The Ascent of Black People

My name is Stefan Cherenfant. A big and tall, good-looking young black man of Haitian origin living in the city of Brockton, Massachusetts. Friends call me K.B. for short. I don't mind. We all seem to acquire nicknames at some point in our lives. Not much we can do about it. Anyhow, I was home from school during Christmas Break. This is the tale of how I had myself some fun in the City of Champions from the last days of December 2008 to mid-January 2009. Let's just say that I explored the hedonist lifestyle.

There isn't much to do in Brockton. I ought to know, I grew up out here. I attended Brockton Community High School until June 2007, when I finally graduated. Afterwards, I attended Curry College, a small private school located in Milton. It's funny. Milton is only a few miles from Brockton but these two cities might as well exist on separate planets. The township of Milton is quiet, and wealthy. The city of Brockton is loud, dirty and poor. I wasn't exactly comfortable at Curry College. I worked my ass off in high school to win an academic scholarship to that school and the students there didn't exactly make this brother feel welcome.

Curry College only has six thousand students. Most of them are white. And most of them are the sons and daughters of rich people. That didn't bother me in the least. I'm Haitian. America isn't my country of origin. I've always felt like an odd duck there. I preferred Brazilian soccer to American football. I loved the summer and hated the winter. I followed Major League Soccer and couldn't care less about professional Baseball, Football or Basketball. Don't even get me started about professional Ice Hockey. Yeah, in the eyes of my American friends, I was weird.

My parents, Harold Cherenfant and Elsa Jeannot Cherenfant instilled in me a strong sense of pride in my origins. They're a hard-working Catholic couple from the region of Cap in northern Haiti. They've been in America since 1991. I was born in Haiti and was raised by my grandmother, Mercy Jeannot. When I came of age, my parents sent for me. I did my high school in America and pursued higher education there as well. Life in Haiti is tough. Americans have it easy compared to the men and women of my country. Yet they're always complaining. Especially African-Americans.

It might come as a secret to you but Haitians living in America aren't fond of African-Americans. The typical Haitian family is made up of a hard-working and God-fearing mother and father who want what's best for their sons and daughters. We Haitians aren't afraid of hard work. We're designed to endure a lot in the pursuit of better lives. Ask any employer in North America. He or she will tell you that their Haitian employees are the hardest working people they know. While African-Americans whine, Haitians work. That's our secret motto.

Haitian families pride themselves when their sons and daughters go to college and end up having better lives than their parents. African-Americans don't seem to want this for their offspring. In most African-American families, it's mother against father, parent against offspring, family versus family. They seem to be angry all the time and seem determined to tear each other to pieces. Not all of them. But a significant percentage which should not be ignored. Why is that? The African-American woman seems genetically designed to tear down the African-American man. And vice versa. Haitian men and Haitian women don't always get along but we unite for the sake of survival. We know that unity means strength. Our national motto is that unity creates strength. Together we are strong.

Sometimes, I wonder why Haitians are so different from African-Americans in mentality. We don't look that different from each other. In the eyes of the world, especially the Caucasian world, Haitian and African-American are indistinguishable. Yet no Haitian worth his salt will ever mistake an African-American for one of his fellow countrymen. It just doesn't happen. We know our own kind. I think the differences between us has to do with our history. Haiti is an independent nation of black men and black women living on a beautiful but rife-filled island in the Caribbean. The Republic of Haiti came into being in 1804, when black men and black women who had been living in servitude destroyed the colonial system and sent the French and the Spanish oppressors packing.

African-Americans were emancipated in the 1860s. They were granted their freedom by a seemingly benevolent white man named Abraham Lincoln. They were given their freedom. Haitians fought for theirs. I think that's the fundamental difference between our people. The Haitian fights for what's his. He demands justice. He demands respect. He works hard. He loves his God. He loves his family. He loves his country. He knows that he's a unique human being with great worth in the eyes of the Lord. He knows his father and mother are descended from black men and black women who stood up against the world's most powerful empires and said no to slavery. No to prejudice. No to discrimination. And they won!

The African-American struggles against hardship. And he battles racism. Unfortunately, he also rages against his fellow African-Americans because they don't want him to succeed. The African-American delights in the suffering of his brothers and sisters. And vice versa. It's inhumane, but true. Not all Haitians are God-fearing and hard-working men and women. Some of them are wicked and have no conscience whatsoever. They act like wolves toward their fellows. But these wicked men and wicked women are small in number among Haitians. Most of us are basically decent people.

I find it fascinating that many African-American women are mad about the fact that many African-American men are now dating women of other races. The African-American man claims that the African-American woman is the worst man-hater in history. Even though feminism was invented by middle-class white females in America, African-American seemed to have taken it to new extremes. They're tearing down their husbands, sons, brothers, nephews and grandsons in the name of Black Female Empowerment. The white women must be laughing at the African-American woman's dilemma. The white woman has wealth and power. As does the white man. They live together. They work together. That's how they consolidate power. While the African-American woman rages against the African-American man, and the frightened African-American man seeks happiness with women of other races, mainly white women, it's the white folks who win.

I don't blame the African-American man for seeking happiness wherever he might find it. He has many strikes against him. He grew up with a domineering mother in a fatherless home, listening to his mother's constant man-bashing and wondering if there was something innately wrong with him for being black and male. Because of his origins and living conditions, he has fewer opportunities and less chances in life. If his father were around, he might actually be better off. Fathers provide a stabilizing influence in the lives of their sons and daughters. They bring to the table something the mother simply cannot bring. Mothers cannot replace fathers. And fathers cannot replace mothers. They're not interchangeable parts. They're equally valuable in the life of their son or daughter. Tell that to the African-American woman! She rages against her son or daughter's father, collects money from him and won't let him see his offspring unless compelled to do so by the courts. And the courts help her because they want to break down the African-American family. They don't want young African-American men and women to become lawyers, doctors, politicians, police officers or artists. They want to keep them dumb. Down in the hole known as the Ghetto.

This saddens me. The black race has such potential. We were kings and queens in ancient Africa. We lived in civilized countries which rivaled the Roman Empire in size and accomplishment. We weren't roaming the jungles in dashikis chasing lions and leopards. Don't believe the stereotypes or the myths. We had intellectuals, craftsmen, engineers, travelers, philosophers and teachers. Men and women of great talent and renown. At the end of the day, black men and black women should be one. We should unite instead of tearing each other down. Stop the black male-bashing. Stop the black female-bashing. Stop the hate. Spread the love. Join forces.

Recently, America elected its first black man to become president of the United States. The son of an African father and a white mother. The son of two worlds. The son of dreams. One with infinite potential. I pray to God that he stays alive and well. I've never seen the likes of him. I've seen black male and black female presidents in the Republic of Haiti. However, I've never seen anything like the black gentleman from Hawaii who became our first African-American president of the United States of America. I love the man, and what he represents. Intelligence. Tolerance. Open-mindedness. Hope. A light in the darkness. I also love the fact that his wife is a beautiful black woman of great intellect and accomplishment who supports him and stands by his side through obstacles rather than tear him down like so many would. Why can't more black men and black women be like that?

I wish more black men and black women went to college. I wish more black men and black women stayed away from drugs, crime, and the forces of darkness. I wish more of us realized that we have infinite potential. Many people in this world hate us. Even though a black man is President of the United States, racism isn't gone. Prejudice is eternal. It lives in the hearts of every human being on the planet. Every black person who assumes white people are out to get him or her. Every white person who automatically assumes the black person near them is a criminal.

Every person who, regardless of race or gender, has a negative view of another simply based on their race, gender, sexual orientation, overall appearance, or religion. Every woman who assumes all men are liars and cheats. Every man who assumes all women are manipulators and betrayers. Every person with a sense of entitlement. Every Westerner who assumes folks from the Middle East are all religious zealots who wish them harm. Every human being who mistreats another simply because he or she is different from them. Every straight person who assumes the gay, lesbian, bisexual or transsexual person they run into is somehow less human than they are. Every gay or bisexual person who assumes all straight people are the enemy. Every tall person who thinks he or she is better than short people. Every short person who automatically assumes tall people are biased against him or her. Yeah, in the end, we're all prejudiced. But we can fight it.

I'm asking the human beings of this planet to unite. Male and female. Blacks. Whites. Asians. Latinos. Middle-easterners. Eurasians. Biracial people. Heterosexual. Bisexual. Homosexual. Lesbian. Transsexual. Transgender. Rich. Middle class. Poor. Tall. Short. Stocky. Thin. Muscular. Chubby. Dark. Light. And everything in between. From the super geniuses to those with average intellect and the mentally handicapped. The able-bodied and those with disabilities. The healthy, and the sick. It's all one world. Our planet is in dire peril. Terrorism is on the rise. Men and women are dying across the globe from famine, war, and plagues. All human beings regardless of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation or national origin are worthy of salvation. Let's protect the men as well as the women. For we can't have one without the other. The human race is an endangered species, folks. Our habitat is falling apart. If we don't band together to solve these problems, they will be the end of us. I know we can overcome them. Miracles do happen. You know why? This year, something came along which turned this cynical skeptic into a believer. Anything is possible!