Haitian and Haitian American experiences of racism and socioethnic discrimination in Miami-Dade county: At-risk and court-involved youth

Authors

Michele Jean-Gilles, Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work, Department of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Florida International University
Toni Cela, Department of Anthropology, Global Health Studies Program, University of Miami; Laboratory on Health, Family and Migration, Interuniversity Institute for Research and Development (INURED)
Louis Herns Marcelin, Department of Anthropology, Global Health Studies Program, University of Miami; Laboratory on Health, Family and Migration, Interuniversity Institute for Research and Development (INURED); Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami
Rachel Waldman, Global Health Studies Program, University of Miami

Date of this Version

3-10-2022

Document Type

Article

Rights

default

Abstract

We examine how juvenile justice-involved youth of Haitian descent in Miami-Dade County cope with structural racism and its impact on their mental health. Drawing on longitudinal ethnography, psychosocial assessment data, and a family-based clinical intervention funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, this article explores youth narratives of discrimination prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. We use critical race theory and theory of practice to understand youths' perceptions as racialized bodies and stigmatized selves, highlighting the experiences and perspectives of a particular black immigrant group, ethnic beings caught up in the everyday practices of racialization, sociocultural marginalization, and racism. We frame these experiences as a variation of the complex continuum of structural racism and racial domination in the US. These experiences have caused anger, fear, anxiety, chronic anticipatory distress, and hopelessness among youth of Haitian descent. We conclude with some recommendations for therapeutic support that encourages youth to process their experiences, promotes their development of a positive self-concept, and provides them with mind-body techniques to attenuate the physical impacts of discriminatory events. The clinical trial registration number for this study intervention is NCT03876171.

Comments

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Recommended Citation

Jean-Gilles, Michele; Cela, Toni; Marcelin, Louis Herns; and Waldman, Rachel, "Haitian and Haitian American experiences of racism and socioethnic discrimination in Miami-Dade county: At-risk and court-involved youth" (2022). Coronavirus Research at FIU. 91.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/covid-19_research/91