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diaspora - Haiti Observer Blog

diaspora, Haiti Observer Blog. Read the following articles about diaspora


 

Little Haiti Activists Hit Magic City Innovation District

The Magic City Innovation District is revitalizing the Little Haiti and Little River neighborhoods to create a world-class destination. It is a billion-dollar real estate project in Little Haiti-- a sprawl of residential, commercial, office, research and entertainment spaces spread out over 17 acres. The project will raise rents and property values, displace many of the Haitian diasporas-- squeeze Little Haiti's poor and working class and provide high tech jobs that require skills which locals simply don't have.

Little Haiti was once known as Lemon City. For the past three decades, it has transformed into a cultural hub for all things Haitian and also something more than a mere destination for the Haitian diasporas. It became the cultural center of the Haitians in Florida and a center of influence of Haitian Francophone culture.

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Little Haiti District in Brooklyn's Flatbush Neighborhood

Shelley Vidia Worrell founded "CaribBEING" a local cultural institution back in 1999. It is a non-profit and cultural space that celebrates Caribbean heritage in the rapidly gentrifying neighborhood of Flatbush, Brooklyn. She is a first-generation Caribbean American and Flatbush resident whose parents are both immigrants from Trinidad. CaribBEING started its journey when Shelly bought a shipping container and turned it into a pop-up art space. She calls this not a store or shop; it is a "miniaturized mobile museum".

Worrell used to work at Google as a Strategic Partner Development Manager, but decided to spend more time with family and thus she created CaribBEING. She is in charge of making visitors feel that they have been transported to the Caribbean. Every inch of her container has the feel of a breezy, beachside aura.

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We will have our first Haitian-American Senator in Florida soon

Out of a crowded group of candidates for the Florida Senate District 38, Daphne Campbell wan the Democratic primary. She was competing against: Don Festge, Kevin Burns, Anis Blemur, Jason Pizzo and Michael Góngora. The seat was left vacated by Senator Margolis when she announced she was retiring after insulting some other candidates in a forum back in June, 2016. She will face former Democratic State Representative Phillip Brutus, who is running this time as independent. Brutus obviously did not want to take part of the crowded group during the primary election.

Regardless on how it turns out, after the November election in the United states, we will have a Haitian-American as a Senator in Florida. He or she will be representing District 38.

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Haitian-American Gary Eugene new police chief of North Miami

Gary Eugene was sworn in Tuesday as North Miami new chief of Police. The Haitian-American Police chief has a tgotal of 30 years of law enforcement experience. He has been with the North Miami Police Department for three years or since 2013. Gary Eugene started law enforcement as a detective with the city of Miami Police Department in 1985. In 1996 he became very engaged with the Little Haiti community as he was promoted lieutenant within the City of Miami Police department.

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Little Haiti Officially Recognized In Miami

On Thursday, May 26, 2016, after a long sixteen years' effort, the Miami-Dade Municipal Commission unanimously voted in favor of designating 'Lemon City' as 'Little Haiti'. 'Little Haiti' will have the boundaries roughly between 54th Street and 79th Street, and Northwest Sixth Avenue and Northeast Second Avenue. The announcement came before hundreds of Haitian-Americans who were present in Miami's city hall waiting anxiously to hear the outcome of their long fight and this victory was almost impossible without the effort of four former district commissioners. It was a sixteen year old argument over the idea of an official 'Little Haiti' -- and exactly, where its boundaries should be drawn.

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Little Haiti designated an official city neighborhood of Miami

Thursday, May 26, 2016 is a historic day for the Haitian Diaspora. It marks an official recognition of Little Haiti in Miami as a neighborhood. That is after more than 16 years of fighting by community activists to recognize Little Haiti, to put it on the map, and to keep our legacy and history.

In a jam-packed Miami City Hall where several hundred came for support, the commissioners voted unanimously for the creation of legal boundaries for the community in northeast Miami. Members of the Haitian community were had argued that developers were buying property and removing Haitians from the area through gentrification.

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Emotional Haitian-born graduating from West Point Military Academy

Here is a Haitian born who couldn't hold his tears as he was graduating from West Point Military Academy. Alix Idrache was born in Haiti. He became second lieutenant in the US Military. This picture was taken during his graduation with 950 classmates and shared with thousands around the world in the social media. As he later explained after seeing the picture, "I was overwhelmed with emotions". He has plan to become a pilot as he will shortly report to FT. Rucker to start flight school.

What do you think

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Huge Public Sculpture, Art Center Planned For Little Haiti

Viter Juste (15 December 1924- 19 November 2012), a Haitian-born businessman, an American community leader and activist is considered as the father of the Haitian American community in Miami. In earlier times "Little Haiti" (founded by Juste in the early 1980's), the present heart of the Haitian diaspora in Miami, was historically known as Lemon City. Juste, to describe the place in an article published in the Miami Herald, first coined the name, "Little Port-au-Prince." The editor of the newspaper found the name too long and shortened it as "Little Haiti."

Today, the signs of Little Haiti's impending transformation are evident everywhere. A bronze statue of General Toussaint L'Ouverture, the father of Haitian independence, stands at Northeast 2nd Avenue and 62nd Street in the heart of "La Petite Haiti." The spot of Wendy's restaurant on NE 62nd Road in Little Haiti, while maintaining own typical character, will be very soon transformed into a space of $2.5 million cultural arts center with art studio and exhibition area with a courtyard and an eatery. The project as envisaged will be completed in 2017 as per the imaginations and thoughts of two Venezuelans, artist Miguel Prypchan and lawyer Francisco Herretes. They are working to protect cultural heritage and expand valuable green and public gathering space of Little Haiti.

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Son of Haitian immigrants from Queens, featured in Republican Ad

The Republican National Committee is scheduled to start running a series of ads in an effort to attract non-white voters in 2016. Pierry, the son of Haitian immigrants from Queens, is in on of those ads. The Republican party realized how poorly they did in 2012 when they only got 6 percent of the African-American vote and 27 percent of the Hispanic vote. they are hoping that with these ads, more minority groups will be voting for them. However, recent comments made by GOP candidate Donald Trump about immigrants, Mexicans, women, Muslims and other groups have not been helpful to the party.

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Haitian, the Third Most Populous Foreign-Born In Boston

A December 2015 report prepared by the Boston Redevelopment Authority Research Division reveals that Boston is the 7th largest home for foreign-born residents among the 25 largest U.S. cities. Between 2000 and 2014, its foreign-born population grew from 151,836 to 177,461, an increase from earlier 19.2% to present 27.1%. The top six countries of origin for the foreign born population living in Boston in 2014 were as follows: Dominican Republic 13.0%, China 10.6%, Haiti 7.6%, El Salvador 6.3%, Vietnam 6.2% and Jamaica 4.4%. Haitian migration to the U.S was very small (around 5,000) in 1960. Recent data from the U.S Census Bureau on American Community Surveys show that the Haitian immigrant population numbers between the years 1980 and 2012 in the U.S were as follows: 92,000 (1980), 225,000 (1990), 419,000 (2000), 510,000 (2006), 587,000 (2010) and 606,000 (2012). Five metro areas, such as greater Miami, New York, Boston, Orlando, and Atlanta account for nearly three-quarters of the total immigrant population from Haiti residing in the United States. Haitians are the third most populous foreign-born demographic residents of Boston. On the language front, with its 4.2% share, French Creole is the third most common non-English language spoken at home and it is followed by Spanish 16.3% and Chinese 4.6%.

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