FULL EPISODE: Haiti & The Dominican Republic: An Island Divided | Black in Latin America | PBS

For all of those who have been anticipating Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr’s documentary series on black identity in Latin America here is a link to the first episode. Reading Junot Diaz’ The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao provided me with a (very) brief insight into Dominican and Haitian race relations making it clear that Dominicans considered Haitians socially inferior mainly because of their typically darker skin tone. Oscar’s mother Belicia Cabral is a dark skinned Dominican and the narrator profusely expresses how beautiful she is, but her blackness is seen as a fuku (curse) by her community and she’s considered more Haitian looking by other Dominicans. Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr takes this social commentary further by delving deeper into socially constructed notions of race and African identity on the island of Hispaniola.