It was an excellent experience facilitating this session on racial justice on Sunday, June 13, 2021, for almost 2 hours. To start, I introduced myself; next, I asked participants to do the same. Then, I asked them their comfort level from one (1) to ten (10) on racism. Finally, I expressed my comfort level to 7. And I revealed that the meeting would be held as part of sending an assignment to my school.
Betty Fortunat, who lives in Georgia, has spoken out to express her comfort to level 6 according to her experience with racism. She advanced events where police are killing black people is common, and those mistreatments have been going on for a long time, which would have had a profound impact on her life. She talks about her 19 years old black son, which makes her paranoid, and the situation gives her problems of thinking about what she feels can happen to him on the street by white police officers. She constantly urges her son to always put his license out of his pocket. If a police officer pulls him over, Betty recommended that her son have his driver's license ready in front of the car and put his two hands behind the wheel. Because he is black, if he puts his hand in his pocket to take his wallet, it can cause police to shoot at him.
Betty is forced to teach her 19-year-old how to react if a police officer stops him. She must prevent the boy from going to play basketball after 6 p.m. Because he is black, Betty does not want him to take to the streets in the evening. Because children are black, parents do not want them to go to a particular area. Betty says that she must tell her children when she goes to work, I love you! Because she does not know if he will be home later because of the racist environment. Unbelievably, our mental health is affected negatively. We are forced to have racial conversations with our children at an early age. The educator would encourage black people to educate themselves, understand their stories even more, and know how to react in society.
Betty believes that if black people educate themselves well and have a satisfactory level of education, white people will live with them. Skills have no color; self-education is one of the ways to promote equity and respect. She knows if there are more black people who are doctors and teachers with many other professional abilities, whites will use them regardless of whether they would be racist or not. The teacher believes education is vital and encourages black communities to share knowledge because they will go no further without fraternal support. Finally, Betty would like these debates to inform more people about acting whenever they fall into these situations. She accentuated that the discussion should continue to all social media as well.
Professor Emmanuel W. Védrine, who lives in Curacao, encourages black communities to support one another morally. He asks them to connect with knowledgeable people, a way to gain moral support. He finds Black people complain too much. He discourages them from waiting for white godfathers or wait for the government for everything. He says this because he finds out that some people with authority are irresponsible. Those who ascend to power sometimes seem to be interested in conserving it instead of using it to serve their communities when thinking of Haiti for example. Védrine would find Haitians still don’t want to work in a group. He would like to see them work together and helping one another.
On racism, a theme that was being discussed, he mentions that it’s an entire hierarchical system that exists in the United States. He asserts that even if a Black person has a lot of money, there are certain areas where that person will not be able to live in the United States. He goes back to the 1970s to point out that Black people could not go to South Boston beaches, an era when racism was very strong in Boston. For him, there is a system in place that tries to block many black people from reaching too far. He states that there is no racism in black countries but rather prejudice, and class struggle that would exist in countries like Haiti and other black countries. He thinks that the level of prejudice may be based on the school a person attends in Haiti, uniforms that students wear (identifying their school and who attend them), and social class or economic status. The linguist talks about some universities he attended where he had certain limitations as a Black student. For example, there are some clubs that he could not enter where their members are part of generations (from father to son, an entire family). That’s something he finds very elitist.
Védrine encourages everyone to seek to educate themselves by going to school. According to him, there are minority leaders in the Haitian community (in the United States) who would rather seek relations from American leaders instead of orienting members of the Haitian community (in all domains) to help their community progress. He thinks there is a lot of brainstorming to be done on the issue of racism. He does not think that all Whites are racist; he would not want Black people to accuse all Whites of racism. The educator also finds that there is an education problem that needs to be addressed. He notes that some black people tend to be very emotional, especially Black Americans in the way some of them react to Whites (who would appear aggressive with them). For instance, he points out white police officers who can stop them in traffic for one reason or another... Some Black Americans would not only be emotional but also angry when they think of their history, all the exploitation their ancestors have endured as slaves in the United States... It would seem that no matter what level Black Americans reach, they still face some frustration. But the reality about color (in the United States) is that all Black people are in the same basket. Up until now, when a black person walks in some White neighborhoods, they can call the police for that person. Whites see all Blacks alike without thinking of their nationality. Once a black person is living in the United States, that person will experience racism anyhow (sooner or later), even if there are people who don’t want to talk about what they experience.
Védrine tells what happened to him when he was a college student, and when he was teaching in the state of Rhode Island. Upon getting off a bus and was walking home, he heard someone shouts "niger” and throwing a bottle of beer after him. He also talks about his experiences in the state of Indiana where he was a college student. He is told there are certain areas not to take chances to go there, even driving. He remembers not far from where he lived on campus, a white boy about ten years old in his father's car called him "niger." So, if the child had not received instruction from his dad, he would not have said the “N” word. This action shows how parents contribute to racial conflict. -- Védrine says it is important for parents to teach their children how to treat others in society because the school will not tell them how to behave. The writer exhorts parents to orient their children to wear decent clothes as well. -- Professor Védrine advises black people not to ask police officers why they stop them in traffic. Some racist officers seem to use a technique to arouse their emotions (to react against them) as a way to find a pretext for their arrest.
He talks about his experience with college professors who gave him low grades, and that would even cause him to lose his scholarships. He says there are white professors who would never give black students "A" grades in their class regardless of how bright these students can be. The racist reality causes many black students to fail to complete their school programs. He believes if a student scores “C” at the master's or doctoral level it’s a failure. He believes that a good teacher should help students succeed instead of letting students fall into probation (a situation that can cause them to never complete their school program or leave the institution). -- He believes that racist professors do that as a way to make black students fail or lose their scholarships. He encourages us not to be different in the “Black Lives Matter” movement. Finally, he talks about a White man (in his 20s) who hit him with a door with all of his strength as he was entering a store-Pharmacy near Boston (in the city of Somerville) in 1978...
Mrs. Emmeline A. Menard, an early childhood educator who lives in Massachusetts, said that racism is inside us, an approach that would make us believe that white people are not racist. She recalled an ITIAHaiti meeting held the last couple of weeks to say she took more racial disappointments from black people than white people. She takes the example of a co-worker who lives in the same area as her. The colleague is more about running when he sees her instead of greeting her. Emmeline testifies to the friendship of the white person who constantly greets her. She finds it frustrating for black people to blame white people and further believes it is an educational issue. She even asks: do we know all the real reasons why a police officer killed someone on the street?
Emmeline reported that she has been driving for 15 years, and no police officer has ever disrespect or insults her. Even though white police would stop many black people, not all authorities supply mistreatment. She thinks it is their actions, and it is what they learn from home and in schools that makes some white teachers dislike black people. There has never been an employer who looks harmful or hostile to her since working in America. She thinks it is the way some black people behave that causes them to find such treatments. Emmeline would make us believe that white people are afraid of black people. She asks: if black people cannot live with themselves, how do they want white people not to fear them?
Marge Etienne, a Christian activist who lives in Massachusetts, expressed her satisfaction at such an important debate. She encouraged participants to take part wholeheartedly. She lives the reality of racism at level 5 out of 10. Mrs. Etienne went in the same direction as Betty to talk about her son, Samuel. She tells her 16-year-old son: even if you are born in the country, you should know that your parents are Black. If the police stop you on the road, speak kindly because the police insult us to do anything to abuse us. She becomes insecure and sees more fear after the death of Georges Floyd. "When you go out, it is when you come home to know that you are truly alive." She added.
Marge is constantly controlling her mouth to speak, continually check which ears are hearing her and which eyes are watching her. She finds it essential to know that white people are racist. She said that we often see people giving us good manners, having pleasant debates with us, and when we talk: their faces change, and they speak to us weirdly. It requires us to be careful when giving our opinions and follow more than we talk. Mrs. Etienne said that as immigrants, we must tell our children that racism is something in people's blood, so always be careful. She found that a topic on racial justice will help many of us to become conscious.
Taina Janvier, who lives in Panama, was happy to take part in the racial healing session. As a nursing woman, she could not stay behind the camera because of her children. She revealed her level of discomfort up to 6 out of 10 talking about racism. Taina said that as a black person, such a dialogue should concern us all. Especially as a Haitian, she found it a duty to come and bring her input to help us achieve the assignment we had to give to our school. Jean Roody Felix, a Haitian who only has one day in the United States, would give 6 out of 10 for the work he hears, leading to stop racism. Pierre Velazquez Numa, a jurist and student medicine connected in Haiti, greeted everyone in the forum and said he does not live racism in Haiti. For him, some people would pretend to find themselves different from others. The colleague opened his mind to understand the subject better. Arthur Almeda, a Haitian community leader in Massachusetts, would live the level of racism at 2 out of 10 from his experience.
Former Massachusetts teacher and interpreter Nekita Lamour expressed interest in the racist cause in the United States despite seeing many fellow Haitians unwilling to debate the issue. Since some Haitian immigrants get a job, they no longer have time for social issue debates. She talks about a white-written article that has a lot of incorrect information about black teachers. According to Mrs. Lamour, the U.S. education system puts a series of black teachers on the bench, a prison-like environment, a mental barrier. She encourages more black teachers in kindergarten, high school, and university. To comment on racism, she went from the beginning of history to talk about the philosophers Plato and Montesquieu, who would have promoted the social difference concept long ago. She paraphrased Montesquieu, who said: "If black people are Christians, I am not a Christian."
She tried to talk about a social pyramid and said that it is the authors of these ancient ones who would make people believe that black people are inferior. She wanted to talk about contemporary racism and recall how black people sell their fellow black people to whites as slaves in the past. Mrs. Lamour finds it essential to find out what makes black people mistreat their fellows. She advanced the experiences of some children she knows who have never had black teachers. Nekita finds that if a student has never seen a black teacher, or a black doctor, or a black firefighter, or a black police officer: this may be one of the causes of racial inferiority in society. She thinks the debate on social justice is something that we should give a lot of importance to because white people would not even believe if a black child could even end up in school. She sent some articles into the discussion to complete her thoughts.
The former City Councilor candidate finds black people unwilling to support black people's work as well. She says white supremacism exists, but we do not want to help each other. We depend on whites in all wholeness; we are not united like the Chinese communities with schools and many big businesses. Nekita talks about community education and draws her experience in the United States to say, "If racism did not exist, why are black people sitting in the back of buses when I came here?" She would even point out that even in some Zoom meetings, the racial difference exists nowadays. She would point out that some financial institutions give black people loans with higher interest rates. She testified that she confirmed whites know that black people are inferior, despite many black people believing in education. Professor Nekita goes further to take the example of black people who have Ph.D. and are mistreated in schools. She would even point her finger at other nations such as Hispanics and Asians, who would enter the same lot of inferiority as well.
According to Mrs. Lamour, immigrants experience racism differently. She finds black people from other countries who do not believe there is racism, but black people raised in the United States understand the reality better. She supplies experiences where black people could not buy homes everywhere in the United States, and the country is structured to make black people unable to stay in these places. For Nekita, white people hate black people more, and the author believes that black people abuse their fellow black people more, rather than white people. According to the essayist, black people are innocent in the matter of crime. To support her approach, she takes the example of whites who travel to Haiti. They walk as they want and live wherever they wish without prejudices. But in the United States, black people can't do that." Finally, Nekita reminded the audience of a bit of a joke where President Barack Obama would relate how his grandmother was hiding her purse under her arm while walking around black people so that she would not be robbed in his book title: “Dreams from My Father.”
Professor Jean Heber Belle Fleur from Canada appreciated the debate on racial justice, although he would have avoided talking about the issue due to its complexity. He says God treats everyone equally, and he does not believe whites are more blissful than he is. Mr. Jean recalls a saying that Haitians constantly say through which they think that Haitians would hate Haitians back in history. He said it is with these perceptions and beliefs that we draw curses on ourselves. However, the educator lives with his family in a white community, and he never finds any racist attitude that would push him to blame white people. Oppositely, some would even want his children to be friends with their children.
Mr. Belle Fleur encourages everyone to preserve their values even if they do not have high intellectual degrees. He asks black people to learn to be conscious of knowing their imperfections as well. According to his experience, black people are more not about greeting people than white people. He finds Whites more on his way to asks him how he is, and he finds Blacks more racist than whites, even though there are white people who are also racist. The Creole, French, and English interpreter thinks the solution is based on re-education in our families, schools, communities, and training ourselves. He believes that if we avoid such discussions, these situations will not continue to surface. He recommends that we have more self-confidence, and Jean Heber is confident that they do not sell justice in the United States.
Mr. Belle Fleur encourages everyone to volunteer in our community, which is one of the best ways for getting others to know us. He also admits that black people disrespect their fellow black people more, and they would more respect white people. The counselor would invite us to expose ourselves as a light wherever we are. He asks us to return to ourselves in finding our problems as well. The teacher encourages students who would find their rights violated to claim their grades about school failures. Jean Heber says parents should also take responsibility toward schools in a way that helps children complete their studies.
To conclude, he encourages immigrants to conform to the way they dress, speak, and act in their communities as well. Jean Heber would make a small exception to what he was saying about the reality of racism, where he would want to feel that racism does not exist at all levels through his experience as a professional. He shares his encounter with an international organization where a black woman would ask her white boss to punish him after a motivated delay. For him, it was not a racist gesture but an act of inferiority.
Wilson Thelimo Louis,
President of ITIAHaiti,
Moderator.