May is Haitian Heritage Month, who knew?
Thanks to Twitter you can learn plenty of new this. Yesterday as one of those days. I found out that May is Haitian Heritage Month. It was first celebrated in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1998. Now Haitian Heritage Month is a celebration in the United States of Haitian heritage and culture. Though I am well aware of the contributions of Haitians and Haitian Americans. Also familiar with the Haitian holidays. Haitian Heritage month is basically an expansion on Haitian Flag day. Haitian Flag Day is May 18th which celebrates the creation of the Haitian Flag.
My hometown of Irvington New Jersey is one of those places that has a large Haitian population and we do have our Haitian parade come May 18th. The streets are filled with a sea of blue and red. There are a lot of celebrations in the surrounding areas. Upon finding out that there is a Haitian Heritage month I think it should be publicized a bit more and be used as a teaching tool. I know many people are unfamiliar with Haiti and its people and most of their knowledge may come from what they have seen on TV. Also the earthquake in Haiti didn’t help. Haiti needs to be shown in a more positive light. There are good people and improvements happening not as fast as most would like but it is happening.
So for the month of May and beyond take the time to learn about Haiti and its people. Expand your knowledge of this Caribbean island. I have to think of a way to celebrate, maybe a Creole word of the day? I’ll figure it out.
To learn more about Haitian Heritage Month visit www.haitianheritagemonth.net or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haitian_Heritage_Month
Happy Flying,
~Solo Dove~
About the Author
Sandra Florent is the entertainment and non-profit publicist behind Solo Dove Public Relations. Based in New Jersey Solo Dove Public Relations provides personalized publicity, public relations, consulting, and event planning services to clients in their area of expertise.
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