Legacy of 1804 with guests Dowoti Désir and Katleen Felix this Thursday at 5PM

This Thursday a 5PM I welcome Manbo Dowoti Désir in the first hour. We will be discussing the Gede tradition in Haiti as well as her involvement with reparations for slavery. We will also be discussing the recriminalization of Haitian Vodou in the latest amendment to the Haitian Constitution and the cutting of the mapou tree at Bwa Kayiman by foreign missionaries or affiliates.

Dowoti Désir is a Manbo Asogwe and a scholar of Haitian Vodou. She is the Founder and President of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action Watch Group (www.ddpawatchgroup.info). She utilizes interfaith exchanges and cultural diplomacy to facilitate better understanding of AfroAtlantic spiritual systems in the global North. She has written extensively about the contemporary and sacred arts of the African Diaspora, its religions and sociopolitical issues impacting the global African community. Her book, 'Wòch Kase wòch: Redlining a Holocaust, Memorials and the People of the AfroAtlantic,' focusing on the right to memory, the built environment, and the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, will be available in 2014. She is a graduate of Barnard College and has a Master's degree from the Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College.

In the second hour we will chat with Katleen Felix of Zafèn and Fonkoze about the Association of Haitian Professionals conference taking place this weekend.

Katleen Félix is an international Consultant holding a Master’s degree in International Finance and Management from HEC Montreal. Katleen Felix has been the Haitian Diaspora Liaison for Fonkoze (www.fonkoze.org) for the past 6 years, where she was responsible of research and development of new remittance products or initiatives, financial literacy programs for new immigrants, training and capacity-building for Haitian Hometown Associations (HHTAs), project reporting and donor relations. Her most recent project is the launch of Zafen (www.zafen.org ) a new crowd funding website for small-and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) and social enterprises in Haiti. She has designed the pilot “Remittance for Business” which trained over 300 people in Haiti and in the Haitian Diaspora.

This show will re-air Friday night at 9pm usual time. 



Listen online: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/blackwholeradio/2013/10/31/legacy-of-1804 or by phone at (323) 927-2913. 


Kiskeácity Daily |  @kiskeacity| Facebook

Raoul Peck Takes the Creole Version of Fatal Assistance on the Road in Haiti

My hero Raoul Peck has now translated Fatal Assistance into Creole and is taking the film on the road in Haiti. The below video is a conversation that happened after a screening of the film in a Port-au-Prince university. It is a kickass discussion between Peck, several journalists and the students who came to see the film.

At minute 25, Peck says that he believes that by giving their workers the same pay as people going to Kabul and Bagdad, certain NGOs are entertaining and encouraging fear about Haiti. Meanwhile, as he points out, those very workers pack the discos in Pétion-Ville and the beaches of the country. I could add they also take over whole  coastal towns such as Port-Salut.

Peck also stressed at the one hour mark that it was important to him to show Haitians in their truth: working people such as doctors and ironsmiths. He contrasts this with images of screaming helpless women that the western media like to bombard us with.

At 1:13, a woman in the audience concludes that NGOs are poisonous to countries around the world. At 1:19 Peck says "depi ayiti kreye yo trangle nou.  Yo pran resous nou, yo fè nou peye on pakèt kòb. Gen on pati nan kòb sa-a fòl retounen. Annou chanje retorik lan." At 1:22 journalist  Roberson Alphonse says "Jodi-a nou wè rezilta èd la. Nou pral goumen ak kominote entènasyonal la." At 1:24 "Wi mwen kontan ke Bill Clinton demaske nan fim nan."



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIyawY3Cu64

Some key points about the film:

• Shows how the "international community"  made it clear to Préval during the last presidential election that either their candidate (aka Michel "Sweet Micky" Martelly) made it into the first round finalists or they would not recognize the result of the elections;
• Unveils the "dictatorship of aid";
• Shows particularly telling images about Bill Clinton's mismanagement of IHRC;
• Contends that reconstruction is a myth.

Here are some key points and quotes made by Peck during the film's US premiere during the Human Rights Watch Film Festival  in New York ("HRW") earlier this year:

• He worked hard to disprove the leitmotiv of some in the NGO industrial complex that the reason for the failure of relief and reconstruction was Haitians themselves;
• The theme of Haitian government corruption favored by the Western media is the war in rhetoric that we lost. The real problem is "What good is development aid"?  Africa has already reimbursed 5 times the amount of money that it borrowed. In the US, corruption is called "lobbying";
• "Haitians would love to be left alone";
• "The UN and the Clinton Foundation would love for the film to go away";
• Clinton never said no to being interviewed but each month he would push it back. Clinton staffers told Peck "we are here to defend the Clinton brand";
•  Peck is offended by the fact that so many reports  on the EQ showed dead Haitian bodies. There are laws against that in France; 
• Western media did not show the images of the Haitian doctors who provided care to fellow Haitians after the EQ;
• The aid world's "Do No Harm" rules include "Don't kill the local economy" and that rule was not respected in Haiti;
• "Yes the money has to go directly to the people, anything else is unacceptable because by the time everyone in the NGO world has taken their cut, there is nothing left for the people";

Priscilla Phelps, the female voice in the film, was in attendance at HRW and agreed that the money should in this case and in the future go directly to the people. She added that a lot of the agencies who had agreed with her book about funds going directly to the people were the same who got in the way of that advice in Haiti.  She added that since people have their own best interest at heart, funds given them directly will be spent wisely.


Kiskeácity Daily  @kiskeacity| Facebook

Legacy of 1804 Show #4 with guest Wynnie Lamour (@kreyolnyc) (AUDIO)

My guest last Friday on Legacy of 1804 was Wynnie Lamour of the Haitian Creole Language Institute. We discussed her life's mission, what motivated her to create the institute at the tender age of 29, her plan to translate the whole of Dezafi, Franketienne's  Creole language novel, her decision not to go 501c3 and more. Wynnie also read excerpts of her existing published translations of Dezafi.
 
About Wynnie: Wynnie Lamour is the founder of the Haitian Creole Language Institute of NYC.
She is an educator with a focus on Language & Communication. She has spent the last several years teaching Haitian Creole in the New York City metro area to a wide array of language learners. Her experiences growing up in Brooklyn as a Haitian-American have provided her with equal comfort in both cultures and languages. Wynnie has a BA in Linguistics from Cornell University and an MA in Urban Affairs from CUNY Queens College. Wynnie's philosophy of teaching is rooted in the idea of "Mindfulness", which promotes community and connectedness,while establishing a sense of pride and respect for both the Haitian language and culture. Wynnie's most recent work includes a translation of an excerpt of the Franketienne novel "Dezafi" published May 2013 by Transition Magazine (Issue 111 "New Narratives of Haiti"), a publication of the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute at Harvard University.

Here are the link and player to the show:

 http://www.blogtalkradio.com/blackwholeradio/2013/10/26/legacy-of-1804

Popular Culture Internet Radio with Black Whole Radio on BlogTalkRadio

Kiskeácity Daily | @kiskeacity| Facebook

Legacy of 1804 show with guest Wynnie Lamour this Friday 9PM EA

Join guest Wynnie Lamour  of Haitian Creole Language Institute of NY and I this Friday at 9PM Eastern on Black Whole Radio. We will discuss her institute, her students and her work with Frankétienne.

Wynnie Lamour is the founder of the Haitian Creole Language Institute of NYC.
She is an educator with a focus on Language & Communication. She has
spent the last several years teaching Haitian Creole in the New York
City metro area to a wide array of language learners. Her experiences
growing up in Brooklyn as a Haitian-American have provided her with
equal comfort in both cultures and languages. Wynnie has a BA in
Linguistics from Cornell University and an MA in Urban Affairs from
CUNY Queens College. Wynnie's philosophy of teaching is rooted in the
idea of "Mindfulness", which promotes community and connectedness,
while establishing a sense of pride and respect for both the Haitian
language and culture. Wynnie's most recent work includes a translation
of an excerpt of the Franketienne novel "Dezafi" published May 2013 by
Transition Magazine (Issue 111 "New Narratives of Haiti"), a
publication of the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute at Harvard University.

You can listen to this installment of Legacy of 1804  by clicking on the link below or via phone at 323-927-2913. (Yes, just dial the number at 9PM on Friday and ... listen ON YOUR PHONE.)

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/blackwholeradio/2013/10/26/legacy-of-1804

Find out more about Wynnie Lamour at www.haitiancreoleinstitute.com.  





Kiskeácity Daily | HaitianBloggers.Collected | @kiskeacity| Facebook

LOF 1804 Show #3 with guest Val Jeanty (@Val_Inc) (AUDIO)

My guest last night on Legacy of 1804 was Val Jeanty. We discussed her life's mission, her art, her spirituality. Several callers chimed in including our first guest Katia Ulysse of Voices from Haiti!

About Val: Haitian electronic music composer/percussionist/turntablist Val Jeanty evokes the musical esoteric realms of the creative subconscious. She incorporates her African Haitian Musical traditions into the present and beyond, combining acoustics with electronics and the archaic with the post-modern. Her "Afro-Electronica" installations have been showcased in New York City at the Whitney Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Village Vanguard and internationally at SaalFelden Music Festival in Austria, Stanser Musiktage in Switzerland, Jazz à la Villette in France, and the Biennale Di Venezia Museum in Italy.

Here are the link and player to the show:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/blackwholeradio/2013/10/19/legacy-of-1804

Online Culture Radio at Blog Talk Radio with Black Whole Radio on BlogTalkRadio

Here is the video I captured of Val in 2012 at a Haiti Cultural Exchange event, a performance we discussed on the show:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5M90DoDJlw

Find out more about Val and her music at http://www.val-inc.com

Here is the video about Jean-Jacques Dessalines' life that I did not get a chance to play on the show:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqdhtoi_ZgM


Hope you call in next week when we talk to Wynnie Lamour of Haitian Creole Institute of NYC.


Kiskeácity Daily | HaitianBloggers.Collected | @kiskeacity| Facebook

Legacy of 1804 radio show with guest Val Jeanty (@val_inc) this Friday at 9pm!

Join guest Val Jeanty and I this Friday at 9PM Eastern as we discuss her music and whatever you want to ask this unique artist!

Haitian electronic music composer/percussionist/turntablist Val Jeanty evokes the musical esoteric realms of the creative subconscious. She incorporates her African Haitian Musical traditions into the present and beyond, combining acoustics with electronics and the archaic with the post-modern. Her "Afro-Electronica" installations have been showcased in New York City at the Whitney Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Village Vanguard and internationally at SaalFelden Music Festival in Austria, Stanser Musiktage in Switzerland, Jazz à la Villette in France, and the Biennale Di Venezia Museum in Italy.'


You can listen to this installment of Legacy of 1804  by clicking "ON AIR" at the link below or via phone at 323-927-2913. (Yes, just dial the number at 9PM on Friday and ... listen ON YOUR PHONE.)

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/blackwholeradio/2013/10/19/legacy-of-1804

Find out more about Val and her music at http://www.val-inc.com/hear.html.




Please call in Friday at 323-927-2913 and chime in live.


Kiskeácity Daily | HaitianBloggers.Collected | @kiskeacity| Facebook

Kiskeacity mentioned in 9/13 Journal of African American Studies

"The blogosphere offers yet another example of transnational Black Nationalist expression. Usually created by highly educated individuals residing in the USA or Europe, a number of African and Caribbean blogs have surfaced on the Internet. As illustrated by Christophe Celius' Rapadoo Observateur and Alice Backer's kiskeácity, these blogs function as “virtual embassies” of the nation, providing critical information on politics, society, and culture. They also serve as a rallying force for the Diaspora, informing them about local events such as concerts, film festivals, or community functions celebrating an event or holiday from their native land. Last but not least, they promote economic development by informing the Diaspora and any virtual visitors about possibilities in their respective homeland. In many ways, this form of transnational Black Nationalism is a reaction to the social and political forces that led to the uprooting or “diasporization” of Caribbean and African people in the USA. Indeed, if unstable sociopolitical conditions and dire economic circumstances often forced Caribbean and African people to reside in the USA and other Western countries, these very conditions do not preclude them from participating in their homeland's political and socioeconomic affairs. In fact, one may argue that it stim- ulates interaction with the homeland, making the virtual world a much necessary medium to participate in the affairs and development of the sending society. Thus, the virtual world operates as an extension of the nation, offering the Caribbean and continental African Diaspora in the USA the much-desired opportunity to participate in the nation-building process."

A “New” Black Nationalism in the USA and France by Dr. Felix Germain http://ht.ly/pPlhe JOURNAL OF AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES, Volume 17, Number 3, September 2013


Kiskeácity Daily | www.haitianbloggers.com | @kiskeacity| Facebook

Legacy of 1804 #2 with guest Dr. Millery Polyné (AUDIO)

Discover Culture Internet Radio with Black Whole Radio on BlogTalkRadio

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/blackwholeradio/2013/10/12/legacy-of-1804#

My guest last night on LOF1804 was Dr. Millery Polyné. Topics include the Oct 25th Diaspora in Dialogue conference, the recent ruling stripping Dominicans of Haitian descent of Dominican citizenship and the idea of Haiti.

Millery Polyné is an Associate Professor at New York University's Gallatin School of Individualized Study.  A graduate of Morehouse College and the University of Michigan with a Ph.D. in History, Millery's teaching and research interests include the intellectual history of African Americans and Afro-Caribbeans in the 19th and 20th centuries.  He is the author of From Douglass to Duvalier: U.S. African Americans, Haiti and Pan Americanism, 1870-1964 (University Press of Florida, 2010) and the editor of The Idea of Haiti: Rethinking Crisis and Development.

Here is a link to the video Dear Ayiti which we discussed early in the show:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlnAfIUWKFg

Here is a link to an interview I did of Millery when I first created this blog in 2005 on the topic of growing up Haitian in America. It is one of the most visited links on this site!

http://www.kiskeacity.com/2005/11/second-generation-nation-mill-polyn.html

Kiskeácity Daily | HaitianBloggers.Collected | @kiskeacity| Facebook

LOF 1804 with Dr. Millery Polyne this Friday at 9PM Eastern

Join NYU Professor Millery Polyne and I this Friday at 9PM Eastern as we discuss his upcoming Diaspora in Dialogue conference (Oct 25th), the recent Dominican citizenship ruling as well as his latest book, The Idea of Haiti: Rethinking Crisis and Development. 

Millery Polyné is an Associate Professor at New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study. A graduate of Morehouse College and the University of Michigan with a Ph.D. in History, Millery’s teaching and research interests include the intellectual history of African Americans and Afro-Caribbeans in the 19th and 20th centuries. He is the author of From Douglass to Duvalier: U.S. African Americans, Haiti and Pan Americanism, 1870-1964 (University Press of Florida, 2010) and the editor of The Idea of Haiti: Rethinking Crisis and Development (University of Minnesota Press, 2013). 

You can listen to this installment of Legacy of 1804  directly on Blog Talk Radio at the link below or via phone at 323-927-2913.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/blackwholeradio/2013/10/12/legacy-of-1804


Please call in at 323-927-2913 and ask questions while we have this live ressource on hand!

For more on the Diaspora in Dialogue conference, brought to you by Dr Polyne, Haiti Cultural Exchange and CLACS: http://ht.ly/pEVhG







Kiskeácity Daily | HaitianBloggers.Collected | @kiskeacity| Facebook

LOF 1804 Show #1 with guest Katia Ulysse (AUDIO)

Here is the link to this amazing first Legacy of 1804 where Katia Ulysse talked about her blog Voices from Haiti and her forthcoming collection of short stories Drifting. 
 In  segment 2, I go over highlights in Haitian blogs this week, namely on cholera. I also go over my August blog post about how to deal with requests to donate money "for Haiti". 

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/blackwholeradio/2013/10/05/legacy-of-1804-with-katia-ulysse-lof1804

Find Additional Culture Podcasts with Black Whole Radio on BlogTalkRadio

Kiskeácity Daily | @kiskeacity| Facebook