Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post presents an excerpt from the Wikipedia page about Mattapan (a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts (retrieved October 20, 2024).
This post also presents an excerpt of a January 2010 Trotter Review journal article by Alix Cantave, University of Massachusetts Boston, entitled "Incorporation or Symbiosis: Haitians and African
Americans in Mattapan".
The content of this post is presented for historical and socio-cultural purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Alix Cantave for this research and writing. Thanks to all others who are quoted in this post.
-snip-
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2024/10/why-havent-black-people-in-united.html for a related pancocojams post entitled "Why Haven't Black People In The United States Been More Supportive Of Haitian Immigrants In Springfield, Ohio Who Are Being Falsely Accused Of Eating Cats & Dogs? (a YouTube discussion sub-thread)"
Reading that many of the comments in that 2024 YouTube sub-thread echoes and/or clarifies the reasons for some of the points that were made in that 2010 journal article.
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INFORMATION ABOUT MATTAPAN
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mattapan
:Mattapan ,,,is a neighborhood in Boston,
Massachusetts, United States. Mattapan is the original Native American name for
the Dorchester area,[1] possibly meaning "a place to sit."[2] At the
2010 census, it had a population of 36,480, with the majority of its population
immigrants.
[…]
20th century
At the turn of the 20th century, the population of Mattapan
was largely Caucasian, but starting in the late 1960s, blockbusting
intentionally designed to destabilize the neighborhood drove many long-term
residents out of Mattapan.[11] In the 1980s, a significant number of Haitians
immigrated to Mattapan, leading to the current demographic population. Mattapan
has become an important center for the Haitian cultural, social, and political
life in the state of Massachusetts. As of 2015, Mattapan also has a large
population of African Americans, Jamaicans, and other Caribbean immigrants.[12]
During the 1960s and 1970s, Mattapan underwent a major change in the makeup of
its population. It shifted from a predominantly Jewish neighborhood to one that
is now largely African American and Caribbean American having a population of
37,486 that is over 77% African American and Caribbean American.[13]
[...]
Demographics
[…]
Today Mattapan is seeing another major population shift,
albeit a natural turn over of housing, as a large number of immigrants from
Haiti and other Caribbean countries continue to move in. Mattapan now has the
largest Haitian community in Massachusetts, and is also largely made up of
African Americans and immigrants from other Caribbean countries.[3] In 2013 the
population in Mattapan was 36,299. Of this total 11% were Caucasian, 82% were
African American, 1% were Asian, 2% were a mixed race, and 6.5% were devoted to
other races.[15] According to the Boston Redevelopment Authority 72.4% of the
population living in Mattapan were born in Massachusetts, 23.6% were born
outside of the state, and 3.2% were born outside of the United States.“…
****
JOURNAL EXCERPT
From https://scholarworks.umb.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1005&context=trotter_review
Trotter Review, Volume 19, Issue 1: Where is Home? Immigrants of Color in Massachusetts, Article 7, January 2010
"Incorporation or Symbiosis: Haitians and African
Americans in Mattapan" (by) Alix Cantave,
University of Massachusetts Boston [pages 107-122]
"Haitians and African Americans have long historical bonds
and a common history. This historical connection between African
Americans and Haitians has less impact on contemporary relations
between the two groups than would be expected. Current generations perceive
African American and Haitian relations as a by-product of Haitian
migration to the United States, disregarding nearly 200 years
of history.
[...]
[...]
The image of an impoverished people seeking political and economic refuge from its own society underlies contemporary African American and Haitian relations. It is the image of a large number of Haitians arriving at American shores and airports.
Largely uninformed of the historical bonds that exist
between them, the
(page)110
present generations of Haitians and African Americans
find themselves in an uneasy coexistence marked by cultural and language
differences aggravated by miscommunication and misconceptions. These
differences greatly influence relations between members of the two
groups who find themselves sharing the same neighborhoods in Boston, South
Florida, and New York City. In describing her experience as a Haitian
immigrant in New York City in the mid-1970s, the social linguist Flore
Zéphir illustrates the stance of Haitians in America:
"I arrived in this country in 1975, I could not help
noticing that the Haitian community was a
closed community, and that
Haitians’ lives outside of work revolved around Haitians. I do not
recall meeting non-Haitians at Haitian's gatherings, no do I recall Haitians telling me about
their attending the gatherings of "others" " (Zephir 1996)
As Haitians continue to move to the United States in large numbers seeking economic opportunities and refuge from political repression and environmental degradation, their relationship with African Americans has also become more obvious. Haitians are settling in larger numbers in predominantly African American neighborhoods, and their U.S.-born children identify with African Americans and face many of the same issues as black youth in urban America. As Zéphir observed, Haitians remain an isolated group. This group centripetality greatly influences the relationship between Haitians and African Americans as well as how African Americans perceive Haitians as a group. …
[…]
[…]
Haitians in the United States
There are no exact counts of the number of Haitians in the
UnitedStates. Some estimates have placed the number of Haitians in
the country at about 2 million, including immigrants, the undocumented, and
those who claim Haitian ancestry....Based on the various sources and counts, an estimate of 2 million Haitians and Haitian Americans in the
country is reasonable. More-systematic demographic work is warranted to
determine a more accurate count.
The vast majority of Haitians in the United States are concentrated in Florida, New York, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. These four states account for 89 percent of the Haitian-born population in the country.
Massachusetts, with about 44,000 Haitian-born residents, has the thirdlargest population. About 43 percent, or 19,000, of the state’s Haitian population live in Boston (2000 Census; BRA 2007). In fact, Haitians represent 10 percent, the largest share, of Boston’s foreign-born population. Addi-
(page) 112
tionally, Haitian-born residents represent about 14 percent of Boston’s black population. As the map below shows, Mattapan and Hyde Park are the two Boston neighborhoods with the largest concentration of Haitian immigrants. Mattapan also has the largest percentage of blacks in the city of Boston.
Mattapan
...Since the 1980s, Mattapan has been experiencing another demographic shift. Large numbers of Caribbean immigrants have arrived and are continuing to move into the neighborhood. Mattapan currently has the largest Haitian population in Massachusetts. The presence of the Haitian population in Mattapan is evident by the number of Haitian churches, businesses, social service agencies, and other institutions. Mattapan also has a number of religious, service, and business institutions that historically catered to the African American population. Those institutions are also changing to reflect the latest demographic shift. The newly arrived Haitians live next to African Americans who have been in Mattapan for more than 50 years. While Mattapan is generally classified as a low-income neighborhood, it has a solid middle-class enclave. Similar to other inner-city neighborhoods, Mattapan faces a multitude of challenges that require active community engagement and the participation of all residents.
Mattapan has long been characterized by high crime rates,
high street-gang activities, and high poverty rates. In fact,
Mattapan has one of the higher neighborhood distress index scores in Boston,
based on a
matrix developed by Professor James Jennings of Tufts
University (Jennings 2009).
Mattapan also has the highest density of African Americans and Haitians in Boston...Haitian native Creole speakers in Limited English Proficiency classes had the highest increase
(page) 113
in high school dropout rates in Boston Public Schools between 2003 and 2006 (Mauricio Gastón Institute 2009). The dropout rate from Haitian LEP students increased from 3.6 percent in 2003 to 10.6 percent in 2006, nearly a threefold increase. Haitian youths are also deeply involved in neighborhood violence, both as victims and perpetrators....
The destinies of Haitians and African Americans in Mattapan are connected by a new common struggle and the spatial realities of sharing the same neighborhood. Both groups fail to understand those shared realities. Organizations serving the neighborhood acknowledge them but have done little to address them. In addition to Mattapan, Haitians in Boston are concentrated in the four neighborhoods with the highest black population density and the highest scores on the distress index: Mattapan, Hyde Park, Dorchester, and Roxbury.
African American and Haitian Coexistence in Mattapan
A preliminary analysis of the Mattapan survey data shows
signs of what Professor Glenn Jacobs of UMass Boston describes as
centripetality and centrifugality among Haitians in Mattapan. Haitian
adults as well as Haitian-based organizations tend to be ethnocentric and are
less likely to form cross-ethnic ties or establish meaningful community
relationships with African Americans. Haitians in Mattapan still live in a
closed community similar to what Zéphir found in New York City more than three decades ago. Haitian and African American adults appear to
coexist in Mattapan amid a web of misconceptions, misunderstandings,
and other sociocultural barriers that prevent the two groups from
forming community ties that can strengthen the community. African Americans and Haitians in Mattapan worship in different churches, speak
different languages, frequent different businesses, and, to some degree, buy
food from different supermarkets. African Americans and Haitians see
Mattapan
differently.
Haitians often refer to Mattapan as “the Haitian community".
[…]
[...]
Haitian views are consistent with how community was defined by participants of the focus groups conducted by the Trotter Institute and CCBR at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The most common definitions of community,
(page) 115
based on the focus group results, are: (1) a group of people with the same norms and culture who are united together; (2) a group of people who have the same idea, who have the same cultures, and who live in the same area; and (3) a group of people from the same place who speak the same language and live in the same area. One participant describes community as “a group of people with the same norms and culture who are united.” Throughout the focus groups, men and women referred to the Haitian community as a particular entity. They did not refer to “the community” as the neighborhoods in which they lived. The Haitian informants described Mattapan as the center of the Haitian community with a large concentration of services and businesses catering to Haitians. They also think that Haitians represent the majority of Mattapan’s population. African Americans described Mattapan as an ethnically diverse community that has gone through many demographic transitions, a community that transitioned from being predominantly Jewish to predominantly black in the 1960s and 1970s. They see Mattapan as being predominantly African American with a significant Caribbean population, including Haitians.
Both groups agreed that a significant portion of Mattapan’s population is Haitian. Haitians believed they are the majority. One Haitian informant said, “The majority of Mattapan’s population is Haitian.” Another stated that “Mattapan has the largest concentration of Haitians, as well as Haitian businesses and services.” On the other hand, an African American informant described Mattapan as “an ethnically-diverse neighborhood in transition, with a significant middle-income African-American population.”
There are several areas of agreement between African Americans and Haitians. One was the issues that they think affect all residents of Mattapan. African American and Haitian informants agreed that they include education and poor-quality schools, crime, and health disparities. Among the most critical issues facing Mattapan, the informants mentioned the lack of affordable housing and an inadequate number of services. The detached relationship between African Americans and Haitians, however, hinders their ability to come together to address the issues that they agreed are affecting the neighborhood and both groups.
The poor or nonexistent relationship between the groups is another area where African Americans and Haitians agreed. The two groups coexist with limited interaction in a manner that one key informant described
(page) 115
as “cordial, but no integration” in a kind of a “fragile peace”; or as another informant observed: “There are no conflicts between Haitians and African Americans because there are no interactions.”
On the other hand, Haitian youths are more likely to incorporate into the larger black community and form cross-ethnic and cross-national ties. Haitian adults asserted that Haitian youth assimilate faster and become identified with African Americans, or “Americanized.” This view is also consistent with how focus group participants perceive Haitian youth acculturation, which is seen as contributing to delinquency, poor school performance, and involvement in crime and violence. Basically, by becoming acculturated, according to the informants and focus group participants, Haitian youths abandoned their “old ways” (Haitian) and became delinquent—what Alejandro Portes and Rubén Rumbaut have identified as negative incorporation (Portes & Rumbaut 2006). This is a statement not only about the acculturation of Haitian youths in the African American community but also the perception of some Haitians of African Americans. Thus, the isolation of Haitians in Mattapan can be described as an attempt to maintain their “old ways” and resist negative incorporation. On the other side, African Americans see Haitians as different, poor people from a poor country who speak a different language, dress differently, who keep to themselves, have loud parties, and who do not respect the community. One African American informant stated that Haitians are unaware of the struggle of African Americans toward equality and civil rights so that all blacks can enjoy the freedom and opportunities that this country offers. Further, she stated that Haitians do not
Descriptions of Haitians in Mattapan
African Americans
Not invested in the community
Isolated—not integrated in the community
Transient—don’t stay in the community for long
Work too much and leave children unattended
Lack of civic engagement
Focus on education
Think they’re better than African Americans
Haitians
financially Invest in businesses in Mattapan
Isolated
Upwardly-mobile oriented
Hardworking
Haitian youth well-behaved
Haitian businesses cater only to Haitians
Poor relations with African Americans
(page) 116
understand that they have benefited from the gains and struggles of the civil rights movement. The table [above] shows some examples of how African American informants described Haitians in Mattapan and how the Haitian informants described themselves.
The reality, however, is that Mattapan is the most diverse black neighborhood in Boston, with a mixture of African Americans and blacks from the Caribbean and Africa. Mattapan is also the center of the Haitian community, with the highest density of Haitian businesses, churches, and social service agencies in Boston. Mattapan-based agencies and community organizations provide services to the larger community, irrespective of national origin or ethnicity. Haitians also access many of the services that are provided in the neighborhood via Mattapan Family Service Center, Mattapan Community Health Center, and the Church of the Holy Spirit. One of the concerns that African American informants voiced is the fact that Haitian businesses and services are very ethnocentric; they tend to serve Haitians and employ only Haitians. When African Americans carp about the lack of Haitian investment in Mattapan, they are referring to the ethnocentric tendencies of Haitian-owned businesses and Haitian-based organizations. On the other hand, when Haitians talk about their level of financial investment in Mattapan, they are referring to the services that they have provided primarily to other Haitians. Haitian businesses and services contribute to the neighborhood and Boston’s economy. According to a Boston Redevelopment Author ity report, Haitians in Boston own 108 small businesses, which contributed $222 million to local output and spent $219 million (BRA 2007). The Mattapan community has contributed to the vibrancy of the Mattapan Square, the neighborhood’s commercial center. In fact, Mattapan Square is one of the few places in the neighborhood where Haitians and African Americans cross paths.
Where African Americans and Haitians Interact
All of the informants agree that Mattapan has no definite
places that facilitate and promote cross-ethnic interactions.
Informants named churches as likely venues for intergroup interaction, but as
several informants mentioned, each group also has its own churches. Services in
Haitian churches are often in Haitian Creole or French and, therefore, not
[...]
(page) 117
accessible to the vast majority of the African American
population. Members of the two groups do attend services at St. Angela’s Roman
Catholic Church on Blue Hill Avenue. The service that many Haitians attend, however, is conducted in Haitian Creole and does not provide
a space for cross-ethnic interaction.
Haitian and American informants stated that the Jubilee Church on Blue Hill Avenue has the most diverse congregation. As a member of Jubilee explained, the church is very diverse, with a significant number of African American, Haitian, African, and Caribbean members. The church brings speakers that reflect the diversity of its membership. The church does not intentionally address issues of cross-ethnic or cross-nationality collaboration or interaction.
Several informants echoed the lack of community facilities, common space, and activities that can foster cross-ethnic interaction. For instance, informants mentioned the lack of community centers and youth leagues and athletic teams as an impediment to interethnic collaboration and interaction. Due to lack of intentional facilities and activities, different groups meet accidentally in Mattapan Square, the area where different groups from the neighborhood shop and access public transportation.
Mattapan CBOs and African-American and Haitian Interaction in Mattapan
Another area Haitian and African American informants agreed on is the minimal role that community organizations in Mattapan are playing in promoting interethnic collaborations and interactions. An informant from a local service provider stated that “we have not sponsored any activities to develop relationships between African Americans and Haitians because we don’t see it as a problem.” Another informant stated that “when Haitians are invited to community meetings or events, they don’t show up, and when they do, they don’t return.” Haitian organizations do sponsor activities to promote intergroup interaction, a Haitian informant from a Haitian-based organization claimed. He cited the Haitian Day Parade as an example. The Haitian Day Parade is an activity that promotes Haitian pride. Several other groups participate in the actual parade but not in planning the annual event. It is also an advertising opportunity for businesses targeting the Haitian market. In fact, some informants see the
(page) 118
Haitian Day Parade as another example of the ethnic schism that divides Mattapan and prevents better group collaborations. This is how one informant perceives the culturally specific carnivals, including the Haitian Day Parade: “I think that it is unfortunate. Every culture is going for itself.
"You know, we used to have, for example, a Caribbean
festival. Now we have a Haitian festival, Jamaican festival, Cape Verdean
festival, Dominican festival. Everybody is kind of going for
themselves when
before we were really one. Black people went to it, and everyone went
to it. It’s
kind of like we celebrate together. But now you have three or
four going on, and I think it is a
way to separate us.”
[…]
The shrinking pool of funding is forcing organizations to simultaneously compete and collaborate. Groups have realized that they must chase the same funding and sometimes collaborate in order to be more competitive. That bow to expedience does not mean that organizations developed a common agenda or vision, however. One of the executive directors clearly expressed that view when he said that "While groups in Mattapan are working more together, I am not aware of any common agenda or space.” Haitian organizations are serving Haitians and collaborating with African American–led organizations when it is financially or organizationally advantageous. African American–led organizations expand their services to Haitians and hire Haitian staff members because it is good business practice to respond to the changing demographics of Mattapan that have brought the growth in the Haitian population. While the organizations acknowledge the need for more interaction and collaboration between African Americans and Haitians, they have not been able to facilitate and promote that interaction.
--There is no common space for Haitians and African
Americans
--to interact in Mattapan…. Organizations are not in
position to
--create that space due to lack of institutional interests.
Agencies can work together, but there is no common agenda. (Haitian informant
May 2008)
(page) 120
Conclusion
Mattapan is a diverse black community with significant
African, African American, and Caribbean populations. Haitians are the most
significant black immigrant population in Mattapan, a vibrant community with a very active commercial center. Mattapan is also a
community with significant challenges. It is among the most distressed
neighborhoods in Boston, as measured by a number of demographic and
socioeconomic indicators, including poverty, educational attainment, and
crime. The
neighborhood also lacks sufficient community facilities and
the common social space to encourage and facilitate interethnic
collaborations and interactions. The relationship between African Americans and
Haitians in particular is marked by miscommunication, misunderstanding,
and misconception. The two groups have not been able to build on a shared
history of common struggles. Haitians form a closed community, removed from the challenges that the neighborhood faces, ignoring
that their children are impacted by the same issues that are affecting all
black youths in Mattapan. These issues include gang violence,
poor-quality education, a lack of youth services, and a lack of after-school
programs. Organizations serving Mattapan have done little to promote
interethnic collaboration to address some of the challenges that the
neighborhood faces. The churches, which many informants said reflected the rich
diversity of the neighborhood, have not fostered conversations among their
members and neighborhood residents about interethnic or intergroup
collaboration as a strategy to address the many challenges that the
neighborhood faces. Haitians and African Americans coexist in Mattapan in
a fragile
peace in a cloud of misconception about culture, jobs, and
inequality in services and their allocation. As many informants explained,
15 years ago there were a lot of conflicts and tensions between Haitians
and African Americans. Haitians and African Americans have gotten
accustomed to each other’s presence and coexist in an uneasy peace in a
now-quiet Mattapan, except when gang violence flares. The neighborhood is
infested with gangs, with one on virtually every street. The
organizations serving Mattapan have an obligation to the neighborhood and its
residents to begin the process of interethnic cooperation in order to improve
the quality of life of all residents. Churches with Haitian and African
American mem-
(page)122
bers can have group discussions on interethnic collaboration and sponsor events to encourage communication between African Americans and Haitians. The organizations serving the neighborhood already have access to both populations. They can sponsor educational and social events to encourage intergroup interaction. For instance, health disparities affect Haitians and African Americans. The organizations can cosponsor a neighborhood health fair where Haitians and African Americans can talk about common concerns about issues that affect their health status.
Similar events can be held on a number of topics, including
housing, education, crime, employment, and political representation. This may
be the first step in formulating a common agenda for Mattapan and
to create an inclusive community, as opposed to a divided space in
which different groups merely coexist.”
-snip-
This excerpt doesn’t include acknowledgment section.]
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