Overview:
US Communities honor Haitian Heritage Month, reflecting on years of celebration and group satisfaction.
NEW YORK — From Irvington in New Jersey to North Hempstead in New York, a rising variety of States, counties, and cities in the US are formally recognizing Could as Haitian Heritage Month, reflecting the rising visibility and civic engagement of Haitian communities throughout the nation.
Pushed by native advocacy and group satisfaction, these designations have turned Could right into a month of cultural celebration—from flag-raising ceremonies and avenue parades to public tributes and political proclamations. Haitian People are utilizing the second not solely to honor their ancestry, however to name consideration to their affect within the U.S and the challenges nonetheless going through Haiti.
On Could 6, the North Hempstead City Board formally devoted Could as Haitian Heritage Month, honoring one in every of Lengthy Island’s most vibrant immigrant communities, the Long Island Press reported.
The proclamation was executed in a ceremony crammed with tune, satisfaction and reflection and welcomed by Haitian People gathered in New Cassel, house to a big Haitian inhabitants. The ceremony included a singing of the Haitian nationwide anthem, a deeply emotional second given the disaster at the moment going through Haiti.
“To have the ability to have a good time a flag of a rustic that the flag needs to be the other way up, to get this from you all, I can’t let you know how that feels,” stated Mimi Pierre Johnson, a Haitian American and state director of the Haitian Diaspora Political Motion Committee.
Councilman Robert Troiano of North Hempstead was the primary municipality on Lengthy Island to declare Could Haitian Heritage Month. The city has hosted public Haitian Flag Day celebrations for greater than a decade, the Long Island Press stated. Former Council Member Viviana Russell was on the ceremony and stated the custom started after Haitian residents in Westbury and Carle Place requested for a approach to commemorate their heritage.
This yr’s Haitian flag ceremony in North Hempstead will happen on Could 18 alongside Prospect Avenue in New Cassel, a hub for Haitian-owned companies and cultural exercise.