New York: Major Protest Of Dominican Court’s Racist Citizenship Ruling Against Dominicans of Haitian Descent

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Photo: Centro Bonó

Join students, professors, and community people for an educational event and conversation addressing the recent ruling of the Dominican Constitutional Court to strip citizenship from Dominicans of Haitian descent.

In solidarity with other organizations and worldwide actions, participants will discuss the ruling and its effects. December 5th, 2013 from 6-9pm at the Center for the Humanities, 365 Fifth Avenue, NY, NY 10016.

Co-sponsored by We Are All Dominican (University Students throughout NYC), CUNY Graduate Center’s Dominican Studies Group, Caribbean Epistemologies Seminar, The Advanced research Collective at the Graduate Center (ARC) and The Center for the Humanities.

The recent ruling, TC/0168.13, by the Dominican Republic’s Constitutional Tribunal retroactively denies Dominican citizenship to an estimated 24,000 to 250,000 people born in the Dominican Republic to parents “in transit” since 1929. This bold effort to denationalize an entire ethnic group within the DR has mobilized Dominican and Haitian activists, educators, scholars, students and the general community, along with allies, to reject this decision, which many believe to be rooted in racism/xenophobia and a complete violation of various international human rights agreements.

Several forums, protests and street actions have been held in NYC and throughout the world since this decision was announced in late September 2013. We Are All Dominican organized a march on November 16th from 207th Street in Upper Manhattan along Broadway to 43rd Street in Times Square where the Consulate of the Dominican Republic in New York is located.

The mission was to be visibly in solidarity with Haitian-Dominicans and generate debate and conversation about this issue amongst Dominicans living in the United States and a wider audience. In response to his decision to march, Anthony Stevens-Acevedo, a member of We Are All Dominican said the following: “As foreign-born or foreign-raised Dominicans that have lived the immigrant life experience, in this case in the U.S., we share the same existential circumstances of Dominicans born to Haitian immigrant parents in the Dominican Republic, and I felt we needed to support their right to a Dominican nationality.”

Activist Rocío Silverio states “The Tribunal Court’s decision is targeting Haitian-Dominicans in an alarmingly brazen way that disregards the Dominican Republic’s own rule of law. Institutional racism and discrimination should not be tolerated in a nation that claims to exercise democratic values. These laws amount to nothing more than civil genocide.”

We Are All Dominican, along with the CUNY Graduate Center’s Dominican Studies Group, Caribbean Epistemologies Seminar, The Advanced research Collective at the Graduate Center (ARC) and The Center for the Humanities will continue this conversation on December 5th, 2013 from 6pm-9pm.

“We are bringing students and scholars together in the effort to dispel some of the media myths currently promoted by the Dominican government. Elected officials and Dominicans in New York City need to have all the facts about the way this decision is undergirded by racism and human rights violations. Students have a right to know the truth and these scholars and activists, who have spent decades denouncing racism and human rights violations, can teach about the lie at the heart of this decision,” said Ryan Hamilton, a student at the CUNY Graduate Center.

Speakers include: 

Rocio Silverio/Dominicanos por Derecho-NY; Dominicans By Right and We Are All Dominican Student Group in NYC.

Dr. Samuel Martinez/University of Connecticut.

Miriam Neptune/Haitian Women for Haitian Refugees.

Dahoud Andre/Lakou New York Radio Correspondent.

Altagracia Jean Joseph/Lakou Radio Correspondent and Haitian-Dominican Activist based in the Dominican Republic.

Angela Fernandez, Esq. and Director of Northern Manhattan Immigrant Rights Coalition.

Nassef Perdomo, Esq., constitutional lawyer and university professor in Dominican Republic.

The evening will also feature Kalunga Neg Mawon Haitian-Dominican Roots Music performance and an “Action Station” — where participants will be asked to take action by signing a petition, contacting the Dominican Consulate and their elected officials, or facilitating group discussions to raise awareness on these discriminatory policies in the Dominican Republic.

Please add your voice to this conversation by attending this event.

For more information visit: https://www.facebook.com/WeAreAllDominican.

If you are a high school, college or graduate student group and would like to reserve up to 10 seats for your school, please visit:  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1lOf5lMJ_Exr-PFge90SmcLK2Zb1Q0wLK9aGAN7b2p9U/viewform

 

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