Marina International School recently observed  Black History Month. The event brought together students, teachers and representatives of the American embassy.

 In addressing the gathering,  Biran Bachman, deputy chief of mission at the US Embassy in Banjul, recalled that Black History Month is celebrated every February in USA. According to him, slavery was practiced everywhere but the difference in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade is that it was done on a large-scale, as it involved three continents (Europe, Africa and the Americas).

He also spoke about the progress America has made in breaking the racial divide. "Fifty years ago, a person who looks like Barack Obama would not be allowed to reach this position [the presidency],"  he stated. He also dilated on the constraints faced by African-Americans during the segregationist era. Despite all these obstacles, he noted, some prominent people had succeeded in the domain of human rights. He cited Martin Luther King Jnr as symbolising the struggle for freedom and democracy.