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Are Black People going to continue talking
about racism without moving forward?

Emmanuel W. Védrine

Photo: courtesy Elie Valcin of L’Asile City

Updated May 6, 2020

English •  FrançaisKreyòlEspañol

We can’t deny the reality of racism. It’s a fact in the society. For us who are living in the United States, in particular, we see too many concrete examples of it from time to time. At least we can write about this truth in order to raise awareness, and to educate everyone about this crucial issue. We were all created equal.

On the first hand, the title of this article is a question that can target black people in general on this planet. Its purpose would be to raise awareness among them to learn to decide for themselves. In this phase, it is impossible to leave behind effective leadership in all communities (and whatever ethnic group they would belong to). On the other hand, it’s to raise awareness among Haitians, as ethnic group living in the United States. They have the opportunity to work, to go to school, to learn a trade or profession, and the work they should do in their community to make it a vibrant one.

First, it is important to embrace education, to go to school, to learn many trades and professions, to attend training seminars(in different areas), to monitor the children studies (e.g., what they should know in the school curriculum or program they go to (from such and such grade or level). We should know the essential programs they must complete (at elementary, middle, and high school level) as basic education they need. If they miss this basic program after completing high school, well it would be like a building they are constructing without a solid base to hold its weight. It will collapse soon.

(Many) black people would spend more time talking about white racism (though we know that it’s not all white people who are racist). In blaming whites for their fate, instead of taking other directions with consciousness, their problems won’t be solved. They have been facing many problems since a long time in their community. Local leaders sometimes don’t address them; they don’t emphasize on them to raise awareness.

Yes, we can’t deny the reality of «racism», it’s a fact in the society, and we who are living in the United States (in particular) know how things are. For example, we see it in:

  1. Abuse white police officers are doing to black people, and we are tired of watching the evidences through videos that are being circulated on social networks and in the media.
     
  2. Bottles they would through after black people (if they are walking or driving in certain areas that they are not familiar with).
     
  3. Racist experience that black people may experience (at work) with some supervisors who try every possible way to give them problem one way or another.
     
  4. School where (some) teachers may damage their “GPA” (grade point average) so that they lose their scholarships.
     
  5. Certain area where they would call the police if they see a black person walking in a neighborhood… just to cite some examples.

We can’t deny this reality, and we can’t let it makes us paranoia either. On the contrary, it’s the time to be conscious of ourselves, to show solidarity with other group of people who are helping us (whatever their race or ethnicity). We can learn from others’ experience and the roads they took to make it as immigrants. Once you understand a problem, you can work on its solution also.

How much time do black people spend to examine their consciousness (in terms of leadership, mentality in general that may need to be changed)? They should think of production (what they need to produce in the society), solidarity among themselves, and vision for their community to make it a better one. Certainly, some of them would be mad, talk a lot when mentioning some of these issues to raise consciousness of many of them.

Know that we can’t change (all of a sudden) a person who was brought up racist (or who grew up in a racist environment). Yes, this person can be changed tomorrow, if he receives good education to be conscious that we are all humans. No matter what color, race we belong to, we may have the same type of blood. My blood can save you; your blood can save me (if they need to do a blood transfusion urgently).

You also, as victim, should try to go over that (by going to school, taking school seriously, learning different trades and professions to live in whatever environment you may be), educating your family (on all forms), people in your community, your children, yourself, and focus on a career to live on it tomorrow wherever you may be.

Investing – Leaders in many black communities don’t teach their community the importance of invest since early on (to create their economic independence) and how they can start preparing for tomorrow. That way, they won’t need to be slave working for a company until they die.

Buying a brand new care is not an investment. Instead of going to a car dealer  to have a bill for a new car (and you don’t even have a high school diploma), it would be better to go to a technical institute, or a community college to do a two-year program preparing you for a good job. In this school, you could focus on a technical program. It would be preferable that you take a loan from a bank to finance your studies within that short period of time as a kind of intellectual investment. This will guarantee you a long-term professional job to live better in the society.

Yes, when you are young, you would like to have a nice sport car to drive around with friends, to go to party to socialize, and to do a bunch of programs (things that young people around the world would like to do). But you don’t need to think about a brand new car for that. First, if you are intelligent, it’s the car’s engine that is important and not its appearance. That is, you can buy a good used car (or a second hand one) in auction where they sell cars.

This (used) car that you buy in auction can be a brand new one (or it may be one, two, three years since the owner bough it), and all of sudden it had an accident. The insurance totaled it or declares it total lost after evaluating its damage; that is, the insurance pays the owner according to the market value of the car. The insurance takes this damaged car, and sells it to car dealers and the latter sells in auction. Often times, it’s just (some parts of the car that has been damaged), but the engine is in good shape.

You can buy this car cash, and bring it to a shop to repair the body. After its repairing, people may think it’s a brand new car. That way, you don’t own any bank anything. You don’t have to kill yourself working two jobs to pay a new car’s (while in school, you have plenty of homework and research to do; it requires time to do them). Yes, we do need a car if you are living in a developed country. It’s a necessity to go to work; it will help you taking care of our business, and taking care of what we need rapidly. It can be used to help friends and relatives who need a ride to take care of something.

The advantage of a car now it that many people can use their car to do Uber (taxi) through the application that high technology offers people via their cell phone. So, this car can create jobs for them. This can help people who don’t have a regular job at this moment, young people, and university students (who are living on campus) to help them economically. This will give these students enough time to do their homework assignments and research without stress.

In general, t’s a whole mentality that black people need to change. They should know that they are the captain of their boat, and in what direction they want it to go. It’s the same mentality that (many) leaders in Haiti have, and even some Haitians who would have gotten far in school. They don’t want to be responsible of their fate; they always want to find an escape goat to blame.

Unfortunately, they would refuse to be conscious of the reality, or they would continue denying it. Many would come up with the same old song: white people hold Haiti in underdevelopment, white people don’t want us move forward, white people are racist, developed countries are sucking Haiti’s blood

While repeating the same speeches (that our ears are tired of hearing) to make the people sleep or to manipulate them, they have already stole the Petro-Caribe money some years ago. They hid part of it abroad, and invest the rest to be rich with their families.

They continue to steal the $1.50 tax money (on money and telephone transfers). All the money we mention here should has been used to build necessary infrastructures that Haiti needs for its decentralization and development.  Not long ago, the country was locked with people protesting, claiming their rights.

If outsiders come to Haiti and do whatever they want, that is:

  1. Local leaders open the doors for them to enter.
     
  2. Local leaders are doing bad deals with them.
     
  3. Local leaders don’t have the gut to say: here is what we want or don’t want; don’t decide for us.
     
  4. Local leaders never have any vision for Haiti to go forward. Their main objective is: ascending to power to steal and put away enough money for their family.

These corrupted leaders take pleasure in manipulating the Haitian people, who are naïve. They take pleasure to leave them in darkness, and illiterate. By doing that, they would be unable to think about the source of the problem. As a result, Haiti’s underdevelopment is an internal problem in the first place. Therefore, the first solution of this problem should be an internal one.
When these corrupted and unconscious leaders become conscious that Haiti can’t continue like that in the second decade of the 21st century, maybe they will give this country a chance to stop the flow of Haitians going to the Dominican Republic illegally, to Chile, Brazil, other countries in the Caribbean, the United States, and Canada in search of a better life.

Many of our compatriots are used to hear these old songs. They are used to these manipulated speeches. Some of them keep quiet. Many people are afraid to talk about the reality to protect themselves and the life of their love ones. Some are just tired of talking about the same thing over and over; they see Haiti as a basket case, no hope.

So, it’s a pretext where the home cat continues accusing the cat that lives in the wood while the home cat continues to eat chicken in the courtyard. We don’t say the wild cat does not try to eat chicken also. They are all cats are cats, and cats are carnivores (meat eaters).

In conclusion, it’s about time that black people being conscious of their reality. They should think about where they want to get in life, and the legacy they want to leave behind to save future generations. Basically, they must learn to be conscious of themselves, to care about their community, their country. It’s important that they learn to invest (for many who have not yet done that). It’s important to study technical things, create what they need at all levels. They should take school and education seriously. They should learn to be responsible, to be able to produce (at the maximum possible) which will enable them to create their economic independence.

They should think of the importance of preparing the young generations and put them in good direction so that they don’t get lost. It’s the leaders’ responsibility (at all levels) to orient people in their community. We should educate the children’ parents (as leaders also), and their responsibility at home. As ethnic group, who particularly, live in the United States, we have a great advantage to go to school. We can to learn some trades, professions to leave better in the society. That way, we can help our community better, the same way other ethnic groups do that.

ANNEXED TEXTS

LOUIS, Martine.

VEDRINE, Emmanuel W.

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