In the Haitian community, a sense of empowerment
There was plenty of pride to go with the chicken and rice at the Bon Appétit Restaurant in Dorchester yesterday afternoon.
The news that state Representative Marie St. Fleur had been chosen by gubernatorial candidate Thomas F. Reilly as his running mate was just starting to reach the city's Haitian-American community. And at this popular Haitian restaurant on Blue Hill Avenue, diners were surprised and mightily pleased.
''I never thought it could happen," said Jennifer Magny, who sat at a table with three friends. ''It's a new movement, definitely. She sets an example for lots of young Haitians in the community, who would want to follow in her footsteps, not just in politics, but in other aspects as well."
Magny, a Dorchester resident, was born in the United States, and said she grew up in a family where politics and voting are important, so she is familiar with St. Fleur, the first Haitian-American state legislator in the country.
''She is a strong voice," Magny said of the woman who may be the state's next lieutenant governor.
St. Fleur, who left Haiti as a little girl, is well known in the Haitian community, and her ascent has coincided with growing clout in the area's Haitian community. Though Haitians have lived in Boston for several decades, their community, an estimated 35,000 members, has only recently become a political force.
Haitians are voting in greater numbers and volunteering in campaigns, as their focus shifts from their troubled Caribbean homeland to their Boston neighborhoods. And they are getting notice: In the last state election, Haitians helped send St. Fleur and Linda Dorcena Forry, another Haitian woman, to the legislature.
Even though St. Fleur must win the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor, the news that she was Reilly's first choice demonstrated that the community is coming into its own, Haitians said.
''She's going to be the second [highest] person in the state," said Roosevelt Jean, who was waiting for his order at the bar. ''I see the community growing up."
Jean, who has been part of the local Haitian community for 35 years, said St. Fleur can offset what he said were negative images of Haitians, as desperate boat people who arrive in the United States destitute.
''It's a big change for us," said Clarck Jacques, program and advertising director at radio station Radio Haïti Amérique Internationale. ''We've been working toward that. Haitian people should have got it a long time ago. She has been a plus for the community. If she gets even higher office, it will be even better, and we need that."
St. Fleur's success has already emboldened the community, some said. Her district stretches from Dorchester's Uphams Corner to the heart of Roxbury and includes some gentrifying areas around Ashmont.
''The Haitian community was very timid," said Rev. Pierre-Louis Zephir, pastor of the Haitian Church of the Nazarene in Dorchester. ''But what happened now is a wake-up. Marie St Fleur has a big voice in the Haitian community."
For Dr. Eno Mondésir chairman of Haitian Americans United Inc., that pride extends beyond St Fleur's accomplishments. An organizer of the annual Haitian Unity Day Parade, Mondésir said local Haitians have been taking more and more pride in their heritage. 