The idea for In Cultured Company came from a trip I took with my Dominican ex. When we first visited his Dominican family in Santo Domingo, I was struck at how immediately familiar the Dominican Republic felt- if I covered my ears to the melodious Spanish spoken around me, I could easily mistake it for the hustle and bustle of Haiti.
We then traveled to Haiti by bus to visit my family. Despite the fact that violence against Dominicans in Haiti is almost unheard of, years of xenophobic socialization and education left him filled with trepidation. However, once we got to Cap-Haitien, he was right at home, seemingly forgetting that he was in an entirely different country altogether.
When we returned to his barrio in Santo Domingo, all his neighbors found pretenses to drop by the house to ask about Haiti. They wanted to see pictures, they inquired about the food and the places he saw, and they were enamored with the stories he shared about how welcomed he felt in the land across the river.
Within the past four years, In Cultured Company has recreated that same human connection for hundreds of Haitians and Dominican youth leaders both on and offline. We’ve built bridges where others built barriers through our signature workshop Decolonizing Hispaniola, Summer Schooled lecture series, and a social media presence that regularly reaches the lives of hundreds of thousands of people from Hispaniola to New York City to Spain.
We have re-shaped public discourse not only in the halls of academia where scholars of Haiti and the DR are now following our model and working together to understand the history and culture of the island but, more importantly, in the streets, media, and homes of average Dominicans and Haitians. They are now armed with the knowledge, vocabulary, and certainty to stand on the shoulders of giants and challenge the status quo.
It is no exaggeration to say that we have also changed lives.
Thus, this feels like the perfect time in the history of the island and of In Cultured Company for me to step down as the Founding Executive Director and hand the organization over to a new generation of leaders- led by the formidable Saudi Garcia- with the knowledge, training, and passion to guide our people through the challenges we now face.
What we do next- as an organization and as a people- will define us for generations to come. Despite everything, I have an unwavering faith in my fellow Haitians that we will live up to the promises of the Revolution and take our country back to rebuild an inclusive democracy.
I am encouraged by the Dominicans rooted in an intersectional, pan-Africanist ideology who have the fortitude to not cower in the face of violent extremism that they will take back their country to rebuild an inclusive democracy.
Most importantly, I know that with your support, In Cultured Company will be here to the very end to ensure that together we move from a divided past towards a shared future.
There is no other choice.
Marchons unis hasta la victoria siempre,
France François
Founder and Former Executive Director
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