VTMBH Article: Body
In Irvington, NJ, an estimated 20,000 of the 60,000 residents are Haitian or of Haitian descent. But the town, recently racked by allegations of municipal corruption, has no Haitian representatives on its City Council. As schools and other government infrastructures degenerate, the Haitian community is beginning to explore its political options.
Irvington, in northern New Jersey, was often a second step for many Haitians who had migrated to Newark. The lure of detached homes on tree-lined streets was attractive to many Haitians looking for a better life for themselves and their children.
Nowadays, however, Irvington is no longer the sanctuary that drew many Haitians to make it home to one of the largest concentrations of Haitians in New Jersey. At the same time, Irvington offers an opportunity for Haitians to engage in an experiment to revitalize a place that many left for dead.
The seminal question is how to go about it. First, Haitians have to look at Irvington as an investment and continue to buy homes and open businesses in the town. They must use their economic clout to convince elected officials to do their civic duties, like improving public safety and sanitation.
Haitians in Irvington must mobilize as a community by helping people to become citizens, registering residents to vote and going to the polls to vote.
Political power alone is useless; it must be coupled with economic might to be useful. Far too often lately, Haitian communities throughout the United States have been in a frenzy to attain political power in places where mainstream America has long abandoned and where political power means precious little.
In our haste to brag about what weve achieved, weve forgotten what tools we have at our disposal and how to use them.
Because of its proximity to New York City and town population of about 60,000, Irvington can be an experiment for Haitian advancement in the New York area which is different from our counterparts in South Florida. Lets hope that Haitian leaders in Irvington are up to that monumental task.
<i>The Haitian Times reaches the second generation of Haitian-Americans from Brooklyn. An IPA member publication.</i>
Irvington, in northern New Jersey, was often a second step for many Haitians who had migrated to Newark. The lure of detached homes on tree-lined streets was attractive to many Haitians looking for a better life for themselves and their children.
Nowadays, however, Irvington is no longer the sanctuary that drew many Haitians to make it home to one of the largest concentrations of Haitians in New Jersey. At the same time, Irvington offers an opportunity for Haitians to engage in an experiment to revitalize a place that many left for dead.
The seminal question is how to go about it. First, Haitians have to look at Irvington as an investment and continue to buy homes and open businesses in the town. They must use their economic clout to convince elected officials to do their civic duties, like improving public safety and sanitation.
Haitians in Irvington must mobilize as a community by helping people to become citizens, registering residents to vote and going to the polls to vote.
Political power alone is useless; it must be coupled with economic might to be useful. Far too often lately, Haitian communities throughout the United States have been in a frenzy to attain political power in places where mainstream America has long abandoned and where political power means precious little.
In our haste to brag about what weve achieved, weve forgotten what tools we have at our disposal and how to use them.
Because of its proximity to New York City and town population of about 60,000, Irvington can be an experiment for Haitian advancement in the New York area which is different from our counterparts in South Florida. Lets hope that Haitian leaders in Irvington are up to that monumental task.
<i>The Haitian Times reaches the second generation of Haitian-Americans from Brooklyn. An IPA member publication.</i>