"I have a few friends...who are in New York, who wanted the big city life, and they ended up staying for three or four years before they're like, 'No, I can't do it any more.'"
-Jean Appolon, JA Expressions Dance Studio
-Jean Appolon, JA Expressions Dance Studio
The Migration of Haitians
The United States is home to the largest concentration of Haitian immigrants in the world outside of Haiti itself, with a total of 535,000 on the American mainland (MigrationPolicy, 2010). One of the largest exoduses from Haiti to America was during the collapse of the Duvalier regime, which had become a pivotal chain of events in many citizens' lives. Between 1980 and 2000, the Haitian population in the United States more than quadrupled, from 92,000 to 419,000 (MigrationPolicy, 2010).
The general character of Haitian immigrants is often diverse, though three quarters of all immigrants arrived in the US before 2000. Over 67% of them were working-age adults, and often Haitian women outnumber Haitian men. The character of both genders is often educated, with around half of all foreign-born adults possessing some college education, though not all of them are proficient in English. All the same, Haitian immigrants are more likely than many other immigrant populations to be naturalized US citizens, and over two thirds of Haitian women participate in the civilian workforce, as opposed to only half of the overall foreign-born population in the United States (MigrationPolicy 2010). This, at the least, speaks volumes of their propensity for hard work and persistence, past the strife of their country's history.
The general character of Haitian immigrants is often diverse, though three quarters of all immigrants arrived in the US before 2000. Over 67% of them were working-age adults, and often Haitian women outnumber Haitian men. The character of both genders is often educated, with around half of all foreign-born adults possessing some college education, though not all of them are proficient in English. All the same, Haitian immigrants are more likely than many other immigrant populations to be naturalized US citizens, and over two thirds of Haitian women participate in the civilian workforce, as opposed to only half of the overall foreign-born population in the United States (MigrationPolicy 2010). This, at the least, speaks volumes of their propensity for hard work and persistence, past the strife of their country's history.
Impact
Of the Haitians who have emigrated, one twentieth of their entire population came to the United States. Florida in particular had the highest Haitian-American concentration, with 46.4% of American's Haitian immigrant population. New York came in second, with a concentration of 24.1%, largely because Florida is one of the closest states to the island of Haiti and New York is well-known for its "high life." In the words of Jean Appolon, a dance teacher at Jean Appolon Expressions dance studio, "I have a few friends...who are in New York, who wanted the big city life, and they ended up staying for three or four years before they're like, 'No, I can't do it any more.' ...[But] I was like, 'No, Boston is more free with jobs.'"
Many Haitian-Americans, he said, come to the northeast United States expecting a "big city life," or just the traditional American values of hard work to gain status and wealth. Then, when they find the wealthy industries in New York too crowded, they make plans to go back to Haiti--but Jean Appolon, as he stated in the interview, finds Boston "a little bit easier," even for men and women both. The Haitian Coalition of Someville, another place that was interviewed, is especially supportive of its Haitian community and, as executive director Franklin Dalembert offered glowingly, their independence day is "a day when we share," when the Coalition sends "squash soup to the whole neighborhood" to celebrate, as the Haitian slaves were originally not allowed to purchase or eat squash while enslaved (Dalembert, 2014).
Many Haitian-Americans, he said, come to the northeast United States expecting a "big city life," or just the traditional American values of hard work to gain status and wealth. Then, when they find the wealthy industries in New York too crowded, they make plans to go back to Haiti--but Jean Appolon, as he stated in the interview, finds Boston "a little bit easier," even for men and women both. The Haitian Coalition of Someville, another place that was interviewed, is especially supportive of its Haitian community and, as executive director Franklin Dalembert offered glowingly, their independence day is "a day when we share," when the Coalition sends "squash soup to the whole neighborhood" to celebrate, as the Haitian slaves were originally not allowed to purchase or eat squash while enslaved (Dalembert, 2014).