Haitian Diaspora in Flatbush, Brooklyn

Essay

In 2018, part of the neighborhood in Flatbush, Brooklyn, | Haitian Diaspora Gaeth, Milne, Schumacher was designated as “Little Haiti.” This, along with the fact that many of the streets in the area are also being renamed 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.

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Interview | Haitian Diaspora | Gaeth, Milne, Schumacher An Interview with Madjeen Isaac Identity between Haiti and Flatbush Identity between Interview

Interview | Haitian Diaspora Gaeth, Milne, Schumacher 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.

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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 | Haitian Diaspora Gaeth, Milne, Schumacher 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.

K.M.: So what do they think then, when they see you create your art in the context of the Haitian diaspora and your upbringing?

M.I.: They are really excited. That does not mean that they understand and really they only care about the end result, like fnancial stableness and so they are really confused by me.

D.I.: Do you still have any family in Haiti?

M.I.: Yes, most of my family still lives in Haiti, for a long time I was the only girl of my generation living in the States, most of my cousins still live in Haiti. So, every time I go back, there is always a place to stay. My mum is from the capital Port-au-Prince. That is also where most people live because there is electricity. But the outer areas are also very beautiful. My dad is from the countryside. The media mostly shows Port-au-Prince, and people fail to realize that the earthquake was only in a part of Port-au-Prince. Not to undermine that there are still people struggling from the consequences of the earthquake. But other parts of Haiti should also be explored instead of painting this picture of destruction, which is only a small part of the country.

4 5 Interview | Haitian Diaspora | Gaeth, Milne, Schumacher Healing Dance An Interview with the Kriyol Dance! Collective Dance! An Interview with the Kriyol Interview

Interview | Haitian Diaspora Gaeth, Milne, Schumacher I thought I would pursue Daniel Schumacher: From what you have shared with us, it seems that your “ identity is central to your work. Could you share with us more about your a career in anthropology, origin, where you come from and where you grew up? but then I started realizing Véronëque Ignace: Originally, I’m from Flatbush Brooklyn, my parents are Haitian. the importance of I don’t know the exact year that they came from Haiti to this country, but my reaching back into your mom was studying nursing in Guatemala and was able to come to the States through her school. She immediately fell in love with New York. My dad came community and using its from Haiti when he was somewhere between 17 and 22 years old. He studied assets and people and art in Costa Rica and was a painter and sculptor. They eventually came to this that’s when I found myself. state and they were here for a very long time, built lives here, worked and my mom had three kids. I have two older brothers, who are also from here, Flatbush So you offer an alternative Brooklyn. path to happiness and They had the opportunity to go to school in Haiti until they were adolescents. I wouldn’t necessarily say that my experience mirrors theirs, but there is a lot of Urban Dislocations and the Architecture of Diasporas Architecture Urban Dislocations and the they [your family] don’t history just in New York City and in Flatbush and my family defnitely is a part of understand because that the narrative of Haitian immigrants here in terms of the various cultural aspects around how to build a life and raise your kids. is just contrary to their I would say my parents always prioritized cultural heritage as a starting point for experience of trying to understanding how to be with people, how to be in community and just what to make it in America aspire for, so that kind of is the general basis for how I ended up doing the work I’m doing now. I went to public school throughout my time in Flatbush, then I ” went to private school for college, Williams College, and then founded KDC in 2016.

Marla Robertson: I met Véronëque at Williams College; I was there as an artist Introduction and educator in the AmeriCorps and I stayed after my year was over. I moved there in 2008 and mostly focused on education and dance. Véronëque and I were both members of Kusika, one of the dance ensembles on campus. Right before For the Kriyol Dance! Collective (KDC) dance is more than rhythmic movement, KDC she graduated, I became part of her senior thesis on dance as a public health repurposes dance as a public health intervention, as a tool to connect the African intervention, which blossomed into KDC and continues to blossom every day. diaspora. KDC was founded in 2016 by Véronëque Ignace, a Brooklyn-born Haitian Originally, I am from Memphis and I just moved to New York this summer. Here American, and serves as a platform for artistic exchange and community engagement I am a New York City teacher fellow, teaching nglish as a new language to frst to preserve black diasporic culture. Through performances of dance, music and spoken graders in the Bronx; but I still felt like dance had to be a part of my life. word, the collective creates a space for black artists’ expression to empower, heal and I am currently researching my family’s history, which is also serving as a focal ignite change. point for my own choreographies and own work. Véronëque has been a very big Véronëque Ignace and her co-creators Marla Robertson and Dana ‘Negesti’ share their supporter of this, sharing with me her experiences of how our heritage feeds experiences as artists navigating through the black diaspora and how dance expresses into our dance vocabulary, into our lives and into how we keep ourselves well. their history and feelings. Arguing that their engagement with the arts has often been perceived as unresponsible by family members, they recognize the impact KDC has had Dana ‘Negesti’: I am from Brooklyn, my family background is Caribbean. My dad on them as individuals and their communities. is from Jamaica and my mom is Trinidadian, so I grew up listening to Soca and Reggae. When I was 14 years old, I was introduced to a hip-hop performance group, where we did competitions and ‘step’ and eventually my choreographer The Interview with Véronëque Ignace, Marla Robertson, and Dana ‘Negesti’ was held on pushed us to do more contemporary, traditional West African work and I fused March 1st, 2019, in the Marc Morris Dance Studio in Brooklyn, New York. The interview the two for a while. I then tried out for Kusika, because Kusika is also fusion was conducted by Daniel Schumacher, Katherine Milne, and Christian Gaeth.

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When I started at Kusika I did not know I was a dancer yet, I just knew dance and unintentionally the way that we work is by bridging our understanding of self as a hobby that I really liked doing and Sandra Burton, the dance company’s with our understanding of history and our understanding of space. There is the | Haitian Diaspora Gaeth, Milne, Schumacher director, was looking at me and said: “But you are a dance, why are you trying idea that there is a narrative that is constantly running through us and we are to be practical, you need to go with who you are.” But I was from an immigrant the people that are embodying it in the moment, but it is so much bigger than family and they believed that we should make more practical career choices, we as individuals. This concept is really the foundation of KDC, there are many so I thought to myself “I am going to be a psychologist or go into medicine.” topics we are talking about, yet our conversation is always centered around this However, when I was applying to colleges I was applying as a dancer to get dance idea of health and wellness - understanding yourself and understanding yourself scholarships. in a community context is key to health and wellness. I decided to major in dance and theatre and minor in African Studies. And that That requires that you position your own personal story and it requires you to set me up to go to South Africa; there I studied dance at Cape Town University identify dance as a vocation and a tool to navigate those conversations that keep and did an internship at the African Dance Theatre. I ended up curating two us all connected to the immigrant experience. Our personal stories are only a shows there. After I graduated I got accepted to a company called KowTeff, Kow piece of all these things that we are juggling simultaneously. When we are moving Teff is Wolof and means ‘coming from above’, it is a Brooklyn-based company and creating together it’s a question of ‘what do you want to say today’. We that has been around for about 20 years. Besides my work for the company, I am never talk about movement as ‘that does not look right’ or ‘you are not getting also a freelance dancer. Coming into Kreyol Dance! was very exciting because I the step right.’ We rather say ‘does it feel good?’ or ‘does it feel familiar?’ or ‘why was already in the Afro dance scene and knew of Véronëque but had never met. does this look so uncomfortable?’

Urban Dislocations and the Architecture of Diasporas Architecture Urban Dislocations and the As an artist in Kreyol Dance! I come with a lot of street styles and traditional styles and bring all of that together. I am very fond of performance art, so my D.N.: Being in KDC for me is like, I have a community of people that understand idea is to tell a story, to tell a story of the complex experience of the black the same language as me and I feel like there is a secret language that we share woman through dance. that is sacred to us. I am more of a complex thinker in a way that I do want things to look a certain way but then there are other people that remind me of Katherine Milne: Sorry, what is that acronym Kusika? that ‘this is how it should feel’ and to connect it to your experience. That is why I think our way of creating has a lot to do with our way of feeling and emotions. V.I.: Kusika is a word in Shona, which is one of the languages in Zimbabwe and it We want people to walk out of a performance thinking that there is a story means ‘to create’. behind the dance that leaves them with an urge to look into it because the performance showed emotions that they had not unpacked before. As an artist, D.N.: Yes, what makes Kreyol Dance! such a unique collective is that we come you try to make people see what they don’t see or what they try not to see. from so many different backgrounds, yet we have a way of allowing it all to And you are like, ‘here it is. Digest it!’ merge, to create something together. V.I.: I agree, we create art with the purpose of putting it in peoples’ faces and not K.M.: You all mentioned the connection between dance and your personal putting it on a stage that is unattainable. That means we need to make the time identity, whether that would be developing it or exploring it; Could you maybe to understand our audience and the space of performance so that people who talk more about how you do that, how that makes you feel and why you need are there every day can engage with it. dance? And sometimes this is rough because people are coming to realizations that they were not necessarily prepared to deal with and so we as the artists and health M.R.: Even though we haven’t danced together for a while, when we came back workers have to be prepared for that. It is a challenge but totally worthy. together it felt like we had never stopped dancing together. And I know for me it was all about continuing researching the things I felt made these connections Christian Gaeth: How is your work perceived by your immediate family stronger, not just with these ladies but also in my own life, with my own personal members and by the wider community? connection to our African Diaspora and the traditions that we studied in Kusika and studied on our own, like my own family’s history and their connection to the D.N.: There are many of my relatives that have not fully accepted or do not fully land. Kusika has a lot of dancing positions in its repertoire that resemble working understand that dance is a career choice that can provide for you. But I also do postures. I felt like that was one of the main connections for me in strengthening have a hand full of family members that have changed their minds on that notion my own conviction of continuing dance - to fnd out for me, why is this so easy that there is only one way ‘to make it’ in America, and that is an accomplishment for me to do? And the answer is that it is a part of my heritage and it is a part of for myself because I inspired other people in my family to pursue their passion. Dana’s and Vero’s heritage and the connection is made stronger as we work on it I had moments in my life, where I was really broke and where I really did not individually and as a collective. know what to do with my life, but now coming to a space where I am very confdent with my direction and I am creating my work with a support system V.I.: I would answer that question adding that there is a way in which intentionally and my work is reaching many communities of dancer makes me feel grounded. 4 5 So for me, it is not about whether my immediate family has accepted it but more about choosing a profession that has created another family for me and that is a family that I chose and that continues to empower me. And that is not something I could have asked from my immediate family, because of where they come from and their experiences. I have an uncle that called me on Tuesday and he was like: “little girl what does your bank account look like right now?” and he still calls asking: “are you working?”, “what apartment are you living in?”, “are you living somewhere?” and he is constantly on edge thinking that I am going to be homeless.

V.I.: I think that is really interesting because I think the people I get that the most from is the people that have never seen my work. For example, I was talking to my brother and I told him that I am applying to doctoral programs. My goal is to take everything that we are doing in KDC and everything that we are learning and document it in the framework of scholarly work. This is all research and qualitative content and should be infuencing policy. These are the things that should be creating the context of how we should be engaging with people of color because we got it right and we are getting it right and we Urban Dislocations and the Architecture of Diasporas Architecture Urban Dislocations and the are doing it right. And my brother went on this whole tangent of “but is there money involved?” “how are you going to care about other people if you can’t take care of yourself?” But he has never seen my work and does not know what he is talking about.

D.N.: As a dancer, you are basically an entrepreneur. Even when you are with a company you still have to come to a company in a certain way to present yourself. And so I think for some people it is really hard to get around that and understand that we are our own brand.

V.I.: There is something about being an entrepreneur in arts and culture to appeal to people, because people tend to take these talents for granted as something that everybody can do and so they ask, “why is it so important that you are doing it, when it is something everybody of us can do, we all can do it, we are all black.” But this is not the case, we [the artists] are preserving and showcasing our culture, and it is hard sometimes if people don’t recognize that, but we know it’s important and that’s why we are doing it.

6 Photo Essay | Little Haiti | Gaeth, Milne, Schumacher A Photo Essay Constructing Community: Arts Institutions in the Haitian Diaspora, Flatbush, Brooklyn Flatbush, Arts Institutions in the Haitian Diaspora, Photo Essay | Little Haiti Gaeth, Milne, Schumacher Urban Dislocations and the Architecture of Diasporas Architecture Urban Dislocations and the Introduction

This photo essay explores the ways in which the Arts are used to construct community within the Haitian diaspora in Flatbush, Brooklyn. The essay is in two parts, the frst shows the ways in which isual Art represents the built space and infrastruc- tures of Flatbush, and how the artist the complexities of her relationship to her two homes, Flatbush and Haiti. Upon sitting down with the Haitian-American Artist Madjeen Isaac in a small Kriyol cafe of her choosing in Flatbush, we gave her coloured pencils and paper, and asked if she would draw Flatbush for us as we were chatting. Throughout our conversation she explained her drawing to us, the tap tap buses that are a community staple both in Port au Prince and Brooklyn, noting that the wild driving too made the trip to Brook- lyn. It became clear that Flatbush, to Madjeen, was not simply the relatively inexpressive cross-street townhouses and bustling avenues. She draw palm trees and rivers, which cannot be found in the physical landscape of Flatbush but rather in its vibrant Haitian community. This portion of the photo essay uses Madjeen’s drawing as a basis for drawing out the connections between how space in constructed in Haiti and Flatbush.

The second part of this photoessay shows the ways in which Dance is used as a tool to explore the artists’ own identities, though refecting the history of Haiti com- bined with infuences from their Flatbush upbringing. Through movement the founders of the Kriyol Dance! Collective (KDC),

ronque Ignace, Marla Robertson and Dana ‘Negesti,’ combine adaptations of move- Milne, Katherine O’Donoghue. “Flatbush by Madjeen Isaac.” 2019. Milne, Katherine O’Donoghue. “Haitian History with the Kriyole ments used for labour, prayer, and resistance in Haiti. This is married with references Dance! Collective.” 2019. from the American popular culture in which they were raised. The movements become both catharsis and historical archive, and most of all a catalyst for conversation within not only the Haitian community, but all Caribbean immigrant communities in Brooklyn. This portion of the photo essay aims to, using the dance as archive, tease out the more explicit references from a Haitian history in order to better understand how this occupation of space builds community.

2 3 Photo Essay | Little Haiti Gaeth, Milne, Schumacher Urban Dislocations and the Architecture of Diasporas Architecture Urban Dislocations and the

Last Name, First Name. “Photograph Title/ Last Name, First Name. “Photograph Title/ Description.” Year Created. Digital File Type. Description.” Year Created. Digital File Type.

Milne, Katherine O’Donoghue. “Flatbush.” 2019.

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Last Name, First Name. “Photograph Title/ Last Name, First Name. “Photograph Title/ Description.” Year Created. Digital File Type. Description.” Year Created. Digital File Type. Urban Dislocations and the Architecture of Diasporas Architecture Urban Dislocations and the

Thomas, oe. “‘Boat People’ Departing the North West Coast.” 190.

Simons, Marlise. “Port-au-Prince.” 1984. ten Brink, Carsten. “Haiti Hand-painted: the Tap Tap Bus.” 2014. Last Name, First Name. “Photograph Title/ Last Name, First Name. “Photograph Title/ Description.” Year Created. Digital File Type. Description.” Year Created. Digital File Type.

Schmidt, Roberto. “Bus flled with Haitian People Makes its Way Kane, Alex. “Brooklyn Dollar an.” 201. South After the arthquake.” 200.

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Rodero, Cristina arcia. “Two Women with Arms Wide pen.” 2001.

Last Name, First Name. “Photograph Title/ Last Name, First Name. “Photograph Title/ Description.” Year Created. Digital File Type. Description.” Year Created. Digital File Type.

Douze, Wilky. “Rice Threshing Time.” 201.

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Last Name, First Name. “Photograph Title/ Last Name, First Name. “Photograph Title/ Description.” Year Created. Digital File Type. Description.” Year Created. Digital File Type.

Saman, Moises. “Rally for Haitian Presidential Candidate in Port-au- Steber, Maggie. “overnment Workers Salute President Duvalier on Prince.” 2006. Labor Day.” 1980.

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Interview | Haitian Diaspora | Gaeth, Milne, Schumacher An Interview with Ibrahim Greenidge Inclusive Design and Urban Renewal Design Inclusive Interview

Interview | Haitian Diaspora Gaeth, Milne, Schumacher Ibrahim Greenidge: I’m a native Brooklyner. My parents are immigrants. They I went to Equatorial came here from the West Indies, through Barbados. I spent my elementary and “ grade school years in Crown Heights. Guinea, I saw a bunch So, truth be told, at 8 or 9 years old, I witnessed what was called the Crown of people of color Height Riots. A classmate was killed by a Hasidic driver, who was believed to be under the infuence, or belligerent behind the wheel, one of the two. An accident who looked like me, occurred. One child died, another one was pinned underneath the car. Police services weren’t called. Crown Heights is made up of a lot of African American and I was inspired, people, but there is a dominance of Hasidic Jews. And I say dominance because and I came back, and I they are the majority of the property owners. For a long period of time, there’s been turmoil, but there’s been respect. But when these two children died…. it started the company exploded. There are riots for 2-3 days, and New York City was in an uproar. and I decided that at What I witnessed then was the lack of space, specifcally for people of color. How they don’t have a place of asylum. If there’s an opportunity for green spaces

Urban Dislocations and the Architecture of Diasporas Architecture Urban Dislocations and the that moment that I was to be granted, it is often presented to people who are wealthy or who have access to capital. going to create spaces But I’m nine years old - I couldn’t put the words to it at that point. Fast forward. that are inclusive of all I move to Long Island, building a shed with my grandfather, I was exposed to construction. While I was there, my guidance counselor, encouraged me to people become a janitor, not really sure why. But my dad, who, again, I would say to his ” advantage, didn’t really understand the nuances of America; to him, everyone has a shot. He says to me, he would rather see me do something more empowering, which is to be the person designing the cities, and designing these plans, rather than being the person cleaning, or fxing, or repairing them. I enrolled in architecture school, went to college. ... I went through the licensing process and asked myself what kind of impact I wanna have on the world. I was doing schools. I worked on that school over Introduction there [pointing outside the window at school building across Parkside Ave.]. I was having tons of fun. And then the economy fell, and they were like, “you gotta go to Rikers, you gotta go to Third Avenue, to MBC” [major prisons in New Less than two percent of licensed architects in the United States are African American. York], and create ridiculous programs for ways they can ft more beds or ways Ibrahim Greenidge is a Brooklyn-based architect that has been recognized as one of they can ft more people of color, I went to Rikers, I went to MBC and what the Top 20 minority architects and designers by the National Organization of Minority I learned is architecture is perverted. Why? Because the same frms that are Architects. His offce, BLT Architecture, is located in the heart of ‘Little Haiti’ designing these schools that our kids are going to are designing these places participating in the important conversation on urban renewal in the area. Infuenced by of torture like prisons. And these places where people are supposed to be his own experience of growing up in Crown Heights, Ibrahim Greenidge is concerned rehabilitated, there really isn’t rehabilitation. They lack the ethics we are told we with architecture’s role in preserving culture, creating community, and enabling equality. need to practice with regard to providing light and ventilation for certain spaces, Besides his role as Chief Creative ffcer, he devotes his time to the community by providing circulation, providing healthy means of designing sustainable buildings; representing his profession at career fairs, guest lectures, and other events. Ibrahim is these places don’t have that. currently working on a book titled “IT’S GOING TO BE BRICK: A survival guide for So, Christian, I quit my job, and went to Equatorial Guinea. I saw a bunch of black architects” which is to be published in 2019. people of color who looked like me, and I was inspired, and I came back, and I started the company and I decided that at that moment that I was going to create spaces that are inclusive of all people, that are inspiring and that aren’t th The Interview with Ibrahim Greenidge was held on March 20 , 2019 in Flatbush for just the rich and wealthy. Umm, you know, I’m often reading lately about this Brooklyn, New York. The interview was conducted by Christian Gaeth. Hudson Yards Project, have you had a chance to visit? 2 3 Interview

Christian Gaeth: Yeah, I went this weekend actually. community was recently renamed ‘Little Haiti,’ did you notice any changes that came with the name change? I.G.: How’d you like it? | Haitian Diaspora Gaeth, Milne, Schumacher I..: This community, this offce is entrenched in the Haitian community. The local C.G.: It was horrible. councilwoman is Haitian and she advocated for having some of the street names changed after Haitian revolutionaries and it’s important! The street names need I.G.: Why was it horrible? to be changed. You know there is not a complaint about Lefferts Blvd and he was one of the biggest slave owners in this country. But people drive up and down C.G.: I just don’t understand why you create more of those monstrous without thinking about it. So, changing the names is about what history do we skyscrapers for the big companies, build a vessel, that like has… want to preserve in this country. I.G.: It’s a stair to nowhere. And in regard to changes in the community, it has changed a lot. The cultural part of it, it is missing in the city. It is the cultural fabric that gets eroded because of C.G.: It has no use. gentrifcation and it is the municipalities that need to fgure out how to preserve those cultural institutions, like a library, barbershop, famous sandwich place. I.G.: No Use! And we have hungry people, and housing shortages all over the American’s export culture. We sell culture, and do we want to white box our world, shelters being built, and this is what they do with billions of dollars. There culture to the highest bidder? So, you can see the changes in the community, you were so many opportunities for them to create something that the people can can look at the neighboring building, it’s a monstrosity, it probably has twelve Urban Dislocations and the Architecture of Diasporas Architecture Urban Dislocations and the enjoy. different materials just in the façade. So here [at BOLT Architecture] we take a And I think architects need to start speaking up. I mean, we’re responsible for particular approach to design, to create spaces that preserve culture and create a lot of the things that are happening in all of these communities. You know… an experience for people. And I guess that is the humanity part of it and why we gentrifcation, architects are hired to create these buildings. But are we speaking are not bored here. With the end goal, that we want to build cities to create a up for the people that are being displaced? No. Why not? You know, doctors have narrative. to care for people who get hurt. There are lawyers who gotta help you when you get arrested. Architects, they are just given a free pass. We got all of these buildings everywhere. How many architects have you met?

C.G.: Quite a few.

I..: But you’re in the feld, ask your friends.

C.G.: It’s true. It’s true. Most architects don’t become famous and they don’t become liable for design that furthers inequalities and gentrifcation.

I.G.: Exactly. So, you know, with that sort of, like, misfortune that I think has daunted the profession there’s a reason why I don’t think it’s elevated the way that it should.

C.G.: What do you do about it?

I.G.: Umm, you know, I champion the job of architects. Instead of it being about how much can this developer make, because the developer doesn’t know. You can infuence the developer’s concept. You can tell the developer, “Look, let’s create this green space because we can actually convince more people to come to the site, or get more foot traffc by creating some sort of experience now.” You know, when that starts to happen, I believe that children will start to say that they want to be architects. At schools... you go to schools, they don’t even…. they don’t give it a consideration.

C.G.: That’s true. Talking about schools and the community, I heard that this

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Cartography | Haitian Diaspora | Gaeth, Milne, Schumacher Mapping in Brooklyn, of the Haitian Diaspora NY “Little Haiti” and Caribbean Enclaves Cartography

DESCRIPTION Mapping the Haitian Diaspora in Brooklyn, NY has allowed us to explore how the | Haitian Diaspora | Gaeth, Milne, Schumacher | Haitian Diaspora | Gaeth, community exists within a handful of other surrounding Caribbean enclaves. A common theme that was noticed from our interviews was the subject of unity and collective strength to curate change; not just within the Haitian population of Brooklyn, but across other cultures throughout the city. The mapping exercise showcases this theme by highlighting NYC’s Haitian-born population and overlaying that information with the city’s Caribbean-born population. The exercise was conducted on two diferent years, 2000 and 2017. With the primary objective aimed at showing the change in NYC’s Haitian and Caribbean populations due to the earthquake that occurred in Haiti in 2010, the year 2000 was chosen as the “before date” with the year 2017 chosen as the “after date.” Not only are we showing the change in population size, but we are also showing how the dynamic between both the Haitian and broader Caribbean population has shifted. The last map in this sequence illustrates Brooklyn’s “Dollar Van” travel routes, which were described in one of the interviews as being a Caribbean, and primarily Haitian, contribution to the Urban Dislocations and the Architecture of Diasporas and the Architecture Urban Dislocations neighborhood. These travel routes show the physical connections across the various Flatbush enclaves, both Haitian and Caribbean alike.

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