Karen Cook Bell | Bowie State University (original) (raw)
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Comments Off Negre Marron, Haiti (Photo: Steve Bennett, Flickr). Haiti's intellectual dissidents ... more Comments Off Negre Marron, Haiti (Photo: Steve Bennett, Flickr). Haiti's intellectual dissidents played an instrumental role in advocating the Haitianization of Haiti-the embrace of Haitian culture, peasant life, and African origins-during the period of US occupation from 1915-1934. The Haitian masses provided the initial resistance to occupation, which occurred following the assassination of Haitian President Jean Vilbrun Guillaume. Their resistance was triggered by the re-establishment of forced labor (corvée) by the Americans and the massacre of Haitian workers. Individual dissidents such as Jean Price-Mars, Georges Sylvain, Leon Laleau, Jean Jacques Roumain, Carl Brouard, and Jean F. Brierre, through persuasive oratory, articulated an ideology which sought to Haitianize the bourgeoisie. Moreover this group of intellectual dissidents embraced the culture of rural Haitians and in doing so defined this cultural reawakening. Subscribe Sign up to get the latest posts and updates. First Name E-Mail Address Submit Categories Select Cat egory Archives Select Mo nth # HOME ABOUT ∠ CONTRIBUTORS FEATURED BOOKS AUTHOR INTERVIEWS ROUNDTABLES RESOURCES ∠ % The articulation of changing social, economic, and political concerns in the form of poetry and prose is an integral part of Haitian intellectual history. Among the masses this urge took the form of oral accounts from songs and stories to aphorisms. The dynamic and selfsearching elements of Haitian literature were articulated best by Haitian dissidents. Aware of the weaknesses of Haitian institutions and the corruption of the past and blocked politically by white foreigners, this group published a new generation of well-crafted plays, novels, songs, and poetry that reflected the Haitian experience during US occupation. US intervention profoundly shaped Haitian society. Between 1915 and being willing tools in the hands of the US for their own personal and financial gain. The Union, under the leadership of Georges Sylvain, played a significant role in advancing Haitian nationalism. In addition to promoting political nationalism, Sylvain proposed using Creole, the language of the masses, as the official language of instruction. The publication of his 1928 work Cric-Crac, which translated noted French writer La Fontaine's fables into Creole, and the publication of Philolgie Creole, which challenged the prejudices surrounding the Haitian language by asserting that Creole was not a corrupted dialect of French, were potent indicators of his commitment to the Haitianization of Haiti. Sylvain politicized the matter further by stating that Creole was a "symbol of Haitian identity and an appropriate instrument for administrative tasks." The issue of language was essential to the nationalist movement. French remained the official language of Haiti after independence in 1804 and was spoken primarily by urban residents, wealthy landowners, and rural intermediaries. The overwhelming majority of Haitians spoke Creole and were thus locked out of the political process as communication with the government and Haitian laws were in French. Like Sylvain, Price-Mars believed that if "educationalists would admit that Creole, not French was the pupil's mother tongue, they would first use Creole as a medium of instruction, then teach French as a foreign language." The principle of enlarging rural access to education through the creolization of the education system was an essential theme of the nationalist movement of the 1920s. Both Price-Mars and Sylvain were integral to the movement, which studied and validated rural culture. In addition to advocating the use of Creole, the movement also explored the Vodun religion. Poet, novelist, and anthropologist Jean Jacques Roumain was a crucial figure in this arena. Roumain was captivated by the nationalist movement of the 1920s. In addition to helping to establish the magazine La Revue Indigéne, which attacked the essence of French culture in Haiti, Roumain also helped to establish La Trouee (The Break-Through) in 1927, which took an uncompromising anti-American and anti-Borno position.
Comments Off Negre Marron, Haiti (Photo: Steve Bennett, Flickr). Haiti's intellectual dissidents ... more Comments Off Negre Marron, Haiti (Photo: Steve Bennett, Flickr). Haiti's intellectual dissidents played an instrumental role in advocating the Haitianization of Haiti-the embrace of Haitian culture, peasant life, and African origins-during the period of US occupation from 1915-1934. The Haitian masses provided the initial resistance to occupation, which occurred following the assassination of Haitian President Jean Vilbrun Guillaume. Their resistance was triggered by the re-establishment of forced labor (corvée) by the Americans and the massacre of Haitian workers. Individual dissidents such as Jean Price-Mars, Georges Sylvain, Leon Laleau, Jean Jacques Roumain, Carl Brouard, and Jean F. Brierre, through persuasive oratory, articulated an ideology which sought to Haitianize the bourgeoisie. Moreover this group of intellectual dissidents embraced the culture of rural Haitians and in doing so defined this cultural reawakening. Subscribe Sign up to get the latest posts and updates. First Name E-Mail Address Submit Categories Select Cat egory Archives Select Mo nth # HOME ABOUT ∠ CONTRIBUTORS FEATURED BOOKS AUTHOR INTERVIEWS ROUNDTABLES RESOURCES ∠ % The articulation of changing social, economic, and political concerns in the form of poetry and prose is an integral part of Haitian intellectual history. Among the masses this urge took the form of oral accounts from songs and stories to aphorisms. The dynamic and selfsearching elements of Haitian literature were articulated best by Haitian dissidents. Aware of the weaknesses of Haitian institutions and the corruption of the past and blocked politically by white foreigners, this group published a new generation of well-crafted plays, novels, songs, and poetry that reflected the Haitian experience during US occupation. US intervention profoundly shaped Haitian society. Between 1915 and being willing tools in the hands of the US for their own personal and financial gain. The Union, under the leadership of Georges Sylvain, played a significant role in advancing Haitian nationalism. In addition to promoting political nationalism, Sylvain proposed using Creole, the language of the masses, as the official language of instruction. The publication of his 1928 work Cric-Crac, which translated noted French writer La Fontaine's fables into Creole, and the publication of Philolgie Creole, which challenged the prejudices surrounding the Haitian language by asserting that Creole was not a corrupted dialect of French, were potent indicators of his commitment to the Haitianization of Haiti. Sylvain politicized the matter further by stating that Creole was a "symbol of Haitian identity and an appropriate instrument for administrative tasks." The issue of language was essential to the nationalist movement. French remained the official language of Haiti after independence in 1804 and was spoken primarily by urban residents, wealthy landowners, and rural intermediaries. The overwhelming majority of Haitians spoke Creole and were thus locked out of the political process as communication with the government and Haitian laws were in French. Like Sylvain, Price-Mars believed that if "educationalists would admit that Creole, not French was the pupil's mother tongue, they would first use Creole as a medium of instruction, then teach French as a foreign language." The principle of enlarging rural access to education through the creolization of the education system was an essential theme of the nationalist movement of the 1920s. Both Price-Mars and Sylvain were integral to the movement, which studied and validated rural culture. In addition to advocating the use of Creole, the movement also explored the Vodun religion. Poet, novelist, and anthropologist Jean Jacques Roumain was a crucial figure in this arena. Roumain was captivated by the nationalist movement of the 1920s. In addition to helping to establish the magazine La Revue Indigéne, which attacked the essence of French culture in Haiti, Roumain also helped to establish La Trouee (The Break-Through) in 1927, which took an uncompromising anti-American and anti-Borno position.