Caribbean-American Heritage Month

June is Caribbean American Heritage Month, which celebrates the culture and contributions of Caribbean Americans. The month was recognized nationally by a presidential proclamation signed by George W. Bush in 2006. The Caribbean is a vast area in the Caribbean Sea that includes over 7,000 islands! Some of those islands are independent countries, and many of them are territories of larger countries. The United States claims Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as some uninhabited islands, as territories. People born in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands have automatic US citizenship, but many people from the Caribbean have immigrated to the United States over the years.