Embassy News
Photo gallery: African-American Heritage Month presentations continue in Ashgabat
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Red Crescent Society of Turkmenistan
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On February 18 Karen Chamberlain gave an hour-long Black History Month presentation at the Red Crescent Society of Turkmenistan. She briefly covered more than 300 years of history, starting off with the time when African people were brought over to the North American continent to work on southern cotton and tobacco plantations. Mrs. Chamberlain covered the Civil War, one of the primary causes of which was slavery, the battle for rights and equality that the African people. Mrs. Chamberlain spoke about the current President of the USA, Barack Obama – his childhood, his studies and career and answered questions from the audience.
Magtymguly Turkmen State University
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On February 25 Ambassador Richard Miles spoke to professors and students of the English Language Department at the Turkmen State University. He shared his own personal experience in the struggle that African Americans had to go through to gain civil and political rights. The audience, among which were several law professors, was very interested to find out about the different laws that were passed first to oppress and segregate African people, then to protect them and make them equal citizens of the United States. Ambassador Miles also spoke about President Barack Obama, his personal history and career, and what brought him to the post of President. At the end of the presentation, Ambassador Miles answered several questions from faculty and students, who wanted to know more about the current situation in the United States when it comes to equality and rights.
Institute of Foreign Relations of Turkmenistan
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On February 26 DCM Sylvia Curran gave a brief presentation at the Institute of Foreign Relations of Turkmenistan. She spoke to a group of Foreign Relations professors and students about the history of African people in the United States, her own experience and the current attitudes in the United States. DCM Curran talked about the difficulties that the African American people have had to go through in order to gain the political and social freedoms they now enjoy, and their struggle to become full citizens of the United States, with equal rights and opportunities as any other citizen.
