For those who may not have caught wind to what may have happened. Two days ago(Friday December 17th) Hot 97 DJ Cipha Sounds made a very tasteless, and crass remark on the radio saying that "the reason [he is] HIV negative is because [he doesn't] mess with Haitian girls". A day later Haitians had gathered outside of the radio station to protest the DJ and request immediate disciplinary action. Cipha sounds had issued what in my opinion was a forced apology claiming that the joke was "a stupid, tasteless joke, that was "taken totally the wrong way".
Now for those of you who may not totally understand the magnitude of the situation, let me break it down to you. For starters the joke is completely distasteful because of the fact that the little island of Haiti is still trying to recover from the devastating earthquake that struck in January that killed hundreds of thousands of people and left hundreds of thousands more without a place to live. Secondly, not that the earthquake was bad enough, there is also the cholera outbreak that killed close to another three thousand more people.
Now as a first generation Haitian American living in the United States, I am well aware of the hardships my people and ancestors had to endure for survival in this country. Many migrating to this country not speaking the language and being unable to read or write their own native language but find a way to make a living for their families. I remember growing up in Brooklyn New York at a time where saying that you were Haitian could cause you physical harm. Young Haitians were getting jumped, beaten up and robbed on their way to and from school simply for being Haitian. It's also unfortunate that it took the unfortunate events that transpired in Haiti for the acknowledgment of Haitians and people of Haitian decent to be recognized in media (MTV VJ Quddus), art (Jean-Michel Basquiat, Philomé Obin), sports (Pierre Garçon, Jonathan Vilma, Samuel Dalembert, Jozy Altidore, Andre Berto, and the list goes on), music (Wyclef, DJ Whoo Kid, Maxwell, Pras, Tony Yayo, Pastor Troy, Dawn Richard of Diddy Dirty Money etc.) film/tv (Garcelle Beauvais, Jessica Lucas, Jimmy Jean-Louis, Jamie Hector, Trina McGee-Davis, Alex Désert etc.) The same way that many black Americans feel that even with the election of an African American president in Barack Obama, that the continued misconduct and outright foolishness that African Americans subject themselves to for the world to see sets African Americans back however much time they feel, the comments made by Cipha Sounds has set the Haitian people back 50 years in this country.
Also it goes far beyond the fact of an unfunny joke, I feel that deep down in his subconscious he really and genuinely feels that way. He truly felt that he isn't infected by such a devastating and debilitating virus is because he doesn't mess with Haitian women. Now I know that there are many people who also may feel the same way that Cipha Sounds felt but never voiced their opinions about it, but with such vile words uttered by him, they may now feel that it's ok to say these type of things openly because someone who is on a larger platform feels the same way. Which will only become the breeding ground for hate, and division.
Meanwhile another DJ "Charlamagne the God" went on the air and expressed his disgust for what was said and my sentiments match his 100%. Feel free to take a listen here. Also as far as the director Peter Rosenberg who made a cowardly comment about 2 hours after the protesters left via Twitter saying that "the bitchassness was at an all-time high at the radio station" he needs to be removed from his position because he's blatantly showing clear disregard for the magnitude of the situation and the people involved.
I just hope that with as much pride as my Haitian people harbor that we use it as motivation to help uplift our people and show the world the beauty of our culture. "L'Union Fait La Force"
Peace & Love
