I suggested the creation of the Haitian Cultural Center in Boston to Mayor Michelle Wu after her election victory. However, despite my initial proposal, her administration and Haitian community leaders in Boston moved forward with the project without involving me for reasons unknown. Here's my message to Jean Claude Sanon, the Haitian community leader who met with Mayor Wu's campaign manager before endorsing her on behalf of the Haitian community.
MEN LIDE MWEN POU RANKONT PITA AK BIWO MICHÈL WOU-A:
1) I want to signal something embarrassing that the Haitian community faces in Boston public administrations, and they complain about it. When we go to a public agency's office or during a meeting, why do our representatives/ambassadors answer questions asked in Haitian Creole in English since they represent the Haitian community in established offices? We want selected Haitian descents who understand our culture and community to speak on our behalf. How can you represent a community you do not speak, write and understand its language? It is frustrating, and I do not think our society is going anywhere with them.
2) THE HAITIAN COMMUNITY NEEDS A CULTURAL CENTER IN BOSTON.
When I came to Boston in October 2016, I was afraid, ashamed, and stunned observing Haitian children's behavior. They acted strangely by walking on the Mattapan streets, begging people for money, smoking, and using obscenities in their conversations. Over the news, their neighborhoods are discriminated against for delinquency, and they seem to be marginalized. I realized some of these peers might be professionally talented and artistically gifted. They lack the guidance to play a better role in society, make a living, and serve their community with pride. I want to implement a literary, socio-educational, and cultural organization to gather them. I want to see these youth find suitable jobs and the right tools to develop their talents and see the future of the next generations. My mission is to empower them to build their leadership and civic engagement through arts and entrepreneurship. I used that strategy because inclusivity can influence social cohesion and conflict management in the Boston community. I also realized that Haitian kids have low self-esteem. They ignore Haitian Creole, which is their vernacular language, and some seem to be scared by what they heard about Haiti.
3) People like to feel at home wherever they live, and some Bostonian descents are conservative. As another alternative to promote inclusion and social cohesion among contemporary artists, the sectarianism concept subsisting in Boston to conserve sectionalism should cease to accommodate new residents and community leaders. I came with the idea of banning discrimination in our communities because we want to see elected officials feel safe during and after their mandates. As leaders, we represent a community we love besides personal interests. Representing a community where we are being bullied and stigmatized can make us lack interest in investing our time to budget it for the future. We experienced that during recent elections referring to mayors and states representatives while campaigning, and we would not like this racism and prejudices to affect the city's goods.
Wilson Thelimo Louis,
President of ITIAHaiti
Thank you message from Jean Claude Sanon:
I want to take the time to thank you all personally for your contributions in times, volunteers, finances and supports towards Michelle Wu's campaign. Let me say that my enthusiasm and overzealous style are often being misunderstood even though I have no ill intent toward anyone. Please forgive me if I did step over anyone's foot by accident. My greatest joy of success is when we win, just like I would like to see our community becoming the number one voter's group and empowered politically. It can be done with teamwork, overzealous efforts, and our dream can come true for the benefit of all of us. I want to thank all of you who had participated in Michelle Wu's journey, by whatever means necessary, from far or near. May this experience help build our bonds stronger, without any hard feelings toward anyone who had crossed over. Instead, we want to extend a peace offering while welcoming them to the Wu train. I promise you that I will fight to make sure that our voices are not being ignored and the community should be benefited from its contribution. Let's continue to build where we've left off for a brighter political future in Massachusetts.
Again thank you, and God bless!