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Haitian Diaspora in Flatbush, Brooklyn

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Haitian Diaspora in Flatbush, Brooklyn Essay In 2018, part of the neighborhood in Flatbush, Brooklyn, Schumacher Milne, | Haitian Diaspora Gaeth, was designated as “Little Haiti.” This, along with the fact that many of the streets in the area are also being re- named to refect notorious Haitian leaders, sparked our interest within the Haitian Diaspora. Then, when we frst visited the neighborhood, we were a little shocked to not see as much Haitian infuence as we thought we would see. We expected “Little Haiti” to stand out, with clearly defned boundaries and edges. However, what we found HAITIAN was a more fuid combination of many Caribbean enclaves. This further sparked our interest in the community. What Urban Dislocations and the Architecture of Diasporas Architecture Urban Dislocations and the we discovered throughout the course of the semester is that there is a lot of Haitian infuence in the neighborhood, however, this infuence thrives in collaboration with other DIASPORA diasporic communities. The frst part of our exploration involved meeting with various people who are connected in Flatbush, Brooklyn to the Haitian Diaspora. We started off by meeting a local artist, Madjeen Isaac, who specializes in oil painting. She then referred us to the Kriyol Dance! Collective, from which we met three dancers who are part of the group. Interested in the built landscape of the neighborhood, an interview was also conducted with Ibrahim Greenidge, founder and lead-architect at BOLT Architecture. Intrigued by the amount of information that we learned within the interviews, both the photo essay and maps refect various Christian Gaeth, Kat Milne, Dan Schumacher ideas that were discussed. Lastly, each individual essay expand upon a unique concept that each member of our group found interesting while exploring the community. 2 3 Interview | Haitian Diaspora | Gaeth, Milne, Schumacher Milne, | Haitian Diaspora Gaeth, Identity between Haiti and Flatbush An Interview with Madjeen Isaac Interview Interview | Haitian Diaspora | Gaeth, Milne, Schumacher Milne, | Haitian Diaspora Gaeth, Daniel Schumacher: Could you tell us how your Haitian identity is manifested in I am Haitian American, your daily life here in Flatbush? What would you say are areas or activities here in Flatbush where these Caribean infuences are especially manifested? “ but there are Madjeen Isaac: The center of all this is defnitely Flatbush Avenue because there times when this is are a lot of immigrants who have started their businesses up there; so that’s complicated as an where a lot of them arrive. It is basically the frst go-to area for migrants when they come to the States. You cannot only fnd people there that share your origin artist, because I feel I but they also have a lot of imported goods in the shops along Flatbush Avenue. am not Haitian enough. So that’s where people go to shop. There is also a taxi business, we call it ‘TopTop.’ I don’t know if you guys are I feel like I have to be familiar with the Caribbean, but TopTop refers to the typical colorful trucks, that work like a taxi business, where you can just jump in and out of the little careful with certain car. It is basically the same here, they just charge you $2 and it runs up and down Flatbush Avenue. It’s really cheap. It actually grew over time; It used to be Urban Dislocations and the Architecture of Diasporas Architecture Urban Dislocations and the images that I use, a white van and now it’s actually a little white bus and it has become a mean because there is always of transportation that is really important within the community. I use it a lot a controversial side to because it’s fairly easy and fast. They drive really crazy, but that’s how they are in the Caribbean as well. things. Now that I am thinking about it, it is really interesting how the area is just so ” infuenced by the Caribbean, especially the food! Many of the restaurants have been here for years. But I wouldn’t say that art plays a really signifcant role in this yet, however, that is one of my goals to beautify the neighborhood and bring it to life. Music is also a big thing. Within Prospect Park, they usually have a specifc area where people meet on the weekends when it’s warm and celebrate together. So yeah, I would say Flatbush area, Flatbush Avenue area is really the key area of the Haitian Diaspora. Introduction D.S.: Recently, this area around Flatbush Area was offcially named ‘Little Haiti’ how has this affected the community? Madjeen Isaac is a Brooklyn-based artist specializing in oil painting. She grew up in Flatbush, an area of New York City marked by its Caribbean migrant population, and M.I.: They are trying to bring back the arts, and generally try to shine more light graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology New York with a degree in Fine Arts. on the area, so that people want to take pride in living here. I know they are Her work focuses on exploring Haitian-American identity. In our conversation, Madjeen also trying to create a guide for people to know what spots to go to. They have refects on her upbringing in the community, her ancestors in Haiti and how ‘Little Haiti’ also established co-street names for people that were really important during has changed over the years to argue that ‘Little Haiti’ refects a unique mix of Caribbean the Haitian Revolution, that really made a lot of people, especially the youth and American culture that is neither an exact copy of the homeland nor a superfcial rediscover Haitian history and taking pride in being the frst independent black cover, but a culture that has its own authenticity. As we interviewed her, she visualized nation. her thoughts in a colored-pencil drawing, the result was a depiction of an imaginary Flatbush/Haiti hybrid-built environment that encapsulates her experience between two Katherine Milne: When you say they, who are you referring to homes. M.I.: I am referring to a council member [Rodneyse Bichotte - New York State Assembly] that supports the development of Little Haiti. The Interview with Madjeen Isaac was held on February 15th, 2019 in Flatbush Brooklyn, New York. The interview was conducted by Daniel Schumacher and Katherine Milne, and K.M.: Do you work with her when creating your art? edited by Christian Gaeth. 2 3 Interview K.M.: How is the Haitian heritage manifested in language? Do you speak Haitian Kreyol? M.I.: I don’t, but I wish to in the future. They are organizing meetings in the Schumacher Milne, | Haitian Diaspora Gaeth, neighborhoods and I have attended them, it was great to see the development M.I.: I understand everything, but I am having a hard time speaking it. My parents and that there are different groups here wanting to see change in the spoke Kreyol at home, but I never really chose to speak it. And I think this is part neighborhood, whether that be artists or people advocating for better housing of what I mentioned earlier, that I feel I am not Haitian enough. People here take conditions. so much pride in speaking Kreyol and for them, it creates a safe space within the neighborhood. D.S.: Can you elaborate more on your experience as an artist in this community? People sometimes make fun of my American accent when I speak it. In the past that used to really bother me, because I felt they were stripping me of my M.I.: I am Haitian American, but there are times when this is complicated as ‘Haitianess.’ But now, I accept myself as Haitian American. an artist because I feel I am not Haitian enough. I feel like I have to be careful with certain images that I use because there is always a controversial side to K.M.: Can you comment quickly on what you are drawing? things. I have visited Haiti a couple of times, but I don’t live there, and I always try to connect people to their home through my work, and this is where it gets M.I.: Yes, so these tall brown buildings are the buildings I grew up in and are very complicated because Haiti is not really my home, yet it is part of my identity. So, I typical for the Flatbush area, now I am adding some palm trees. So, I am trying to can really only represent my personal experience in my art. draw a mixture of Flatbush and Haiti. Urban Dislocations and the Architecture of Diasporas Architecture Urban Dislocations and the That’s why my goal in terms of beautifying the area is to get more people, especially youth involved in artistic production. And on a more personal level: My parents came as immigrants to America, they do have certain expectations and wanted me to live my life in a certain way. They wanted me to be a nurse or a lawyer, to have a viable income. But I have always created to express myself, and in college, I really started to understand the art world and realized that I could really contribute a lot to my community as an artist. And so I am still the odd one out in my family, and they still don’t really understand it, they are always asking me: “so what’s next?” I understand that they do not fully understand it, but that is okay for me, and I do not have to always explain myself. But I really feel better doing art.
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