12331: Rapper shares his Haitian pride with others (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Sun, Jun. 16, 2002

Rapper shares his Haitian pride with others
BY JACQUELINE CHARLES
jcharles@herald.com

Most people don't remember his name or even the depth of the details. But
those who have lived in Miami long enough remember the reason why
17-year-old Phede Eugene shot himself in the chest in a Little Haiti church
parking lot: His African-American girlfriend found out he was Haitian and
broke-up with him.

The year was 1984, and Phede's death crystalized the deep sense of shame
facing Haitian youths in South Florida.

Nearly two decades later, the shame has been replaced by a sense of pride.
In case you didn't notice it -- from the lyrics in actor-rapper Will Smith's
Miami and the sak pasé? (Creole for what's up?) shouts from DJs in South
Beach clubs to the teenage girls who have made wearing the Haitian flag a
fashion statement -- being Haitian is cool.

''It has come a long way,'' says Marcus Lubin, 32, a Miami Edison High
graduate who remembers Phede. ``It's a big change, a huge change.''

Haitians attribute this to hip-hop artist Wyclef Jean. His 1997 appearance
onstage at the Grammys with a Haitian flag knotted around his neck marked an
evolution in the Haitian-American experience and made him a symbol of hope
for Haitian youth.

''He showed people what being Haitian is all about,'' says Carry Antenor,
14, of Miami. ``Everybody had a stereotype about Haitians, and then you see
this musical genius, a pastor's son who makes us feel we can do it too.''

For Carry, who has never been to Haiti, being Haitian comes naturally, she
says. From the way she speaks to what she wears -- red and blue sandals,
hats and T-shirts, all with the word Haiti emblazoned on it.

Unlike the history books that speak about Haiti's past, Jean and his lyrics
speak to the present, while symbolizing the hope for the future. Whether
it's in an interview or in song, the rapper is always talking about Haitian
pride and telling Haitians to recognize and embrace who they are.

''The thing I'm most proud of is no matter where I get to, I keep my
roots,'' Jean says. ``I can go to any part of the world, and when I hit that
stage, there will always be a Haitian flag. That makes me feel like I'm not
just a musician, I'm more like a revolutionary: someone who stands for
something.''

And someone who has influence.

''After Wyclef came out on TV with that Haitian flag, the hype was there,''
says Joseph ''Billy'' Louis, 31, of Homestead, who's of Haitian descent.
``Before him, there was no role model for those kids.''

Soon Haitian kids throughout the country began wearing the bandannas,
decorating their cars with flags and wearing T-shirts that say ``100 percent
Haitian and proud.''

Steven Lauriston, who witnessed the transition and remembers Phede's death,
admits there was a time he didn't think he would see such change. Certainly,
he didn't think he'd see it in Miami where the pain of stigmatization could
not only take lives but more commonly caused Haitians to claim to be from
anywhere but Haiti.

In addition to Jean, however, Lauriston, 37, likes to think that adults also
had an impact on the younger generation.

''I think kids seeing their parents get excited about Haiti also helped them
get excited about Haiti,'' says Lauriston, an assistant pastor in Little
Haiti.

Though everyone agrees the burst of pride isn't a passing fad, Alex Stepick,
director of the Immigration and Ethnicity Institute at Florida International
University, says it doesn't mean another Phede couldn't happen today.

''In the kids we still talk to every once in awhile, it's evident that not
everybody is quite capable of benefiting from this change,'' he says. ``It's
a great improvement but it's still not perfection yet.''

But for now, Lubin and others say they are enjoying the newfound sense of
identity.

''I know kids who had the gold teeth, wanting to be American and hung out in
American clubs. Now they are losing the gold and hanging out in Haitian
clubs,'' Lubin says. ``It's a change, and it's going to continue.''

Herald staff writer Evelyn McDonnell contributed to this report.







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