Haiti Vs. Louisiana - The Battle Over Beyonce!

Remember the Youtube video I made about Beyonce speaking Haitian Creole? Guess what? I got an email from a "Louisiana Creole Man" who says: "We finally have someone [Beyonce] who has stepped forward and said that they are Creole and now the Haitian community is, in a sense, taking her away."


Beyonce Knowles

Watch the video here:
Beyonce Speaking Haitian Creole Sak Pase!

Here is the full email I received:
(I will not mention his Youtube username since he contacted me in private)

Hello, My name is Clifford...

I am a Louisiana Creole man and I just saw some of your posts about Beyoncé and her Créolité.

I've been hearing the rumors for a LONG time about Bee being a Haitian Creole and I'm really just curious to know where these rumors came from which is the reason for my writing you today.

Beyoncé IS indeed Creole, but she's a Louisiana Creole.

Our culture and history is totally separate from that of Haitian Culture.

Granted, after the Haitian Revolution, many did flee and came here to Louisiana but Louisiana Creole culture was already establish so there are many Louisiana Creole families who have Haitian Ancestry, but we still pride ourselves on our distinct culture and we aren't very widely acknowledged let alone even known about.

In fact, we're often called, "Les Gens Oublié".

We just want to be respected, acknowledged, and recognized as our own culture.

We already have to battle with people trying to label us as Cajuns and now we have to do the same with Haitians.

We love and respect very much you our Haitian cousins, but wherever we can make it known that we are Louisiana Creoles and we are here is an opportunity we must take.

We finally have someone who has stepped forward and said that they are Creole and now the Haitian community is, in a sense, taking her away.

We need our Creole role models to stand up as Creole culture in Louisiana is one that is rapidly disappearing, especially our language.

I pray that you haven't taken offense to anything I've said but as a Louisiana Creole, it's important for me to spread the word to other cultures especially to the people within them who seem to have a voice.

Beyoncé is of the Beyoncé', De Rouen, and the Broussard lines of New Iberia, Louisiana where she still has family to this day.

Please feel free to send me a message sometime! A bientôt

My Response

Hi Clifford, we are not trying to take Beyonce away from the Louisiana Creoles, we're just trying to establish a link that's all.

We are also staking a claim to CNN's Roland Martin as well... :)

Hope you don't mind!

I understand what you said about the Louisiana Creoles being called "Les Gens Oublié" and I did notice that the only time I heard Louisiana and Haiti mentioned in the same sentence in the American news media was when hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana.

No one seems to mind when Louisiana is being compared to Haiti when the subject poverty.

Surely they wont mind when we claim Beyoncé! :)

Like you, my Louisiana Creole friend, we're looking for role models too, and I am trying to link "SUCCESS" to "HAITI".

Hope you don't mind.

My name is Woodring Saint Preux and I said it (That's how I sign my articles :)

To our readers:

If you have any comments you wish to add, please post it below.

Write a comment  (41)

You might also like

Return to Articles List

All Comments (41)

Dimet says...

No, that is not how Louisiana Creole started.

It existed and was already well established, including our Creole language, before Haitians set foot in

Reply  ... More

Vintchy says...

who cares whether she's creole or not?

idgaf.

Why because she sold her blood to the devil to be famous now certainly ya want her to be haitian.

I'm Haitian and I really don't care if she is or not. i don't see nobody claim me as Haitian.

oh crap I'm not rich and famous.

Lol get

Reply  ... More

Phillip Manning says...

I didn't say anything to this picture, yet! nothing...

I don't know where Facebook got that from ..

must be from one of some other post I made...

Talk to 'em about it ...

they automatically put something or got the machine to run like that....

Reply  ... More

Black says...

Beyonce is African American.

A Louisiana creole ethnicity and its frustrating for the rest of the diaspora trying to unlink African Americans from "success" as you call

Reply  ... More

Bella says...

Beyonce was speaking Haitians creole in her vdo Blow isn't she. Louisiana people are Haitian from the revolution thing...u can denied u not Haitian but ur ancestries are

Reply  ... More

Proud To Be Haitian says...

@adiana ward, I agree with you. Beyoncé is not a good role model, also why on earth the Haitian want to claim B for?

Not all but some Haitian have that mentally claiming other countries' famous people but not appreciate the real famous Haitians.

So what if Beyoncé is creole?

Reply  ... More

Christina Louis says...

i DON't understand whenever haitians compare their culture to famous black person somebody always bring the haitians down like we aren't good like that to next to them

Reply  ... More

Apoca says...

Nope. France colonized Haiti(1659) and Luisiana(1682) BEFORE the revolution.

They brought slaves from the same region in Africa as well. These two colonies existed separately from each other for a long time, yeah some mingled but not a significant part of the population.

And it's "Heads held

Reply  ... More

Lesly Lamothe says...

We are not trying to claim Beyonce from being Louisiana creole.

When Haitians came here to fight for America, some decided to stay in Louisiana.

That is how Louisiana creole started.

In 1779, a lot of Haitians died for this country in case you didn't know about that. We are a role model for the black race. Not because we are poor, we keep our "heads hi".

Thank

Reply  ... More

Showing 1 - 10 of 41 comments | Read More Comments »

Leave a Reply

Name (required)

E-mail (required, will not be published)

Subject: Haiti Vs. Louisiana - The Battle Over Beyonce! edit

» »