It was interesting to read about the Haitians’ race frustrations because I once had similar frustrations myself. A few years ago, I had an argument with a teacher over the fact that all people from Asia are labeled as part of the “Asian” race. I was upset because there are many groups of people that live in Asia and not all of these groups are similar enough to be labeled under one race. I thought that there needed to be a new category where people from South Asia, for example, could differentiate themselves from people from other parts of Asia.
Haitians who came to America wanted to differentiate themselves from a certain race as well. When they came to the United States, for example, Haitians did not want to be seen as African Americans. They knew that blacks have historically been shoved to the bottom of the social ladder in America. Thus, they rejected this label and tried to distinguish themselves by emphasizing their culture. Two important elements that Haitians used to carve their own identities are their language and religion (148).
According to McAlister, an important tactic that Haitians used to differentiate themselves was speaking French in public. By doing so, they could show that they were foreign born and display a status that is considered upper class in Haitian society (148). Another tactic that Haitians used was their devotion to their Catholic religion. Haitians were just as passionate as the Italians were about their beliefs, and showed this passion at the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and other pilgrimages in the United States. While an outsider may just think that its craziness, or sheer passion, to be so devoted to one’s religion, it could be that the Haitians had other motives for their display of devotion. By participating in public Catholic feasts, for example, Haitians could further differentiate themselves from African Americans, who they view as “members of the black Protestant church establishment” (148). While it was interesting to see that another group of people shared that same frustrations I had, what made it even more interesting is that unlike me, this group of people actually tried to do something about it.
