*Warning, this post contains some cursing*

On my recent trip to the states, I ended up standing next to a group of African-Americans on the train ride to my connecting flight. They were a group of professional twenty-somethings – probably headed to some Caribbean island for vacation. They were simply chatting along about people they were friends with and whatnot when I heard one say “I better take my black ass over here before I catch whatever you have”. I don’t know if it’s because it had been a while since hearing that, but that put a huge smile on my face.

See, as much as I go on and on about being Haitian, the fact remains that I moved to the US when I was 3 years-old. That means that all my formative years were à la Américaine. I always attended diverse schools – and diverse in Marin County means predominantly white with a plethora of small ethnic groups – however, I spent the most time with African-Americans. I don’t think I even had to “try to fit in” because it was pretty much all I knew outside of my strict Haitian household. Back then, I didn’t appreciate the type of language that is so commonly used among black people. Even as an adult, I’d say things like “negro, please” to my close black guy friends. It just flowed. And the best part was it was something you said only to each other. I don’t know any other ethnicity who points out their race when referring to themselves.

At times I forget I can be just as much Haitian as I am African-American. I learned the history as it were my own and still remain well-versed in all aspects of the Civil Rights Movement. I even co-founded a black student union in high school and played Angela Davis in a Black History Month presentation. And I got all this in addition to the Haitian history I learned from family. Not to mention all the neat sayings that only Haitians get away with saying to each other, as well. I’m so grateful to have such a rich background filled with knowledge of two extraordinary cultures. So, what does this all mean? Whether it’s my Haitian or African-American side, I am a black person for all intents and purposes and that makes me feel part of a very special group.

Let me add the caveat that I don’t use the “n” word for the same reason I don’t use the “b” word – there’s just a certain line of derogatory I don’t cross. We all have our limits, right?

I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality…. I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word. ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

Today is the observance of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday in the US. Even though the name may vary, all 50 states observe this holiday and that is something of which I am very proud. I know that some argue that Dr. King was only one of many pioneers in the civil rights movement, for me this day mostly represents his ideas and those of the era: equality is possible.

Sometimes, talking about the racial inequalities that exist today make me feel like I’m in a bad nightmare. Polls have shown that Americans of Generation X and Y (Millenial) are much less concerned with racial differences than their parents. One of the main reasons is that they themselves are much more diverse. So I guess my upbringing has sheltered me from places where people aren’t consistently deprived of opportunities because of their race. Not to say that as a minority you don’t face prejudices, but I feel like I had the same chance of success growing up as my white peers – and if Affirmative Action policies helped me get into college because I’m a black woman, I’m all the more grateful.

Living outside of the US and meeting people from all over the world has been a real eye-opener in terms how far we still need to go. There are still “developed” countries out there enforcing unjust policies based on a minority group’s ethnicity. Is it me or is that absolutely crazy?! It’s an exercise in futility to try and “slow” down diversity or multiculturalism.

Of my 9 neighbors where we lived in Florida, 1 was African-American, 7 were from Latin America/Caribbean and 1 was white. This fact had no bearing on us moving there…we just wanted good neighbors who kept their surroundings clean. We found that and we also found there were people in major metropolitan areas who still had a sense of community.Yes, we were different, but that was okay. I think that neighborhoods like that should be the norm, not the exception.

So basically, people/governments who are still hanging on to the notion of homogeneous communities are fighting against the current. It would serve them better to help remove the barriers that have kept minority groups from obtaining the same level of success as the majority. In the words of Dr. King, the time is always right to do what is right.

That’s what a friend of mine said about the recent burqa ban passed in France. As a social liberal, my immediate reaction to this mandate is that it’s not right. But fine, if the French government wants to eliminate religious paraphernalia in public places, then the Star of David and religious crosses should be banned, as well. However, the rationale behind the law is that the French government considers the burqa to be a display of gender inequality as opposed to religious and looks at this as a way of helping to promote gender equality amongst Muslim immigrants. I can agree with the gender inequality aspect, but what religion doesn’t have oppressive practices for females?

The way I see it is that these types of laws are audacious. If government is now intervening to ensure that immigrant women have more of even playing field, it should first make sure that French citizens are leading by example, right? Well, the 2010 Gender Gap study published by the World Economic Forum shows that France has gone from 18th to 46th place, mostly because of the lack of women in high-ranking government positions. So, I think the Sarkozy administration should start promoting gender equality in-house before trying to fix other communities. What’s also tricky about this type of legislation is it can be a slippery slope. Will it stop at the burqa, or will it continue into other aspects of the Muslim religion? Moreover, will the government also look to expand into non-Muslim religions?

What I also find interesting is that while this law has overwhelming support by the French public, a Pew poll found that 2 out of 3 Americans are against it. I think that’s a reflection of Americans’ aversion to letting government dictate too much of their personal lives. Even with all the anti-Muslim rhetoric that’s getting a lot of media time these days, Americans have their limits when it comes to government involvement.

While I can understand where my friend is coming from, until there is more consistency and clarity in France’s decisions regarding religious freedoms, I can’t get behind this. What are your thoughts on the burqa ban?

To live anywhere in the world today and be against equality because of race or color is like living in Alaska and being against snow. ~William Faulkner

I’ve been very sad to hear about the intolerance that’s been going on in the states lately. Last week, I wrote about how being black in Venezuela has worked to my advantage in terms of crime. While there was a bit of humor to the topic, I don’t think that anyone being mistreated because of their race or ethnicity is a laughing matter.

Many of the expats here in Caracas have been asking me what the he** is going on over in the US. Why are Americans all of a sudden becoming even more intolerant? I’m not going to pretend to know the exact reason the US is seeing a surge in people being a lot more vocal about their racism. What I do know is that they’ve been given a huge stage to put on a show. And who’s providing this stage…the American media.

My theory is that there were always racist and intolerant Americans. However, there was a time (post Civil Rights Movement) when it became taboo to openly express their views on people who are different, so you almost forgot they existed. The only places they ventured to spout racial epithets were their own homes or places where like-minded people congregated. On a national level, we tried to uplift our conversations and reverting to the use of racial slurs was considered politically incorrect.

Somehow, around the time we elected the first mixed-race president, the standards shifted. So now it’s common place for media outlets to give a lot of airtime to the minority of Americans harboring a lot of hate for immigrants, homosexuals, blacks, Muslims, etc. Unfortunately, some of us have become desensitized quickly to hearing such ignorance and anger in the mainstream media. Next thing you know, we’ll be seeing television series with similar themes disguised as comedy.

I hope that before we erode any more of the progress that has been made in the last 40+ years, we’ll start to self-police and expect more from each other, as well as journalists. In the interim, I will continue to teach my children that race is irrelevant and harboring hate will destroy their souls.

N.B. The title of this post is a quote from an unknown author.

It’s no secret that Caracas has a high crime rate. The American media has done a good job lately describing how terrible crime has gotten since a certain someone has been president (I wonder who that could be )

Obviously, people are always asking me about the crime situation. My answer is that I have yet to be affected. I know that I live in a large city and crime happens. You take the normal precautions (avoid certain areas at night, jewelry to a minimum, etc.) and you go about your daily life. Just like I didn’t hang out in Liberty City or Overtown where drive by shootings are common while I lived in South Florida, I am not a neighborhood regular in Catia and Petare here in Caracas.

This is a topic that many expats have turned into the proverbial dead horse. The last time I spoke about this was with a friend from Austria and then it dawned on me – this blonde hair, blue-eyed European can really stick out when walking the streets in Caracas. Little old brown-skinned me, not so much. Aside from the regular cat calls of “morena” or “negrita”, I have yet to even feel someone giving me a funny look.

In the beginning when I would go pick up the kids from school, other parents assumed I was a nanny until they saw me with two little carbon copies of myself. Sometimes when I’m walking back into the building from dropping them off in the morning, I get looks of kindred spirits from housekeepers arriving for a day’s work. If some poor soul asks me for directions and they pick up that I’m a foreigner, it’s assumed that I’m a student. My husband is often asked by the guys he plays soccer with the name of the restaurant at which he works.

When they see me, they don’t see dollar signs – they see a service sector worker or a student, at best. There’d be no point in kidnapping me because my family is probably too poor to pay any ransom. As advised, I don’t wear gold jewelry so even mugging me would be a waste of time. I know this rationale probably sounds ludicrous, but they’re all the types of crimes that you hear happen very frequently in Caracas.

Hence, I feel pretty safe here because I’m black. Who woulda thunk it?!