12077: Desmangles responds to Dorce and Racine (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: "Desmangles, Leslie" <Leslie.Desmangles@trincoll.edu>


from: leslie.desmangles@trincoll.edu

I'm dismayed at the simplistic view of Haitian society and the limited
vision by those who have engaged in the discussion about what has been
termed by them as "the so-called Haitian elite." I must say that I'm not
sure what constitutes the Haitian elite, because the composition of Haitian
society (as in the entire Caribbean) is so complex. Most of us who teach
courses on Race, Class and Ethnicity in the Caribbean devote a great deal of
time discussing the nature of Caribbean society, and work hard at making our
student understand it, and it's not easy for them as it's not for us who
teach it. The views expressed in these dialogues about Haitian society seem
so much more simple than Haiti's (or by extension the Caribbean's) social
reality.

The need to respond to various comments  makes it important for me to make a
point. And I will be the first to admit that what follows violates the
content of my previous paragraph. I find it difficult to believe that anyone
can think that what has been described as the "so-called Haitian elite" has
not made any contributions to Haitian culture.  While it may be true that
many members of the Haitian elite today are a poor and sorry sort who may
not be model creatures for the rest of the world, I would be hard pressed to
say that their attitudes, behaviors and views of Haitian culture are
similar. Let us not forget that many of the elite formed a significant group
of scholars who have made significant contributions to Haitian culture.
It's a known fact that by the first half of the 20th century, Haiti had
produced more writers and publications than all the black nations or
colonies combined in the world. Who are these scholars? Were they not
members of the Haitian elite? Why are we not recognizing the writings of our
forebears (such as Price Mars who was one of the fathers of the negritude
movement, Louis Mars, Dantes Bellegarde, and many many others). Did they not
leave us a legacy by which we could reaffirm our own identity as Haitians?
These scholars as members of the elite have been important to Haitian
culture and to the world. The literature of the developing world (including
that of Haiti)has benefited greatly from the work that these giants have
produced. The same can be said in the domain of the arts. There is a
tradtion of classical music Haiti that has long   receded from the memory of
most Haitians. Justin Elie, for instance, was a member of the elite; he was
an accomplished musician who was well known in the musical world, and who
arranged many of the Vodou songs in his classical music compositions. What
could be more than Haitian than that?