Haiti and the Dominican Republic, an Island Divided In “Black in Latin America,” Henry Louis Gates provides a quick, witty documentary about the extreme difference in the Haitian and Dominican Republic’s views and cultures. Gates provides evidence on how the different nations label themselves racially and religiously. He gives many examples of how the Dominicans label themselves as white or Spanish, ignoring their African roots, while the Haitians identify with their black roots even though they’re of the same island and thus have near the same history and past identities. Due to their rocky past and malicious dictators, the overall geography of these two nations was close (living on a single island of Hispanola), but the cultures were very …show more content…
These nations are separated by their racial identification. A normal Sunday for the Dominican Republic involves dancing in the streets to Merengue, a dance style their culture have created and practice to this day and they describe this as the “soul of life” in the center of the Dominican Republic. Around the Dominican Republic you can see from looking at the people of this country that they’re a “rainbow” of race, their skin ranges from all colors from white to black. Though they don’t identify as black, the Dominicans see themselves as white, Latino, or Indio, claiming they had to “learn to be black.” The Dominicans grew to believe they weren’t black, being taught that black was an inferior race and their “blackness” was different that the Haitians. In the Dominican Republic many people have a shyness with identifying with their African culture because of the struggle for independence. Everywhere you go in the Dominican Republic there are statues of white men everywhere, one of such statues is of Christopher Columbus, none of them being black or identifying as black, so they grow and thrive around a culture who hides their background and shows off their white, Latino and Indio skin. Another way the Dominican Republic hides their heritage is in school, many children don’t learn about their African roots and were taught to be ashamed of their blackness until the early
“Latin America includes the entire continent of South America, as well as Mexico. Central America, and the Caribbean Islands. Physical geography has played an important role in the economic development of Latin America.” (Doc A and Doc G) Latin America has many unique cultural characteristics, industrial products, agricultural products, and human activity.
In America today, there is a large and diverse African-American population. Within this population, there are several ethnic groups. The other ethnic group similar to Afro-Americans is Dominicans. Not only are they both minorities, but they also look similar as well. Both Dominicans and Afro-Americans are originally from Africa, but their slave masters separated them into two different cultures. African-Americans was African slaves of Americans, and Dominicans were African slaves of the Spanish. Hevesi of the New York Times says, "Dominican and Afro-Americans culture was formed from one ethnicity, Africans" (Hevesi 86). As a person of these two ethnic groups, I have two perceptions of my dual ethnicity. Among Afro-Americans’ and Dominicans’ culture, language, history and values, there are large differences, but there are also several similarities. I will compare and contrast these two ethnic groups which are within me.
Although the natives of Borikén were Taino, it is argued that the first Puerto Ricans were black Puerto Ricans. Spanish occupation virtually eliminated Native influences by the way of the decimation of the people as a result of disease brought across the atlantic by the Spanish settlers. In this way the Taino were minimally influential in forming a new cultural identity. “The descendants of the first African slaves had already become black Puerto Ricans”(González 10) when Spaniards from the canary islands arrived to replace those who had left in search of riches in Peru and Mexico. For this reason it is feasible to accept the notion “that the Puerto Ricans were in fact black Puerto Ricans.” (González 10) The African presence was more of a factor in the formation process of the Puerto Rican identity. Of the massive numbers of slaves who survived the voyage there were those who were fortunate enough to escape into the hinterland. Here they found refuge from the hardship of plantation labor along with the opportunity to join the peasantry that also searched for refuge. The jíbaros “used the broken topography of the interior as an ally in its struggle with the expanding sugar plantations” (Scarano 6) This intermixing of the two cultures forged several similarities.
There are currently 150 million Afro-descendants in Latin America who make up nearly 30 percent of the region’s population (Congressional Research Service, 2005). Out of the fifteen Latin American nations that have recently adapted some sort of multicultural reform, only three give recognize Afro-Latino communities and give them the same rights as indigenous groups (Hooker, 2005). Indigenous groups are more successful than afro-descendent groups in gaining collective rights and development aid from international NGO’s. Collective rights important because are closely related to land rights and can become a tool to fight descrimination .I will attempt to uncover the causes for the discrepancy. This study relies heavily on ethnographic research on post-colonial ideas of race in Latin America and I will attempt to connect race and power structures in environmental decision-making by interviews with national decision-makers, NGO representatives and both black and indigenous communities .
In the Dominican Republic, I would not place an emphasis on slave heritage as slavery is associated with blackness, blackness with being Haitian, and being Haitian with being savage and backwards. This conflation of Haiti, blackness, and savagery is the handiwork of numerous 19th century travel narratives that claimed to provide “unbiased” accounts of the island of Hispaniola. In fact, Candelario includes an account that consistently contrasted the two countries and their inhabitants, “One was white, Spanish, and Catholic; the other was black, French, and irreligious. One was “civilized” because it courted the United States and Americans; the other was barbaric because it jealously defended its political and economic sovereignty” (Candelario 47). Travel narratives such as this one that positioned the Dominicans as “the whites of the land” were adopted by Dominicans and used as part of the foundation in the nation’s construction of race, and can be used to explain its affinity for
Intermarriage between Puerto Rico’s original Indians, Whites, and Black inhabitants has made Puerto Rican society a mixture of races.
Until the early 1800’s, Spain created an empire that lasted around three hundred years and was considered “the most powerful country in Europe” (Mini Q). During the late 18th century, the Spanish colonies had an uncompromising social structure to which people were placed in different classes based on their heritage. The Creoles, people born in the colonies but of pure Spanish blood, lead the fight in the struggle for independence because of the economic and social conditions as well as the attempt to gain political power.
These words immediately make the following paragraphs and pieces of insight feel more real to the reader. It is often easy for individuals to dissociate themselves from factual representations of history since they seem as if they are simply stories of a time long since passed. Yet, modern issues no matter how far their roots reach into the past enlist a different response. Hearing the stories of people who currently are or recently were victims of continuing racism is strikingly raw and provoking. Raquel Aristilde de Valdez, a half Dominican half Haitian woman, shows how racism is not simply a social issue. The people have made her feel as if she does not belong, and the government has wrongfully taken away her legal representation of belonging. The legal issue of her validity as a Dominican was resolved, yet it can be inferred that the issues that come with loosing that belonging cannot be fixed as easily. In a similar situation, Cherlina Castillo Pierre found her heritage to mean more than her personal worth. Despite Pierre’s athletic talents in soccer she’s restricted from her rightful chance to play for her birth-countries team simply because of a prejudice. An individual is more than a birth certificate yet, in a country that sees the word Haitian analogous to insignificance, thats all Cherlina Castillo Pierre became. Despite the discouraging stories of natural born
In the past, rafts teeming with Cuban refugees have routinely floated to American shores in order to escape the brutal and oppressive Castro regime. Haitians arriving in the same manner were turned away because their plight did not involve politics but poverty. Semantics aside, it is hard not to wonder if skin color played a role in their expulsion. Furthermore, though Haiti’s government is not classified as communist, the policies and actions of of its officials can arguably be considered equally as
The study of race relations in contemporary Cuba indelibly requires an understanding of the dynamic history of race relations in this ethnically pervasive island of the Caribbean. Cuban society, due to its historical antecedents of European colonialism and American imperialism, has traditionally experienced anguished and even tumultuous race relations. Racial disharmony has plagued Cuban society ever since the advent of the Colonial institution of the plantation system. Thus, in order to acquire some understanding of Cuba’s dynamic race relations one must study and investigate the evolution of racial tensions and the quintessential impact that the revolution of 1959 had on Cuba’s social structure.
In order to understand the current situation of Puerto Ricans one must look at their history and retrace the sequence of events that led to the current formation of the Puerto Rican people. An important component of this history is the time Puerto Rico spent under Spanish rule. Studying this portion of Puerto Rican history forces us to acknowledge the contribution the Spaniards, European immigrants, and African slaves had on Puerto Rican identity as we consider it today. This also addresses contemporary debates on Puerto Rican identity. An example of this is evident in an essay written by Jose Luis Gonzales entitled "Puerto Rico : Th Four Storied Country". In the article Gonzales points out what he feels is a disregard toward the African contribution to the Puerto Rican identity. He argues that the first Puerto Ricans were black , based on his interpretation that Africans were the first group to come to Puerto Rico and reproduce who did not have ties to a "motherland" because they were slaves. This is unlike the Spaniard elites and Criolles that demonstrated their commitment and loyalty to Spain. Since they had no other place to go, Puerto Rico was their motherland. Gonzalez also points out that the culture of a region is always the culture of the elite, not the popular culture.
In other words, the rich Puerto Ricans began to realize that because of their skin color, which was often darker than what was accepted as white, would force them to be fitted to the same stereotype as the non-whites in the mainland United States, and sought for a way to preserve their identity. In Puerto Rico, where the Spanish invasion caused a racial mixing of the island’s inhabitants, ...
It has been centuries since slavery ended across Latin America yet racial issues continue to plague these countries. Since manumission, the concept of race has evolved through the meaning societies have given it. Countries have used and continue to use the idea of race as a way to stratify their societies through racial hierarchies. Each country has taken on its own definition of race in terms of blackness, whiteness, and everything in between. These types of labels perpetuate racism and subject People of Color to discrimination, marginalization, and inequalities across society. It is crucial to identify the origins of race and racism, how the term has evolved, and the role race plays in societies across the Latin American countries, especially
As the Hispanic Caribbean has evolved it has managed to grow and thrive beyond belief, whether one is discussing art, music or just the culture alone the Hispanic Caribbean is truly reaping the benefits of allowing themselves to be influenced by many other cultures. While the Hispanic Caribbean is thriving they are still facing the many new found struggles that come along with the territory of becoming more affluent as well as more accepting to other cultures and their beliefs. Often with the growth of large proportions comes many problems, problems also can come about when incorporating of different cultures as a whole as well as just bringing in their beliefs and mannerisms. None the less it can be argued that the struggles being faced in
1. “What God have divided no man can put together”. Discuss in relation to Caribbean integration.