Behind The Name

Little Haiti is a neighborhood in Miami, Florida, which has been the home to many Haitian immigrants over a few years now. This neighborhood, represents the Haitian exile and their diaspora, since every corner of Little Haiti is filled with so much of their culture, from the grocery stores, restaurants to its street art. On May 26th, 2016 commissioners voted unanimously to designate Little Haiti as an official city neighborhood of the Miami-Dade County. But what's behind a name? After talking to a few very influential people within the community, they all brought up a gentrification issue that was going on in the area, and expressed that the reason they have been fighting so strongly for the last 16 years for the name to be official was because Haitian families and business were being displaced, due to the undeniable commercial grow in Little Haiti. A lot of art galleries and stores are moving to this area because of its great location. This project focuses on showing how four Haitian-Americans, all born in Haiti and raised in the United States are dealing with this gentrification issue, and what should be done in order to maintain the identity of this Haitian corner in Miami.