured in the childrens book â€Å"Viola Desmond Wont Be Budged.† Also, Faith Nolan recorded a song about her. But Davis is not the only civil rights pioneer to be the subject of a recording. Stevie Wonder and rap group Outkast have recorded songs about Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks, respectively. A documentary about Desmonds life, â€Å"Journey to Justice,† debuted in 2000. Fifteen years later,  the government recognized the inaugural Nova Scotia Heritage Day in Desmonds  honor. In 2016, the businesswoman was  featured in a Historica Canada Heritage Minute, a quick dramatized look  at key events in Canadian history. Actress  Kandyse McClure starred as Desmond.