Haitian Chronicles

Haitian Sensation

One of the more interesting things I’ve had to deal with in life was growing up Haitian in the 90’s/00’s. This was wayyy before it became kind of cool and folks started showing love to Haitians with everyone usually screaming out “shout out my zoes” when referring to Haitian with some not knowing what this even means. I dealt with some pretty comical and sometimes annoying things as a kid/teen so let me share some. 

While I did not have it rough like some other folks might have, I learned that people sometimes hear what they want to hear. Let me break down some annoyingggggg things Haitians had to deal with. Do you know voodoo? This really is one of the most annoying things anyone could ask and is usually the first or second thing someone mentions. Haitians are not the only folks who practice voodoo but let others tell it and we damn sure are. One thing I also heard a lot was “do you speak Haitian” never understood this because surely I’d never ask someone if they spoke American. For some reason people would alwayssss assume being Haitian automatically meant you were born there no matter how many times you explained that you were born in the U.S. Somehow Haitians got this rep of dressing in bright ass colors when I was growing up when 8/10 it was someone from another Caribbean country who would be dressing like this. 

Having one of the most recognizable last names ever also did not help growing up. Everyone had this obsession with saying my whole damn name and I hated that. Teachers would take attendance and say everyone else’s first name but automatically say my whole damn name. Ladies, every Haitian mother is not mean I swear. It was difficult as hell for a while bringing girls back to the crib in high school due to them being so scared of my mom seeing them. Girls would say “I’m scared to come to your crib because you’re Haitian” and I’d just think to myself “ok asshole” and keep it moving. As the years went by though Haitians became more and more popular, some of the same ones who were being teased as kids had folks running for their lives during the teenage years. 

I love being Haitian though, from the food to the culture, and it's a part of me and I am grateful for that. Just wanted to share some of my experiences growing up as a Haitian kid/teen.