Date of Award
Spring 5-22-2021
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts (BA)
Advisor(s)
Laurie Lambert, Ph.D.
Abstract
Haiti has a huge migration problem. Thousands flee the country every year due to its political and socioeconomic instability. The locations that Haitians prefer to settle in are the United States, Canada, and France. Haitian people have also migrated within neighboring islands in the Caribbean region. Because of Haiti’s current conditions, every country and the territory in the Caribbean Basin has misconstrued views of Haiti. They are very critical of Haitian people and project xenophobia onto those within their presence. The problem is that these are black-majority societies marginalizing another black-majority society. The question this problem raises is why are these Afro-Caribbean societies so anti-black, or in this case anti-Haitian? This thesis seeks to answer this question and examine the roots of anti-Haitian xenophobia for the Haitian Diaspora that have settled in the French Caribbean territories of Guadeloupe and French Guiana. Both territories are Haiti’s linguistic and cultural counterparts, yet their societies are firm in their rejection of Haitian migrants. Thus, anti-Haitianism exists as a byproduct of French colonization, internalized anti-blackness, and the complexities of Afro-Caribbean identity formation.
Recommended Citation
Molines, Jemina Carla, "The Legacy of French Colonialism in the Francophone Caribbean: Migration, Anti-Haitianism, and Anti-Blackness in Guadeloupe and French Guiana" (2021). Senior Theses. 82.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/international_senior/82
