DOCSLIB.ORG

Celebrating Haitian Heritage Booklet

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

School District of Palm Beach County, Florida Department of Multicultural Education Department of Public Affairs CELEBRATING HAITIAN HERITAGE A Teacher’s Resource Guide Palm Beach County Florida Prepared by Bito David, Public Affairs Specialist Department of Multicultural Education - Department of Public Affairs [email protected] April 2005 The School District of Palm Beach County, Florida Mission Statement The School Board of Palm Beach County is committed to excellence in education and preparation of all our students with the knowledge, skills and ethics required for responsible citizenship and productive employment. School Board Members Tom Lynch, Chairman William Graham, Vice Chairman Monroe Benaim, MD Paulette Burdick Mark Hansen Dr. Sandra Richmond Debra Robinson, MD Superintendent Arthur C. Johnson, Ph.D. Chief Academic Officer Ann Killets Chief Officer of Administration Gerald Williams Assistant Superintendent, Curriculum and Learning Support Wayne Gent Executive Director Chief Public Information Officer Multicultural Education Department Public Affairs Department Margarita P. Pinkos, Ed.D. Nat Harrington ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS HAITIAN HERITAGE COMMITTEE MEMBERS Bito David, Public Affairs Specialist, Department of Public Affairs Jacques Eric Toussaint, Translator/Interpreter Department of Multicultural Education Roody Barthèlemy, Translator/Interpreter, Department of Multicultural Education Bernadette Guirand Léger, Executive Director, Joseph Laurore Foundation Roger Pierre, President, Bel’Art Promotions Florence Elie, Community Liaison Kettly Denis, Secretary - Building Department Sandra Mondesir Leonard, Project Analyst - Department of Public Affairs Nuncia François Lowery, Manager - Department of Multicultural Education Maryse Glaze, Specialist - Employment Services Lisa Lee, Program Planner - Department of Multicultural Education Connie Berry, Specialist - Department of Multicultural Education Charlemagne Baptiste, ESOL Recruiter - Department of Multicultural Education ESSAY CONTEST JUDGING COMMITTEE MEMBERS Jenny Porro, Resource Teacher - Department of Multicultural Education Thérèse Legitime, Resource Teacher - Department of Multicultural Education Sheila Acevedo, Manager - Alternative Education Dr. Aurora François, Assistant Principal - Atlantic High School Mark Ntem, Resource Teacher - Department of Multicultural Education Theomane Dorleans, John I. Leonard High School BOOKLET EDITOR Deborah Stewart, Communications Specialist - Department of Public Affairs Lisa Lee, Program Planner, Department of Multicultural Education GRAPHICS DESIGN AND LAYOUT Bito David, Public Affairs Specialist - Department of Public Affairs TABLEBLE OF CONTEENNTS SECTION I: TEACHERS’ RESOURCES Why Celebrate Haitian Heritage Month? 1 Suggested School Activities 2 The Haitian American Studies in the Multicultural Curricula 3 Sample Lesson Plan 4 Lesson Plan Ideas 6 Topics for Lesson Units 8 Frequently Asked Questions About Haiti 15 End of Lesson Units Assessment: Quiz Questions and Answers 19 Haitian Creole Basic Expressions for Teachers 23 SECTION II: HISTORY OF THE HAITIAN HERITAGE MONTH Haitian Heritage Celebration Historical Background 27 Haitian Heritage Month Past Activities 29 Success Stories: Yearly Programs and Activities Showcasing the Haitian Culture 30 APPENDICES A. Haiti’s Flag and Coat of Arms 33 B. Map of Haiti 34 C. Age/Grade Level Comparison Between the Haitian and the U.S. System of Education 35 D. The Haitian Heritage Month Resolution 36 E. The April 2003 Press Release 37 F. Proposed Statewide Haitian Heritage Month Resolution in Florida 38 G. Photographs of School/District Activities 39 H. Quiz Answers 41 I. References 42 SECTION I: TEACHERS’ RESOURCES WHY CELEBRATE HAITIAN HERITAGE MONTH? Currently, the School District of Palm Beach County, Florida, serves approximately 13,000 Haitian students which represent the highest student population from a single country, about 8% of the total student population. Haitian students speak Haitian Creole as their native language, the second largest minority language spoken in the schools. It is important to recognize that these figures only refer to students who were born in Haiti and do not reflect all the students of Haitian heritage born outside of Haiti. Recognizing the contributions of Haitian and Haitian American students to the diversity of our district, the School Board of Palm Beach County has designated the month of May as Haitian Heritage Month. The celebration of the Haitian Heritage Month provides students and community members the opportunity to share and demonstrate pride in Haitian culture and history while maintaining self-esteem and self-identity. Haitian students bring a rich cultural heritage and pride in the epic history of their country, which brilliantly marks the history of the world. These students overcome major challenges, study, and work hard in order to succeed in their new environment, with the goal of becoming responsible citizens. Haiti is the country formerly known as “The Pearl of the Antilles,” a place of beauty, a magic land, and the beacon of Black freedom in the Western hemisphere. Due to the lack of consistent political stability, Haitians continue to battle to sustain economic growth, social progress, and international recognition. This resource guide was developed to assist teachers in celebrating Haitian Heritage and integrating Haitian history and culture into the curriculum throughout the year. The guide is divided into two sections: • Section I: Teachers’ resources • Section II: The history of the Haitian Heritage Month 1 SUGGESTED SCHOOL ACTIVITIES To celebrate the Haitian Heritage Month at the schools, teachers, staff and students can or- ganize any type of activities geared towards sharing the Haitian culture and history. Here are some suggestions: 1. School marquee/banner or front office display remind- ing everyone that May is Haitian Heritage Month Haitian Heritage Month Celebration Highlights 2. Display of flag, map of Haiti, pictures of outstanding Haitians, Haitian artifacts, Haitian icons, historical places, Haitian paintings, Haitian books etc. 3. Morning trivia about Haiti 4. Morning presentation on Haitian history and culture 5. School essay contest about Haiti’s history and culture 6. Class research and activities related to Haitian culture, geography, history, etc. Download lesson plans from www.palmbeach.k12.fl.us/multicultural/ 7. Special presentations by community cultural groups 8. Special presentations by storytellers 9. Presentation by artists, musicians, school groups 10. Special presentations by cultural consultants 11. Invitation of motivational speakers for presentation 12. Invitation of education supporters and community leaders for speech 13. Organize cultural night with a rich and varied agenda 14. Utilize the Palm Beach Post Insert on Haiti 15. Have students participate in the Haitian Heritage Month essay contest organized by the district 16. Have students participate in the Haitian Heritage Month poster contest organized by the district 2 THE HAITIAN AMERICAN STUDIES IN THE MULTICULTURAL CURRICULA • The studies reflect the district's commitment to the Haitian population that lives in South Florida and other parts of America. • Palm Beach County-like Dade County-has the distinction of being among the top areas in America that claim large numbers of Haitian nationals. • Conducting research and developing curriculum about Haitian history; organizing and implementing teacher and student training about Haitian culture and history; working with Haitian community organizations that are interested in supporting student learning; and identifying sources for references about Haitian culture and history for use in schools are all part of the Haitian and Haitian American Studies initiative. • They are downloadable, one-day lesson plans that include historical/cultural reading pas- sages and quizzes for student FCAT practice in reading and writing. For more information, contact Lisa Lee, Multicultural Curriculum Program Planner, at 434-8774. THE HAITIAN AMERICAN STUDIES CURRICULUM MATRIX The Haitian American Curriculum Matrix contains lesson units in the area of Social Studies and Language Arts, covering grades K through 12. The units are as follows: SOCIAL STUDIES K 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Haiti: How I’ll Fly Away Haitian Art The Pirates How many Letters from do we get of the days to Haiti there? Caribbean America? 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th African The Early Jean Baptiste Failing Haiti: Expansionist Democratic Slaves in History of DuSable Ecosystems Exploration Era of the and Haiti Haiti and Spanish/ Authoritative Colonization French Era Rule in Haiti LANGUAGE ARTS K 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Tap-Tap “Horse and Running the Painted Please The Magic Toad” Road to ABC Dreams Malese Orange Tree 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th The Magic The Magic The Magic Invisible Edwidge René Patrick Orange Tree Orange Tree Orange Tree People Danticat Depestre Sylvain With the lesson plans there is a “K-12 Haitian and Haitian American Teacher Resource” package. You can get a copy by visiting: http://www.palmbeach.k12.fl.us/multicultural 3 SAMPLE LESSON PLAN: The Early History of Haiti * Content/Theme: Explorers Grade: Seventh Grade Textbook Connections: Western Hemisphere. 2001. Prentice Hall. • Chapter 12, section 3, pages 313-317 After reading about European Conquest, explore the early history of Haiti. • Chapter 15, section 2, pages 383-387 After reading about Haiti’s search for democracy, explore the early history of Haiti. Benchmarks:
Recommended publications
  • CLR James and the Black Jacobins

    CLR James and the Black Jacobins

    Atlantic Studies Global Currents ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rjas20 Unsilencing the Haitian Revolution: C. L. R. James and The Black Jacobins Rachel Douglas To cite this article: Rachel Douglas (2020): Unsilencing the Haitian Revolution: C. L. R. James and TheBlackJacobins , Atlantic Studies, DOI: 10.1080/14788810.2020.1839283 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/14788810.2020.1839283 © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group Published online: 19 Nov 2020. Submit your article to this journal View related articles View Crossmark data Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=rjas20 ATLANTIC STUDIES https://doi.org/10.1080/14788810.2020.1839283 Unsilencing the Haitian Revolution: C. L. R. James and The Black Jacobins Rachel Douglas French and Comparative Literature, School of Modern Languages and Cultures, University of Glasgow, UK ABSTRACT KEYWORDS Exploring the genesis, transformation and afterlives of The Black Rewriting; Haitian Jacobins, this article follows the revision trail of James’s evolving Revolution; Toussaint interest in Toussaint Louverture. How does James “show” as Louverture; Caribbean; drama versus “tell” as history? Building on Michel-Rolph Trouillot’s theatre/drama; history from below idea of “silencing the past,” this article argues that James engages in an equally active and transitive reverse process of unsilencing the past. James’s own unsilencing of certain negative representations of the Haitian Revolution is evaluated, as is James’s move away from presenting the colonized as passive objects, instead turning them instead into active subjects.
  • THE CHRONICLE Tutu: Ultimate Victory Goes to God's Oppressed

    THE CHRONICLE Tutu: Ultimate Victory Goes to God's Oppressed

    Monday January 20, 1986 Vol. 81. No. 79, 16 pages Duke University Durham, North Carolina Free Circulation: 15,200 THE CHRONICLE Tutu: ultimate victory goes to God's oppressed By SHANNON MULLEN nro,n ththee sidsidee nof ththee noopoorr anand nnnressedoppressed., hehe , ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Bishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, said. "Isn't it marvelous that we have a God the outspoken foe of apartheid in that coun­ that is always available. He doesn't take a try, told a capacity crowd in the Chapel holiday." Sunday night that man is God's partner, Matched against God and a "wall of fire" created in his likeness, and that those who of people who support the mistreated suppress this dignity will ultimately fail. through prayer, oppressors are headed for "Each one of us is a God-carrier. Each one defeat, Tutu said. of us is fragile. Each one of us is created in "You've already lost," Tutu said, address­ the image of God," said the 1984 Nobel ing God's opponents "You've lost. You've Peace laureate. "And so the evil of the sys­ lost, you've lost. How can you take on God? tem at home is not so much the pain and ... It is quite impossible." the anguish it causes, great as these must Tutu said he looked forward to a time be. The awful thing about apartheid, the when black and white South Africans could most blasphemous thing about it, is that it say "We have been to the mountaintop and makes a child of God doubt he is a child of we have seen the promised land..
  • Vulnerability of Mammals to Land-Use Changes in Colombia's Post-Conflict

    Vulnerability of Mammals to Land-Use Changes in Colombia's Post-Conflict

    A peer-reviewed open-access journal Nature ConservationVulnerability 29: 79–92 (2018) of mammals to land-use changes in Colombia’s post-conflict era 79 doi: 10.3897/natureconservation.29.28943 RESEARCH ARTICLE http://natureconservation.pensoft.net Launched to accelerate biodiversity conservation Vulnerability of mammals to land-use changes in Colombia’s post-conflict era Bayron R. Calle-Rendón1,2, Flavio Moreno3, Renato R. Hilário1,2 1 Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade Tropical (PPGBio), Universidade Federal do Amapá, Ma- capá, Brazil 2 Laboratório de Ecologia (LabEco), Universidade Federal do Amapá, Macapá, Brazil 3 Departa- mento de Ciencias Forestales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia Sede Medellín, Medellín, Colombia Corresponding author: Bayron R. Calle-Rendón ([email protected]) Academic editor: C. Knogge | Received 8 August 2018 | Accepted 12 September 2018 | Published 9 October 2018 http://zoobank.org/D76BEBBE-4115-48CA-8EE7-83025E77D4FC Citation: Calle-Rendón BR, Moreno F, Hilário RR (2018) Vulnerability of mammals to land-use changes in Colombia’s post-conflict era. Nature Conservation 29: 79–92. https://doi.org/10.3897/natureconservation.29.28943 Abstract Colombia, one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, is entering a peaceful period after more than fifty years of armed conflict. Due to land use changes resulting from this new situation, negative -ef fects on biodiversity, including mammals are expected. We think that mammal populations will be more sensitive in municipalities where activities related to post-conflict will be carried out. In that order, we aim to: 1) identify which mammal species would be more sensitive and 2) identify the critical regions where there is higher richness of sensitive mammals.
  • The Contribution of the Afro-Descendant Soldiers to the Independence of the Bolivarian Countries (1810-1826)

    The Contribution of the Afro-Descendant Soldiers to the Independence of the Bolivarian Countries (1810-1826)

    Revista de Relaciones Internacionales, Estrategia y Seguridad ISSN: 1909-3063 [email protected] Universidad Militar Nueva Granada Colombia Reales, Leonardo The contribution of the afro-descendant soldiers to the independence of the bolivarian countries (1810- 1826) Revista de Relaciones Internacionales, Estrategia y Seguridad, vol. 2, núm. 2, julio-diciembre, 2007 Universidad Militar Nueva Granada Bogotá, Colombia Available in: http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=92720203 How to cite Complete issue Scientific Information System More information about this article Network of Scientific Journals from Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal Journal's homepage in redalyc.org Non-profit academic project, developed under the open access initiative REVISTA - Bogotá (Colombia) Vol. 2 No. 2 - Julio - Diciembre 11 rev.relac.int.estrateg.segur.2(2):11-31,2007 THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE AFRO-DESCENDANT SOLDIERS TO THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE BOLIVARIAN COUNTRIES (1810-1826) Leonardo Reales (Ph.D. Candidate - The New School University) ABSTRACT In the midst of the independence process of the Bolivarian nations, thousands of Afro-descendant soldiers were incorporated into the patriot armies, as the Spanish Crown had done once independence was declared. What made people of African descent support the republican cause? Was their contribution to the independence decisive? Did Afro-descendant women play a key role during that process? Why were the most important Afro-descendant military leaders executed by the Creole forces? What was the fate of those soldiers and their descendants at the end of the war? This paper intends to answer these controversial questions, while explaining the main characteristics of Recibido: 3 de septiembre 2007 Aceptado: 8 de octubre 2007 society throughout the five countries freed by the Bolivarian armies in the 1810s and 1820s.
  • Laurent Dubois, Avengers of the New World: the Story of the Haitian Revolution (Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2004)

    Laurent Dubois, Avengers of the New World: the Story of the Haitian Revolution (Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2004)

    FOREWORD | Lau RenT Dubois “I would have far preferred to write on Toussaint L’Ouverture,” C. L. R. James wrote wearily in 1931. He had, instead, been forced to respond at length to a racist article published by the eminent Dr. Sidney Harland, an English sci- entist teaching at the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture in Trinidad. The “scientist” had, among other things, ranked Toussaint Louverture in his classificatory scheme as a member of “Class F,” the “lowest of the superior classes.” In other words, James seethed, Harland thought the world was quite full of men like Louverture: “He will pick a Toussaint from every tree.” But, as James insisted in his response—and as he would show in the coming de- cade within brilliant works of theatre and history—there was really only one Louverture. And there was no way to twist reality around so thoroughly as to make him proof of racial inferiority. Louverture’s story, and those of the events and people who made it, must serve as inspiration—and as a weapon. It was in this 1931 article (“The Intelligence of the Negro,” reprinted in the appendix), that James first took on a task that in a way became one of his great life missions: wresting the story of Louverture, and of Haiti, away from those in Europe and North America who for too long had distorted it— turning it into a cautionary or ironic tale, using it to create an intriguing whiff of exoticism, or (all too often, as in Harland’s case) employing it as a justification for racism.
  • Ipulse: June 2009

    Ipulse: June 2009

    NEWEST STAR TREK ATTRACTS THE NEW GENERATION June 9, 2009 by Samantha Filed under Entertainment Leave a Comment Lynn Cinema Reviews the 11th Star Trek Movie By MATT FISCHER Staff Writer Star Trek 2009 movie poster In 1966, a phenomenon named Star Trek broadcasted it’s first ground breaking episode on NBC. Forty three years later, the franchise is still going strong with the release of the 11th Star Trek movie (aptly titled Star Trek). The last movie, Star Trek: Nemesis, was released in 2002 and while alright, tanked at the box office and proceeded to close the book on the familiar Next Generation cast. Hollywood insisted that the next film be a reboot of the series as a whole (which meant whole new actors for Captain James T. Kirk and Spock.) J.J. Abrams (of LOST and Alias fame) signed on to direct the movie and here we are nine months later, watching a beautiful film. The film gives the audience an early biography on Kirk and then proceeds to Starfleet Academy. Kirk is assigned to the Enterprise under the guidance of Captain Christopher Pike and First Officer Spock. Everything is fine and dandy until a Romulan from the future, Nero, comes to the past to eliminate Kirk and Spock. He destroys Vulcan and takes Pike hostage. Leaving the Enterprise with Captain Spock and first Office Kirk in charge. (Of course they win they day, but to spoil that for the reading audience would incredibly mean of me!) The new actors portraying favorite characters slip pretty much seamlessly into their roles.
  • THE COLONIAL RELATION in René Philoctète's Monsieur De Vastey

    THE COLONIAL RELATION in René Philoctète's Monsieur De Vastey

    EPILOGUE: COLONIALISM AFTER SOVEREIGNTY: THE COLONIAL RELATION IN RENÉ PHILOCTÈTE’S MONSIEUR DE VASTEY (1975) C’est un penseur, Monsieur de Vastey!… Un guerrier, Monsieur de Vastey! Un héros même, Monsieur le baron de Vastey! —René Philoctète, Monsieur de Vastey If the Haiti of Walcott, Miller, Césaire, Hammerman, and Rodman, is a Haiti isolated by its own leaders, Philoctète’s Monsieur de Vastey shows a country highly connected to and controlled by its formal colonial occu- pier, France, as well as by other regional powers with interests in Haiti, including the United States and Great Britain. Although Philoctète por- trays these countries as manifestly interested in the country, his depiction of the essential connectedness of Haiti to the rest of the world does not revel in blame. The play embraces a central understanding of the colonial relation as necessarily global, enabling its author to simultaneously critique both Haitian political leaders and the world powers that circumscribed their abilities to effectively lead the country. Philoctète shows that one can engage in this kind of analysis without asserting one defnitive cause for Haiti’s ongoing political woes. He paints Haiti’s dire political and eco- nomic problems as directly connected to an amorphous form of neo- colonialism without either viewing Haitian rulers as mere bystanders in © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2017 183 M.L. Daut, Baron de Vastey and the Origins of Black Atlantic Humanism, The New Urban Atlantic, DOI 10.1057/978-1-137-47067-6 184 EPILOGUE: COLONIALISM AFTER SOVEREIGNTY … their own destruction or scapegoating the Haitian people.
  • Haïti 1804 – Lumières Et Ténèbres

    Haïti 1804 – Lumières Et Ténèbres

    Léon-François Hoffmann/Frauke Gewecke/Ulrich Fleischmann (dir.): Haïti 1804 – Lumières et ténèbres. Impact et résonances d'une révolution B I B L I O T H E C A I B E R O - A M E R I C A N A Publicaciones del Instituto Ibero-Americano Fundación Patrimonio Cultural Prusiano Vol. 121 B I B L I O T H E C A I B E R O - A M E R I C A N A Léon-François Hoffmann/Frauke Gewecke/ Ulrich Fleischmann (dir.) Haïti 1804 – Lumières et ténèbres Impact et résonances d'une révolution Iberoamericana · Vervuert 2008 Bibliografic information published by Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliografic data are available on the Internet at http://dnb.ddb.de © Iberoamericana 2008 Amor de Dios, 1 E-28014 Madrid [email protected] www.ibero-americana.net © Vervuert Verlag 2008 Elisabethenstr. 3-9 D-60594 Frankfurt am Main [email protected] www.ibero-americana.net ISBN 978-84-8489-371-4 ISBN 978-3-86527-394-9 Diseño de la cubierta: Michael Ackermann Ilustración de la cubierta: Toussaint Louverture: Graffiti dans une rue de Port- au-Prince © Thomas Kern/Lookatonline Composición: Anneliese Seibt, Instituto Ibero-Americano, Berlín Este libro está impreso íntegramente en papel ecológico blanqueado sin cloro Impreso en España Table des matières Introduction ...................................................................................... 9 Léon-François Hoffmann L’haïtienne fut-elle une révolution? ................................................. 13 Florence Gauthier La Révolution de Saint-Domingue ou la conquête de l’égalité de l’épiderme (1789-1804) .................................................. 21 Oliver Gliech L’insurrection des esclaves de Saint-Domingue et l’effondrement du pouvoir blanc.
  • Soup Joumou Webinar and Partake in the Layout Editor Feast of Knowledge That It Turned out to Be

    Soup Joumou Webinar and Partake in the Layout Editor Feast of Knowledge That It Turned out to Be

    L’OUVERTURE A QU AR T E R L Y P U B L I C AT I O N | DR . J E A N - CL A UD E D U T È S , E D I TOR | V OL 2 NO 1 O F F I C E R S A FEW WORDS FROM OUR EDITOR Mr. Michelet (Mike) Moïse Hello and welcome back! 2020 has seamlessly merged into CHAIRPERSON 2021, bringing with it the chaos, confusion, and helplessness that COVID-19 and its mismanagement have brought to this Dr. Jean-Claude Dutès country. A silver lining, a ray of hope may have been sighted in the VICE-CHAIRPERSON horizon, however. Elections were held and there has been a transition Dr. Guylaine L. Richard to an administration that offers a more sanguine, disciplined, and SECRETARY competent approach to the management of this pandemic. We hope that it will be able to translate its aspirations into Mr. Frantz Y. Richard reality for the sake of the country and our own. We wish the TREASURER Biden-Harris administration much luck and persistent courage in its effort, likely to be Herculean, to redress the national vessel Ms. Cosy Clergé Joseph towards less tumultuous waters. To paraphrase poet Amanda Gorman, with intense fervor, we DIRECTOR OF INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS hope to march forward to what shall be, and not what was. Ms. Jocelyne Cameau At our other home, the situation is no less dire. Some, however, would contend that it is far worse, DIRECTOR OF EXTERNAL with a future smeared by uncertainty and no silver lining on the horizon.
  • The Children of San Souci, Dessalines/Toussaint, and Pétion

    The Children of San Souci, Dessalines/Toussaint, and Pétion

    The Children of San Souci, Dessalines/Toussaint, and Pétion by Paul C. Mocombe [email protected] West Virginia State University The Mocombeian Foundation, Inc. Abstract This work, using a structurationist, structural Marxist understanding of consciousness constitution, i.e., phenomenological structuralism, explores the origins of the contemporary Haitian oppositional protest cry, “the children of Pétion v. the children of Dessalines.” Although viewed within racial terms in regards to the ideological position of Pétion representing the neoliberal views of the mulatto elites, and economic reform and social justice representing the ideological position of Dessalines as articulated by the African masses, this article suggests that the metaphors, contemporarily, have come to represent Marxist categories for class struggle on the island of Haiti within the capitalist world-system under American hegemony at the expense of the African majority, i.e., the Children of Sans Souci. Keywords: African-Americanization, Vodou Ethic and the Spirit of Communism, Religiosity, Black Diaspora, Dialectical, Anti-dialectical, Phenomenological Structuralism Introduction Since 1986 with the topple of the Haitian dictator, Jean-Claude “Baby-Doc” Duvalier (1951-2014), whose family ruled Haiti for almost thirty-years, the rallying cry of Haitian protest movements against dictatorship and American neoliberal policies on the island has been, “the children of Dessalines are fighting or stand against the children of Pétion.” The politically charged moniker is an allusion to the continuous struggles over control of the Haitian nation- state and its ideological apparatuses between the Africans who are deemed the descendants of Jean-Jacques Dessalines, the father of the Haitian nation-state; and the mulatto elites (and more recently the Syrian class) who are deemed heirs of the mulatto first President of the Haitian Republic, Alexandre Pétion.
  • Eddie Murphy Reprises His Role As the Ever-Charming Prince Akeem and Leads an All-Star Cast for the Much-Anticipated Sequel, COMING 2 AMERICA

    Eddie Murphy Reprises His Role As the Ever-Charming Prince Akeem and Leads an All-Star Cast for the Much-Anticipated Sequel, COMING 2 AMERICA

    COMING 2 AMERICA - An American Marvel! Eddie Murphy reprises his role as the ever-charming Prince Akeem and leads an all-star cast for the much-anticipated sequel, COMING 2 AMERICA. Three decades and three beautiful daughters later, Akeem prepares to take over the reigns of his homeland of Zamunda. As antiquated gender roles are being challenged within his home, he is also faced with a new dilemma on the outside. While tradition has always required a male heir to take the throne, Akeem feels torn between following custom and creating change. While considering his eldest daughter, Meeka, who is the strongest choice, his rival, General Izzi, is plotting a union of dynasties with his son, Idi, as Meeka’s groom. Meanwhile, an ailing King Joffer delivers the shocking news that Akeem has a long-lost son, Lavelle, in Queens. After an unexpected turn of events, Akeem, now the King of Zamunda, along with his trusted confidante, Semmi, return to New York to tend to this unfinished royal family business. Upon finding Lavelle, Akeem convinces him to travel to Zamunda in order to learn the customs of royal life in preparation for becoming the heir to the throne. While Akeem smooths tensions with his wife and three daughters, General Izzi decides that his daughter, Bopoto, will become Lavelle’s wife. All the while, Lavelle is falling in love with his royal barber, Mirembe, who has dreams of owning her own barbershop. Arsenio Hall returns as Semmi, alongside James Earl Jones as King Jaffe Joffer, Shari Headley as Lisa, John Amos as Cleo McDowell, Louie Anderson as Maurice and the legendary barbershop crew who sparked the laughs in 1988 for COMING TO AMERICA.
  • Landscapes of Development

    Landscapes of Development

    Jack Devine Landscapes of Development: The Haitian Peasantry and the Historical Evolution of Haiti’s Landscape Advisor: Dr. Judith Schachter 2015-2016 Student Year Acknowledgements: Special thanks to my advisor, Judith Schachter, who consistently guided me through difficult questions and helped me grow as a writer and a thinker throughout the year. Also thanks to Ross Bernet, Ian and Lucy Rawson, Wendy Montinat, Shellon Mondesir, and Mathurin Dorceus for introducing me to the beauty and complexities of the Haitian landscape. Introduction: 100 Years of Independence In January of 1904, Haiti celebrated its one hundredth year of independence. This was truly a remarkable occasion – land that was once prized by European powers as the pinnacle of plantation slave colonies had been made into a sovereign state by a slave army, just a few years after America won independence from Britain. Haiti was the result of a unique slave revolution and it was the world‟s first black republic. Haitian President Nord Alexis marked the anniversary by commissioning a new national anthem; La Dessalinienne, named after ex-slave General Jean-Jacques Dessalines, reminds Haitians to always remember their history and, above all, to remain united as a people. Not all Haitians held such positive views of their country‟s fledgling century. Among those who had been disillusioned by one hundred years of independent Haiti was Dr. Rosalvo Bobo, who would go on to lead the Caco rebellion a decade later that prompted American military intervention. In a centennial address given in late 1903, Bobo pushed existential questions about centennial celebrations: “Centennial of our freedom? No.