Negotiating Space: Stigma and the Strategic Management of Ethnic Identity among Second-generation Haitians in The Bahamas

Abstract

This article explores the ways second-generation Haitians in The Bahamas strategically manage their Haitian identity. In The Bahamas, there is a stigma of being Haitian and anti-Haitian sentiment is heavily ingrained in Bahamian society. While there are individuals who hide their Haitian identity, there are others who actively engage in processes of choosing whether to conceal or disclose their Haitian ethnicity. Using coming out literature as a framework and interviews with second-generation Haitians, I argue that second-generation Haitians who do not readily reveal their Haitian identity may not necessarily be hiding their identity, but instead actively engaging in processes of negotiating and strategically managing their identity in the context of place by choosing whether to conceal or disclose their Haitian heritage. Living in a society that is hostile to people of Haitian descent, it can be important to negotiate the spaces wherein one discloses their heritage in order to protect one's spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical well-being. The objective is not to refute that there are individuals who deny they are Haitian but instead to explore the ways second-generation Haitians negotiate anti-Haitian spaces and strategically manage their identity as it relates to disclosing or concealing their Haitian heritage.