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2. African "Americans" in Brazil
- Collection:
- Black Caribbean Literature (BCL)
- Contributers:
- Melvin Kadiri Barrolle (Author)
- Format:
- Newspaper Article
- Publication Date:
- Jan 4-Jan 10, 2007
- Published:
- Washington, DC
- Location:
- African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Journal Title:
- Washington Informer
- Journal Title Details:
- 10 : 19
- Notes:
- While some forget that the United States does not have a monopoly over the title "America," the term, with some exceptions, encompasses most of the Western Hemisphere. As such, many of the communities of African descent that reside within this range possess equal claim to the name "African Americans." The event commemorated "Black Consciousness Day," an annual holiday that is celebrated in Brazil on November 20. The public holiday pays tribute to an African ancestor, Zumbi dos Palmares, revered by Blacks in the country for his fierce resistance to slavery in the 17th century. The day was consciously chosen to symbolize the ongoing struggles of Blacks to achieve social and economic equality in Brazil.
3. Black Cubans Are Proud Of Their Dark Skin, Thick Lips, Wide Hips
- Collection:
- Black Caribbean Literature (BCL)
- Contributers:
- Hall,Wiley A.,III (Author)
- Format:
- Newspaper Article
- Publication Date:
- 2000-07-12
- Published:
- Jacksonville, FL
- Location:
- African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Journal Title:
- The Jacksonville Free Press
- Journal Title Details:
- 28 : 3
- Notes:
- "You must understand that we are very different in Cuba," insisted Gabriel Molina Franchossi, director of Gramma newspaper, the official organ of the communist party in Cuba. "To Afro-Cubans, big lips and big backsides are objects of beauty. To us, such images represent the feminine ideal." Afro Cubans also seem naive. Cubans are fond of saying that Fidel Castro abolished racism when he came into power 40 years ago, as though this can be accomplished by a simple decree. What they really mean, of course, is that Castro outlawed discrimination And again, who am I to say he hasn't? In the United States, discrimination didn't become illegal until the mid-60s when Congress passed a series of civil rights laws effecting voting rights, equal employment, and fair housing. By 1968, Richard Nixon was ending a wave of white backlash into power and the process of undermining those gains began. Blacks appear to have had a different experience in Cuba, where better than 40 percent of the population is either Black or mestizo (mixed) and where a fair percentage of those who are considered "white" acknowledge some degree of African or mestizo blood in their heritage. "We in Cuba are not so easily categorized as in the United States," said Reynaldo Calviac Lafferte, director of the International Press Center. He pointed to a wall in his office. "In the same family, there are some who are as white as that wall." Then he slapped his patent leathers. "And there are some who are as black as my shoes. For us, race is not an issue like it is for you."
4. Dr. Watson's faux pas
- Collection:
- Black Caribbean Literature (BCL)
- Contributers:
- Uttley,Jimmy (Author)
- Format:
- Newspaper Article
- Publication Date:
- Oct 24-Oct 31, 2007
- Published:
- Brooklyn, NY
- Location:
- African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Journal Title:
- Haiti Observateur
- Journal Title Details:
- 44 : 7
- Notes:
- It goes something like this: A Dr. James D. Watson made a statement in an interview with the Times of London, which was interpreted to mean that blacks are dumber than whites (those are my words). Here's what he actually said: "...there are many people of color who are very talented," ...he is "inherently gloomy about the prospect of Àfrica. ' "All our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours - whereas all the testing says not really," the Times quoted him as saying. As a child growing up in Haiti, I often heard my peers making comments that would reflect views similar to that allegedly expressed by Dr. Watson. There's no truth to the belief that Haitians are inferior to citizens of other nations, but sadly, many Haitians believe that. Unfortunately, many non-Haitians believe that about Haitians as well. For as long as I can remember, there s been a cancer spread throughout that says that we as a people aren't capable of rising above our circumstances and becoming who we were created to be. It's time for all of us to recognize that all people are created in the image of God. One race or people group isn't created "better than another. We are all created equal and we are all loved equally by a Heavenly Father who desires the best for His creatures.
5. Friends I Have Lost; Heroes I Have Found
- Collection:
- Black Caribbean Literature (BCL)
- Contributers:
- Lee,Nicole C. (Author)
- Format:
- Newspaper Article
- Publication Date:
- 2008-05-08
- Published:
- San Bernardino, CA
- Location:
- African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Journal Title:
- Precinct Reporter
- Journal Title Details:
- 41 : A4
- Notes:
- Lovinsky Pierre Antoine, is a Haitian activist and leader of Fondasyon Trant Septanm (September 30 organization), named in commemoration of the coup against democratically elected President Jean Bertrand Aristide in 1991. His organization worked with victims of torture, rape and extrajudicial executions by the Haitian military and paramilitary. I met Lovinsky when I lived in Haiti. I admire his fervent commitment to educate Americans about the negative impacts of US policies towards Haiti. In 2004, under threat by the former military whose human rights abuses he had vehemently denounced, Lovinsky left Haiti for the US. But two years later, after democratic elections, Lovinsky returned to Haiti. Like many of his friends, I was concerned for his safety, but Lovinsky was unwavering. Last August, while working with a human rights delegation, Lovinsky received a telephone call and left his home. His car was found the next morning, but he has not been seen since. He is "disappeared", a term used to describe someone who is kidnapped out of a political motivation.
6. Haitians can't get past freedom legacy
- Collection:
- Black Caribbean Literature (BCL)
- Contributers:
- Harris,Barbra (Author)
- Format:
- Newspaper Article
- Publication Date:
- Jul 15-Jul 21, 2010
- Published:
- Jackson, MI
- Location:
- African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Journal Title:
- Jackson Advocate
- Journal Title Details:
- 39 : 7A
- Notes:
- At [Henry Christophe]'s death, Haiti was taken over by General Boyer and civil war ceased. It was Boyer who obtained Haiti's official independence from France for 150 million francs. Unfortunately, Haiti's employment is less than 30 percent and its illiteracy rate is above 50 percent. Though its official language is French, Haiti's most widely spoken language is kreyol. Ninety percent of Haitians are Catholic although 99 percent worship their native religion of voodoo. Despite its tropical resort geography, living conditions in Haiti are comparative to those of many Third World nations. The Haitian economy is almost entirely dependent upon U.S. companies who horde the country's resources and only pay slave wages.
7. In Brazil racism takes many hues
- Collection:
- Black Caribbean Literature (BCL)
- Contributers:
- Pitts,Leonard (Author)
- Format:
- Newspaper Article
- Publication Date:
- Jul 12-Jul 18, 2007
- Published:
- New York, NY
- Location:
- African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Journal Title:
- New York Beacon
- Journal Title Details:
- 28 : 13
- Notes:
- In this, he's not unlike his counterparts in the United States, where black people also have an extensive vocabulary to describe variations in skin tone. In the United States, one can be "high yellow" (i.e., of very light skin); one can be "red" (i.e., with a reddish tint; one of Malcolm X's early nicknames was "Detroit Red"); or one can be any of a number of synonyms for dark. Like, for instance, "Smokey." In fact, the famous (and "high yellow") Motown singer William Robinson was given that nickname in affectionate irony by one of his father's friends - sort of like calling a fat guy Tiny. The same is not true in Brazil. And if the United States is a country where black people with light skin used to sometimes "pass," i.e., pretend to be white, well, in this country "passing is a national institution." So says Elisa Nascimento with a laugh. She is white, American-born and the wife of Abdias do Nascimento, a 90-year-old black Brazilian artist and political icon. And the insistence of some Brazilian blacks on "passing," she says, has political consequences in that it tends to distort statistics on black life. "The way racism works in Brazil . . . there is a hierarchy, and so people tend to identify themselves lighter than they necessarily would be." "It was a rough time," she says in her imperfect English. "For me, was impossible to live there. We could not be married. Why I married with a black guy, you know? So when I say to you that Brazil was different . . . even my first husband didn't think of himself as black. In Brazil, he was a Brazilian, even though he was black. He never thought of himself as someone different from me because he was another color."
8. Let's think a bit
- Collection:
- Black Caribbean Literature (BCL)
- Format:
- Newspaper Article
- Language:
- French
- Publication Date:
- May 26-Jun 2, 2010
- Published:
- Brooklyn, NY
- Location:
- African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Journal Title:
- Haiti Observateur
- Journal Title Details:
- 21 : 5
- Notes:
- For the last three weeks, the readers of this column have been able to follow Dr. [Anthony P. Maingot]'s speech about Haiti's history of war of liberation and internicine struggles which have been such a burden for the First Black Republic. He began with "the issue of the moment," namely the reparation from France for 200 years of slavery. Haiti's political culture, its "developed legacy of behavior, " is not conducive to development. The second issue studied by Dr. Maingot is the U.S. occupation of Haiti, which "rested on the idea of the White Man's burden" - its Manifest Destiny. But, on balance, the occupation was not entirely negative. The very racism of the White invaders was a reality check for Haitian society. Yes, by treating all Haitians (whether dark skinned or light skinned Mulattoes) as "Niggers," no more no less, the foreign invaders reconciled the subjective ideas of superiority and/or inferiority of the Haitians with their own, i.e., their more objective, non involved, opinions as powerful occupying forces. Thirdly, Dr. Maingot analysed a cultural element that had, and continues to have, a great impact on Haitian society. That major cultural factor, of course, is the syncretic religion called vodoo.
9. Split personalities; Are the pressures of American society, school compelling Haitian kids to live dual lives?
- Collection:
- Black Caribbean Literature (BCL)
- Contributers:
- Ibokette,Yolette (Author)
- Format:
- Newspaper Article
- Publication Date:
- Nov 2005
- Published:
- Dorchester, MA
- Location:
- African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Journal Title:
- Boston Haitian Reporter
- Journal Title Details:
- 11 : 5
- Notes:
- The presenters discussed topics ranging from democratic reform and transition in Haiti to health concerns in the Haitian diaspora. One presentation by Lunine Pierre-Jerome, Ed.D., titled "Identity Development among Low-Literacy Haitian Adolescent Newcomers: Collective and Integrative View of the Self" was particularly poignant. Dr. Pierre-Jerome's case study explored how low-literacy Haitian adolescent newcomers identify themselves; their perceptions of family, peer relationships, community and schooling; and their opinions about attending a literacy program.