Abstract
What does it mean to be “Haitian American”? What links a Haitian diaspora to their homeland and the broader Caribbean? How important are such links? Key research literature of the past two decades provides insights into these questions. A consistent theme running through these works is the transnational nature of Haitian American life. “Home” is kept alive through language, religion, health care practices, a collective memory of fame and infamy. Haitian American identity is complex, hybrid, neither Haitian nor American. This complexity tends to be either neglected or misrepresented, and results in tensions. Studying the complexity of the relationship between country of origin and country of resettlement will reveal their common side and facilitate the development of a paradigm for the entire Caribbean.
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Notes
- 1.
I use the Haitian spelling.
- 2.
“Ezili is the deity of love, wealth, motherhood. In her manifestation as Ezili Dantὸ, she is dark-skinned, strong, and courageous and is often assimilated with the Catholic Mater Salvatoris” (see Bellegarde-Smith and Michel 2006: 95–96).
- 3.
Special Collections at the University of Miami Library, Coral Gables, Florida, has several oral histories of renowned Haitian Americans. Go to http://merrick.library.miami.edu/specialCollections/asm0085/; title: Haitian Diaspora Oral History Collection: University of Miami Special Collections. http://proust.library.miami.edu/findingaids/index.php?p=collections/findingaid&id=1246; Jean Mapou Papers are found also in Special Collections, University of Miami Libraries, Miami, Florida. The Archival Collections include the Haitian Women of Miami (FANM) records, donated by Marlѐne Bastien, Executive Director of Haitian Women of Miami.
- 4.
Remarks by Haitian Americans interviewed in 2004.
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St. Jean, Y. (2018). Research Literature on Haitian Americans: Trends and Outlook. In: Batur, P., Feagin, J. (eds) Handbook of the Sociology of Racial and Ethnic Relations. Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76757-4_15
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