5/22/06

New Orleans+Policy +Mangoes


    From St-Domingue to New Orleans
  • AyitiCherieConnexion posts and comments on an interesting article by Mary LaCoste on an Exhibit happening in Louisiana on those Haitians, black and white, free and slave, who left St-Domingue to take exile in Louisiana around the time of the Haitian revolution. From the article:
    Many locals have been amazed to find out how much the bloody revolution in Saint Domingue, now called Haiti, enriched New Orleans' culture and population. Refugees who left the island two centuries ago found new homes in South Louisiana, and their descendants are here today, sometimes unaware of their Haitian roots.

    And they came in large numbers, too. Between 1794 and 1810, rich and poor, black and white, free and enslaved flocked to the shores of South Louisiana from the wealthiest of the French colonies that maintained close ties to Paris. Among them were highly educated persons of color who became community leaders, teachers and writers.
  • And yes, I too, AyitiCherieConnexion, was pleasantly shocked at how similar New Orleans traditional dishes were to everyday Haitian ones. I loved New Orleans during the summer I spent there and did indeed feel very much at home.

Policy and Solutions minded
  • This interesting post on the Haiti Innovation blog outlines a set of recommendations for Preval. It is focused on policy and solutions rather than dwelling on the negative. Caught my attention but I know nothing about the organization and do not endorse it in anyway.
Mango Season in the Caribbean
  • Memories, memories, brought back by this lovely post on Francis Wade's Moving back to Jamaica.

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1 comment:

Frank Partisan said...

Again an interesting post.

I could picture you, telling someone in Louisiana, who their descendants were.