The Presence of Africa in the Caribbean, the Antilles and the United States Other Books in the Research and Ideas Series
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RESEARCH AND IDEAS SERIES History The Presence of Africa in the Caribbean, www.gfddpublications.org - www.globalfoundationdd.org - www.funglode.org the Antilles and the United States Celsa Albert Batista - Patrick Bellegarde-Smith - Delia Blanco - Lipe Collado RESEARCH AND IDEAS SERIES Franklin Franco - Jean Ghasmann Bissainthe - José Guerrero - Rafael Jarvis Luis Education Mateo Morrison - Melina Pappademos - Odalís G. Pérez - Geo Ripley Health José Luis Sáez - Avelino Stanley - Dario Solano - Roger Toumson Urban Development History THE PRESENCE OF AFRICA IN THE CARIBBEAN, THE ANTILLES AND THE UNITED StatES Other books in the Research and Ideas Series: Distance Education and Challenges by Heitor Gurgulino de Souza El Metro and the Impacts of Transportation System Integration in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic by Carl Allen The Presence of Africa in the Caribbean, the Antilles and the United States Celsa Albert Batista Patrick Bellegarde-Smith Delia Blanco Lipe Collado Franklin Franco Jean Ghasmann Bissainthe José Guerrero Rafael Jarvis Luis Mateo Morrison Melina Pappademos Odalís G. Pérez Geo Ripley José Luis Sáez Avelino Stanley Dario Solano Roger Toumson RESEARCH AND IDEAS SERIES History This is a publication of gfdd and funglode Global Foundation for Democracy and Development www.globalfoundationdd.org Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo www.funglode.org The Presence of Africa in the Caribbean, the Antilles and the United States Copyright @ 2012 by GFDD-FUNGLODE All rights Reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. ISBN: 978-9945-412-74-1 Printed by World Press in the USA Editor-in-Chief Graphic Design Natasha Despotovic Maria Montas Marta Massano Supervising Editor Semiramis de Miranda Collaborators Yamile Eusebio Style Editor Asunción Sanz Kerry Stefancyk Translator Maureen Meehan www.gfddpublications.org Table of Contents Foreword ............................................................................. ix Preface ................................................................................ xi Introduction ........................................................................ 1 I. Africa and the Slave Trade ............................................. 3 José Guerrero “Africa and Santo Domingo in the xvi Century”....... 5 Dario Solano “unesco’s Slave Route Project”.................................. 23 II. African Cultural Expression in the Caribbean .......... 33 Odalís G. Pérez “Black Memory in the Caribbean”............................... 35 Patrick Bellegarde-Smith “Haiti: Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Black Agency and International Speeches”........................... 49 Avelino Stanley “The Cocolos: From Discriminated Immigrants to Cultural Heritage of the Dominican Nation and All of Humanity”..................................................... 55 Jean Ghasmann Bissainthe “African Ethnic Groups and their Influences on Haitian Society”.............................................................. 63 III. Transculturation in the Dominican Republic .......... 77 Celsa Albert Batista, “Transculturation and its Particularities in the Dominican Republic”.................................................... 79 José Luis Sáez, “The Social Role of Imported Blacks in the Dominican Church”....................................................... 95 Lipe Collado “Reflection of African Presence in Dominican Historical Events, Concepts and Terminology”.......... 105 Rafael Jarvis Luis "The Cocolos and Samaná"............................................ 119 Geo Ripley "African Religions and their Christian-Magic Transformations in the New World"........................... 127 IV. Towards a Black Aesthetic: The Creation of Pan-Africanism ................................................................... 135 Mateo Morrison “Aimé Césaire and the Relation between the Negritude Movement and Dominican Literature”..... 137 Delia Blanco “Leopold Sedhar Senghor: The Poetry of Africanness”.................................................................... 153 Roger Toumson “A Movement of Two: Césaire y Fanon, Affinities and Contradictions”....................................................... 163 V. Black Political Culture in the xx Century ................... 169 Franklin Franco “Racism and Immigration in Santo Domingo”......... 171 Melina Pappademos “Political Changüí: Race, Political Cultural and Black Civic Activism in the Early Cuban Republic”... 181 Biographies .......................................................................... 191 About GFDD ....................................................................... 209 About FUNGLODE ........................................................... 211 Foreword ix FOREWORD Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (gfdd), in the United States of America, and Fundación Global Democracia and Desarrollo (funglode), headquartered in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, are dedicated to promoting research and awareness in areas crucial to the democratic, social and economic sustainable development of the Dominican Republic and the world. The two think tanks organize meetings and educational programs as well as generate studies and publications that contribute to the development of new perspectives, searching for innovative solutions and creating transformative initiatives. gfdd and funglode are honored to present the publication series research and ideas. The series includes research papers, articles, speeches and keynote addresses that discuss critical issues of the contemporary world from national, regional and global points of view. These selected works present scrupulous analysis, introduce innovative ideas and transmit inspiration. We hope they will contribute to a better understanding of the world, empowering us to act in a more informed, efficient and harmonious way. Natasha Despotovic Executive Director, gfdd Preface xi PREFACE Thanks to the initiative of Dr. Leonel Fernández, President of the Dominican Republic and Honorary President of Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (gfdd) and Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (funglode), in July 2011, we organized an important event in our country, “TheI nternational Conference on the Presence of Africa in the Caribbean, the Antilles and the United States.” The academic event was convened to examine and analyze the influence and contribution of African cultures to our multifaceted region. In the one hundred and sixty-seven years of independence enjoyed by our society, there have only been three gatherings of this type held on Dominican soil. The first was organized by the Department of Scientific Research at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo in 1973 under my coordination and direction. The second was held under the auspices of unesco in 1996, as part of the “Slave Route Program;” and the third, with which we are currently concerned and over which I had the honor of presiding, was convened by gfdd and funglode. Through this publication, we present the scholarly essays that formed part of that conference. It is worth noting that possibly the most significant detail to emerge from this event was the eloquent proof of existing similarities among the infinite cultural characteristics that exist in the Antillean nations, despite differences in language. This enables one to realize how very close we find ourselves on the shared path to unity among the Caribbean peoples. Along these lines, it is essential to underscore the preeminent level of knowledge displayed by the national and international scholars who presented papers on the cultural, historical and even immigration problems that have arisen from the Dominican-Haitian historical-territorial conflictive reality. This fact provides proof of the existence of a new Dominican vision on future relations between these two nations that, by design, share the destiny of the island of Hispaniola. This new vision, to be recognized and praised, was already evidenced by the fraternal and supportive efforts undertaken by the government of Dr. Leonel Fernández in the days and months after the devastating earthquake that hit xii Research and Ideas Haiti in 2010, which was then followed shortly thereafter by cyclones, storms and the noless tragic cholera epidemic, the effects of which are still being felt today on that part of the island. Examining the dissertations presented at this conference, now available in this book, the reader will have the opportunity to see that this meeting was truly an academic gathering. This is particularly true for Dominicans who, for such a long time, have lived without recognizing the African continent. This seminar was an enriching experience for us as well as a valuable contribution to the expansion of knowledge about our roots. The conference also contributed to strengthening national consciousness, an element of great value in this age of globalized knowledge. We are beginning to experience in our country, finally and fortunately, the collapse of the last vestiges of the worst prejudices that have plagued and divided nations and mankind nearly everywhere on earth for several centuries− the breeding ground for the worst disgraces suffered by humanity. Hallelujah! Franklin Franco Sociologist, Dominican Historian and Professor The Presence of Africa in the Caribbean, the Antilles and the United States Celsa Albert Batista Patrick Bellegarde-Smith Delia Blanco Lipe Collado Franklin Franco Jean Ghasmann Bissainthe José Guerrero Rafael Jarvis Luis Mateo Morrison Melina Pappademos Odalís