A group of Florida lawmakers wants Congress to recognize May as a month to celebrate the culture and heritage of Haitians across America. But, while the House Memorial passed its first committee stop, it ran into some trouble.
Rep. Barbara Watson (D-Miami Gardens) is the sponsor of the Memorial, urging Congress to recognize May as “Haitian Heritage Month.”
“And, we are asking our Congress to recognize this is a month in which the Haitian and Haitian Americans can be in a mode to celebrate,” said Watson. “So, I think we are making this a national event, instead of having Boston doing something different from what New York is doing, and Miami is doing a little bit different from Orange County. We’re trying to unify these efforts and make it one particular month.”
But, the name of the month ran into some bipartisan opposition. Rep. Jimmie Smith (R-Inverness) raised concerns.
“The way it’s titled as ‘Haitian Heritage Month’ is defining Haiti and the Haitian people in Haiti, not correlating into the American Haitian community,” he said. “Would you be amenable to language in an amendment that would say, ‘Haitian American [Heritage Month]?’”
Rep. Sharon Pritchett (D-Miami Gardens) had similar concerns. She says the name didn’t follow suit with the naming of other nationally recognized months.
“And, you so eloquently provided it here: National African American Heritage Month, Jewish American History Month, American Indian Heritage Month…please consider an amendment for the sake of uniformity, if no other reasoning, to include Haitian American Heritage Month,” Pritchett stated.
While Watson agreed to change the name to “Haitian American Heritage Month,” Rep. Mike Hill (R-Pensacola Beach)—Florida’s only black Republican lawmaker—still voted against it.
“...simply because I believe when people come to this great country, come to America, it is to become an American,” said Hill. “Myself, I do not consider myself an African American. I’m an American. This is my country, and I think when we use these hyphenated names or we use these double names, it does not unite us as a country and I see it as divisive. We are one nation under God, even though I appreciate the attempt you’re re trying to make.”
After passing the House Local and Federal Affairs Committee Wednesday, the House Memorial now has one more stop to go before heading to the floor.
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