Rehearsal

St. Domingue in Savannah

 

On my way to Haiti this summer, I stopped in Savannah for the Fourth of July, and was surprised to see this politically oriented monument to soldiers from St. Domingue fighting in the Revolutionary War. A USA Today article here profiles the effort to establish this memorial, and a more in-depth look at the politics of this can be found on the Corbett Haiti site.

This is interesting for several reasons, but for the purposes of this blog focusing on representation, this statement by Daniel Fils-Aime, chairman of the Haitian American Historical Society is particularly telling - "This is a testimony to tell people we Haitians didn't come from the boat...We were here in 1779 to help America win independence. That recognition is overdue."

Apparently the legacy of the media-propelled Haitian boat people stereotype casts a longer shadow than this physical monument that I stumbled upon during that weekend.

A Sneak Peak

I'm back from another summer of research, with tons of pictures to share. First up, this blend of the "traditional" bare foot and the thoroughly modern sneaker, with my very own shadow in the field! More to come soon.

Natif Natal

Recording artist BèlO has just released an album called Natif Natal (Native Born), and it is full of his typical smooth guitar licks, interspersed with elemental group percussion. A review by Le Nouvelliste describes it as "very World-Beat oriented, yet obviously tempered in the waters of Haitian traditional music." (my translation)
So obviously, I need to post the picture of that time I saw BèlO at Club Iguana...

- Port-au-Prince

Most Beautiful

I've enjoyed the recent spate of think pieces around Lupita Nyong'o's recent People magazine cover. Here is a particularly thought provoking one, that incorporates a discussion of the current post-racial pathology.

- Cap-Haïtien

...and we're back!

It has been a long month of editing, but I believe my proposal is finally off the ground. Which means a bit more opportunity to post here. Today, I offer an interesting read on voluntourism, from Al Jazeera America, along with one of my best "voluntourism" shots. The gentleman in the currently-much-maligned Clippers jersey is a longtime student, and we are enjoying a camp wide beach day.

- Cap-Haïtien

Showtime

- Jacmel