Famous Africans, Afro Caribbean’s, and Afro Latino’s throughout U.S. History and Popular Culture
Contributions of Africans, Afro Caribbean’s, and Afro Latinos to the United States
During the American Revolutionary War, an army regiment of Haitian Soldiers fought in Savannah Georgia assisting the Americans. During the late 1700s France was the richest empire from the vast amount of money pouring in from Saint-Domingue (Haiti) from the most brutal slavery in all the Americas. Britain was always a threat, so France used 500 Haitians to fight along with them and Americans. The United States was in its infancy, so they did not have the resources or money at the time, so France financed a large portion of war efforts for the United States to gain independence from Britain. Photo of Haitian Monument courtesy of: https://yourewelcomesavannah.wordpress.com/category/american-revolution/
February 2018 Marvel Studios released Black Panther a juggernaut in the box office setting black people saying “Wakanda Forever” for the fictitious country. It is sad to say that many do not want to celebrate or never heard of the Haitian Revolution that all blacks should be proud of. After the inspiration of fighting in the American Revolution and the issues in France during the French Revolution lit a spark in Haiti. The Haitian Revolution lasted from 1791 to 1804 defeating France, Spain, and Britain that will be mentioned in more detail later. The defeat of France led to the Louisiana Purchase, with the newly acquired territory the United States doubled in size.
New Orleans one of the most unique cities in the United States has a distinct Haitian influence. During and after the Haitian Revolution thousands of Haitians went to the French Speaking city to escape the war. Later, about 10,000 Haitians that fled to Cuba during the war were exiled to New Orleans doubling the city’s population. Of this group included white, black, and free people of color.
The War of 1812 at the Battle of New Orleans Haitians once again showed up to fight for the United States under the command of future president Andrew Jackson. Preparing for battle the Jackson’s army began to assemble, “As martial music was played, the troops of Frenchmen were followed by a well-drilled battalion of 210 freemen, most of them Haitians, commanded by bakery owner, Major Jean Daquin.” (Yaeger, 2017) To defeat the British in an impressive fashion the unique team that Jackson assembled consisted of Tennessee and Kentucky frontiersmen, Louisiana militia, New Orleans businessmen, Choctaw Indians, pirates, sailors, Marines and United States Troops. Imagine over two hundred years ago thousands of Haitians came to the United States from this migration to New Orleans, how many African Americans of Haitian descent are in the United States today? That is not including the waves of immigration from Haitians and other blacks throughout U.S. history. Fact is Black History is also Haitian, Jamaican, Bahamian, etc. etc.
“File:2016-10-13 Yasiel Puig 05.jpg” by Arturo Pardavila III from Hoboken, NJ, USA is licensed under CC BY 2.0
From the outside looking in many people do not realize almost all the mainstream music in the United States were created by blacks. Gospel, Jazz, Blues, Rock & Roll, Soul, and Hip-Hop all instrumental to the culture of this nation and celebrated globally. But, for Afro Latinos there the minority of the minority. Unfortunately, they do not get any recognition during Hispanic Heritage Month or Black History Month. This holds true to Afro Latino’s as well, many forms of Spanish music are from blacks, descendants of the transatlantic slave trade like the United States. Salsa, Meringue, Son, Reggaeton, etc. This music, although not mainstream are playing in clubs, dancehalls, movies and other forms of media. Like the racial draft skit from the Chappelle’s Show we select Afro Latino’s and gladly welcome them home. Facing racial discrimination and colorism in their respected nations, millions come here for a better life and they certainly deserve credit for their contributions. Watch any MLB game and you can see plenty of Afro Latino baseball players winning games and championships for their respected cities and fans.
“File:Dj Kool Herc-03.jpg” by Mika Väisänen is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
Hip Hop music can be credited to Jamaican-American pioneer Clive Campbell A.K.A. DJ Kool Herc, immigrating to the Bronx with his family at the age of 12.
“File:Grandmaster Flash – James Lavelle’s Meltdown Festival 2014.jpg” by Victor Frankowski / Southbank Centre is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Born in Barbados and immigrating to Bronx NY, Grandmaster Flash is a legend in Hip Hop and is one of the first-generation artist in the field.
The shotgun house that was brought to New Orleans and spread throughout the south was originated in Haiti.
Shotgun houses reflect African, Caribbean, and American influences. The origins of those houses were in Haiti, where West Africans built dwellings using traditional West African housing forms—including square rooms, a lack of hallways, and a rectangular exterior—when they were enslaved on sugar and coffee plantations. The West African style soon blended with the housing styles of the Taino people, the original inhabitants of Haiti, to create the caille, a narrow house typically featuring a gabled entrance, stucco walls, shuttered windows, and a thatched roof. After the Haitian rebellion that began in 1791 and culminated in Haiti’s independence in 1804, many Haitians relocated to the southern United States, either freely or as slaves brought by plantation owners fleeing Haiti. In Louisiana and other southern states, the cailles evolved into shotgun houses made from wood, rather than stucco, but retained the narrow structure and gabled entrances. Source: https://www.britannica.com/technology/shotgun-house
“File:Omalu Picture (7).jpg” by Wilkinrm1 is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
Bennet Ifeakandu Omalu is a Nigerian physician that discovered and published findings of CTE, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, in Pittsburgh while working in the coroner’s office. In 2002 Omalu discovered a high amount of proteins in the brain of former Pittsburgh Steelers player Mike Webster. Following Webster death other NFL players committed suicide after years of chronic head trauma, Junior Seau, and Dave Duerson along with others began to have suicidal thoughts. Omalu’s finding payed off, after years of the NFL denying causes of CTE from playing football they reversed their stance and now have strict concussion protocols to protect the players.
Afro-Brazilian soccer sensation Pele popularized soccer in the states in the 70s and is a catalyst to the MLS in the United States. To promote the game in the United States Pele signed to the New York Cosmos after his prime years in Brazil, catapulting the sport closer to the mainstream. In his farewell game in 1977 fans packed Giants stadium in New York to see the greatest to have ever play the game. Jeff Carter, the son of then President Carter, read and presented Pelé with a plaque:
“Presented to Pelé for the smiles he put on children’s faces, the thrills he gave to fans of this nation and the dimension he added to American sports. Pelé has elevated the game of soccer to heights never before attained in America and only Pelé, with his status, incomparable talent and beloved compassion could have accomplished such a mission. The United States of America is deeply grateful.” (https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/sep/30/pele-soccer-america-new-york-cosmos)
“T460965_07” by jamesjoel is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0Stokely Carmichael
Stokely Carmichael a Trinidadian immigrant who moved to Bronx New York at a young age, Carmichael, participated in the Civil Rights movement and his name is on par with Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Medgar Evars, John Lewis, and Muhammed Ali. His contributions to the civil rights movement were the leading of the Student Non Violent Coordinating Committee, SNCC, and creator of the Black Power Movement.
“During this period Carmichael and others associated with SNCC supported the nonviolence approach to desegregation espoused by Martin Luther King Jr., but Carmichael was becoming increasingly frustrated, having witnessed beatings and murders of several civil rights activists. In 1966 he became the chairman of SNCC, and during a march in Mississippi he rallied demonstrators in founding the “black power” movement, which espoused self-defense tactics, self-determination, political and economic power, and racial pride.” (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Stokely-Carmichael)
Jean Baptiste Point Du Sable a Haitian American of African and French descent is the godfather of Chicago. Du Sable is the cities first non-Native American in the region where he set up the first trading post near the mouth of the Chicago River.
James Weldon Johnson born in Jacksonville Florida on June 17, 1871 to a free born Virginian father and a Bahamian mother one the key figures of the Harlem Renaissance. In 1900 Johnson and his brother John wrote “Lift Every Voice and Sing” which became the official anthem of the NAACP or “Black National Anthem”. Appointed as a diplomat to Venezuela and Nicaragua under Theodore Roosevelt in 1914 Johnson returned to the states where he joined the NAACP by 1920, he was named Chief Executive Officer of the organization.
Marcus Garvey a Jamaican was the founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League. As a key proponent to the Pan Africanism Movement and Black Nationalism he promoted the unity of blacks from various nations.
“By 1919, Marcus Garvey and U.N.I.A. had launched the Black Star Line, a shipping company that would establish trade and commerce between Africans in America, the Caribbean, South and Central America, Canada and Africa. At the same time, Garvey started the Negros Factories Association, a series of companies that would manufacture marketable commodities in every big industrial center in the Western hemisphere and Africa.” (https://www.biography.com/activist/marcus-garvey)
Celia Cruz the Queen of Salsa!! Born Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso in Havana Cuba, Cruz an Afro-Cubano had three siblings and began singing at a young age. Her father wanted Celia to become a teacher, but she pursued her love of music instead and the rest is history.
“As the Cuban Revolution raged in 1960, Celia (touring in concert in Mexico at the time), made the decision not to return to the island. In 1961, she moved to the U.S., and married Pedro Knight, her longtime friend and trumpet player. Fidel Castro was so enraged by Cruz’s defection, he barred her from returning to Cuba. In fact, Celia never returned to her homeland.” “Celia was a true pioneer of AfroLatinidad, focusing on the African elements of her identity (music, lyrics and dress) at a time when it was not popular to do so. In 1974, Celia was one of a group of artists including B.B. King, James Brown, The Spinners, Bill Withers and Miriam Makeba that performed in Kinshasa, Zaire alongside top local groups. The concert was part of a three-day festival, “Zaire ’74,” the brainchild of South African trumpeter High Masekela. The performance was supposed to precede the famous boxing match “Rumble in the Jungle” between George Foreman and Muhammed Ali. Just before the concert was scheduled to begin, Foreman injured his eye. The bout was pushed back six weeks, but the Show went on – and was brilliantly documented in the powerful film, “Soul Power.”
https://celiacruz.com/biography/
Cruz’s accolades are tremendous, she has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and she was awarded the American National Medal of the Arts by President Bill Clinton just to name a couple.
Barack Obama born to a white mother and a Kenyan father is the first black president of the United States. This two-term president is a prime example the contributions that immigrant black and their descendants contribute to the United States.
John Carlos is an Afro Cuban sprinter who made headlines in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. In protest, Carlos, and fellow American Sprinter Tommie Smith gave the black power salute.
Kamala Harris is Vice President of the United States. Daughter of immigrants her mother is from India and her father is from Jamaica.
Over the years black immigrants never received the recognition and respect from the nation and from a portion of the African American community. Black immigrants did not just all conveniently arrive after the civil rights movement so they can reap the rewards of African Americans hard work and sacrifice. Black immigrants and their descendants have been fighting side by side with African Americans for equality long before the turbulent sixties.
