16140: (Hermantin) Sun Sentinel-Haitian community wants more than talk from NAACP (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Haitian community wants more than talk from NAACP, they say at Miami
conference


By Rachel La Corte
The Associated Press

July 13, 2003, 2:01 PM EDT

MIAMI -- Leaders of the state's Haitian-American community want more than a
message of support from the nation's oldest civil rights organization --
they want to see strong action taken against what they call unfair
immigration laws.

As about 10,000 delegates gather in Miami Beach for The National Association
for the Advancement of Colored People's 94th annual convention,
Haitian-American advocates hope the organization creates a plan to make a
push in Washington to change the United States' policy on Haitian refugees.

"Being on the record and making a statement is not enough,'' said Jean
Robert Lafortune, chairman for the Haitian-American Grassroots Coalition.
"The NAACP shouldn't just be making nice statements. It would be good to see
them in the trenches, both locally, nationally and statewide.''

Under U.S. immigration policy, Haitians and others who arrive illegally are
usually sent immediately back to their country. The Cuban Readjustment Act
of 1966, and the application of a so-called "wet foot, dry foot'' policy
allows Cubans who make it ashore to stay.

Haitian immigrants applying for asylum have been kept in immigration
custody. Before a 2001 law change, Haitians were generally released into the
community while their requests were processed.

In addition, Attorney General John Ashcroft ruled in April that if the
government can show national security issues are involved, most illegal
immigrants -- except Cubans -- can be jailed indefinitely without bond while
a judge decides their cases.

While the NAACP in on record with their objection to the current immigration
laws, Lafortune said he feels there is a lack of urgency on the issue.

"On some issues, the Haitian-Americans feel they are by themselves,''
Lafortune said. "The NAACP is focusing on the issue of traditional civil
rights for American blacks versus the newly arrived immigrants who are
facing civil rights issues as well. We see them not being forceful enough to
engage the issue nationally.''

In an interview, NAACP Chairman Julian Bond acknowledged that the
organization hasn't tried to reach out to Haitians through Creole radio or
newspapers, an integral source of information in the community.

"It's clear that we need to do a better job, not only with Haitians, but
other people of color,'' he said. "I don't think we've done enough to say
we're here for you. We want to do all we can to let everyone know that we'll
fight for those facing racial discrimination, whether that discrimination is
aimed at fifth-generation native born African-Americans or newly-arrived
immigrants from anywhere in the world.''

Following two grafs EMBARGOED for release at 6:30 p.m. EDT.

Bond cited inequality in the treatment of Cuban and Haitian migrants in his
address to delegates Sunday.

"We know there is an appalling double standard played out on Florida's
shores between the treatment received by Haitian and Cuban immigrants -- the
Haitians are given the back of America's hand and the Cubans a hearty
handshake and a loud 'welcome aboard,''' Bond said.

End material embargoed for release at 6:30 p.m. EDT.

On Wednesday, the NAACP is convening its first meeting to discuss the
relationship between American blacks and the international Caribbean
community. On the agenda are discussions on trade, immigration and U.S. aid
to Caribbean governments.

Advocates in the Haitian community, which has long had a strained
relationship with the black community, see it as a good first step to
address issues that they say have long been sidelined.

There are more than 661,000 Haitians in the United States, and more than
233,000 in Florida, according to the 2000 Census. Advocacy groups put the
numbers much higher, at 1.5 million in the country and 300,000 in South
Florida alone.

There are more than 500,000 members in the NAACP, but officials said Friday
they did not have estimates on how many are Haitian-American. Some leaders
in the Haitian community said not many are part of the NAACP in part because
of long-standing cultural differences between American blacks and Haitians.

"I don't think African-Americans quite understand the difficulty and the
heartbreak that involves the immigration policy of this country and the
different treatment that people of darker skin get,'' said state Rep.
Phillip Brutus, D-North Miami.

Brutus, an NAACP member and the first Haitian-American state representative
in Florida, said the organization could bolster its ranks if it reached out
more to the Caribbean community.

"There's no reason why the NAACP shouldn't have 300,000 members of Haitian
or Bahamian background,'' he said. "Something needs to be done to show that
the NAACP represents them.''

But it may take more than outreach to convince Haitians that the NAACP is
looking out for their best interests, said George Wilson, professor of
sociology at the University of Miami.

"I don't think significant portions of the Haitian community want to be
aligned with the NAACP,'' he said. "They see themselves as separate and
distinct. I think the African-American population, and the leadership
especially, is going to have to do a lot to draw in the Haitian community.''

And with the growing power of Haitians in South Florida, that may ultimately
work against the NAACP and them working together, Wilson said.

In 1999, the village of El Portal, just north of Miami, became the first
U.S. community to have a Haitian majority on its governing body. Two years
later, voters in North Miami elected a Haitian-American mayor and two
Haitian-American council members to the five-person council.

"The Haitian-American leadership has a powerful influence,'' Wilson said.
"African-Americans in those communities, they could benefit by hooking up
with the Haitian community and establishing close relationships. I'm not
sure Haitians need the NAACP as much as the NAACP could benefit from Haitian
leadership.''
Copyright © 2003, The Associated Press

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