Dating back to the period betwixt 1502 and 1866, around eleven million African left slave ships. This group of African were taken to the US, Caribbean, Latin America and also South America. However, Latin America seemed to receive the highest numbers of African slaves, as only 450,000 slaves went to the US. This gives a clear picture of why people of the African race dominate most Latin nations. As a result, Henry Louis Gates Jr. has undertaken a study on the lives of blacks in Latin America. This was meant to determine whether the blacks of this regions perceive themselves as being African or not. Herein, the paper will focus on Blacks in Haiti & Dominican Republic, which is often referred to as an Island Divided.
Haiti & Dominica was the place to take Africans as slaves in the new world. This island marks the source of the black experience in America. Haiti is made of people who speak creole, whereas Dominica is made up of individuals speaking Spanish. In the Dominican Republic, people have the pride of being part of a mixed-race society, whereas the Haitians value their pride in being black. However, over the years, the Haitians and Dominicans have found themselves severally in conflicts. As a result, the river that separates the two was a sign of the worst tragedies causes by the two in the Caribbean region. These two groups are made of different cultures. For instance, the Dominicans usually assemble in the regions old city every Sunday to sing and dance the 'Merengue' which has mixed roots like those of the people in there. It is the symbol of the Dominican Republic. The 'Merengue' arose as a mixture of African, Spanish and Dominican cultures musically. However, the Dominicans does not perceive themselves as being black. For them to accept that they are black, they had to learn to be black. As a result, Dominicans are an incomplete denial of what they are. In the US, the Dominicans would be considered as blacks. However, back in their land, they will consider themselves as being ‘Indio’. They attribute their motherland to Spain and not Africa. However, in some parts of central Domingo, African culture still thrives with pride. They conduct cultural practices to please their ancestors and show that they proudly inherited their culture. However, when it comes to interaction between the Haitians and the Dominicans, the Dominican tends to reject all of the Haitians cultures. Also, they tend to discriminate the Haitians from their land. When it comes to the workforce in the region, the Haitians were the ones who mostly dominated in the sugarcane plantations found in the region. This is because the Dominicans rejected the work since they were of low wages. Haiti's low economy is what forced them to work in the plantations. This made Dominicans see themselves as being superior to Haitians. Haiti, who regard themselves as Africans, are made up of different musical culture. They claim that the different cultures were inherited from distinct African countries which they descended from. They usually conduct Vodou religious ceremony to show their appreciation of African culture. This ceremony usually symbolizes the end of slavery. As a result, this showed that the Haitians embraced the African culture more than what the Dominicans did.
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Conclusively, the idea of racial segregation has several implications. This is evident in the case of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The Dominican Republic has a high economy as compared to Haiti. The economy of the Dominican Republic is ten times more than that of Haiti. This shows the importance of race mix-up in a society. It results in the sharing of ideas and thus, promoting economic growth. Also, the Haitians represent a group of people who are proud of their race, unlike the Africans in the Dominican Republic. This promotes cultural growth and understanding amongst themselves. As a result, both Haiti and the Dominican Republic have several advantages despite their separation. Nevertheless, what should matter most is economic growth. Haiti should take their acceptance of their race and culture to their advantage and use it to foster unity that would promote economic growth.
Reference
READ365. (2013, Nov 13). Haiti & The Dominican Republic: An Island Divided [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fU3TWRKFtTA
