Haitian Appreciation Thread

[get these nets]

May 11, 2021
Forthcoming—Haiti Fights Back: The Life and Legacy of Charlemagne Péralte


Haiti Fights Back: The Life and Legacy of Charlemagne Péralte (Rutgers Univresity Press) by Yveline Alexis will be on the shelves next month.

Description: Haiti Fights Back: The Life and Legacy of Charlemagne Péralte is the first US scholarly examination of the politician and caco leader (guerrilla fighter) who fought against the US military occupation of Haiti. The occupation lasted close to two decades, from 1915-1934. Alexis argues for the importance of documenting resistance while exploring the occupation’s mechanics and its imperialism. She takes us to Haiti, exploring the sites of what she labels as resistance zones, including Péralte’s hometown of Hinche and the nation’s large port areas–Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haïtien. Alexis offers a new reading of US military archival sources that record Haitian protests as banditry.

Haiti Fights Back illuminates how Péralte launched a political movement, and meticulously captures how Haitian women and men resisted occupation through silence, military battles, and writings. She locates and assembles rare, multilingual primary sources from traditional repositories, living archives (oral stories), and artistic representations in Haiti and the United States. The interdisciplinary work draws on legislation, cacos’ letters, newspapers, and murals, offering a unique examination of Péralte’s life (1885-1919) and the significance of his legacy through the 21st century. Haiti Fights Back offers a new approach to the study of the US invasion of the Americas by chronicling how Caribbean people fought back

 

[get these nets]

AT&T CFO: 'My story is only possible in this country'

·
May 17, 2021
AT&T's (T) new CFO, Pascal Desroches, says his vision of success is leaving the telecommunications and media giant "in better stead than where we found it."

"Ultimately, we are stewards. We inherited a great company, and we need to leave a better company for the next generation," Desroches told Yahoo Finance in a wide-ranging conversation.

Desroches' vision of a great company is leaving AT&T the "best communication and entertainment company in the world" that is "known for innovation" as well as "ethical behavior" and is "operated with integrity."

"That's the goal, and we're committed to it," the CFO added.

Desroches, who officially took the top finance job on April 1, is one of Yahoo Finance's The Next: 21 to watch in 2021 series, 21 people we believe will leave an indelible mark this year.

As AT&T's finance chief, Desroches allocates capital across the business with a focus on 5G, fiber-optic broadband, the HBO Max streaming service, and, of course, sustaining the dividend.

"[Part] of my effort is to make sure we are generating sufficient cash to ensure that we're able to sustain our dividend, pay down debt and also operate our businesses in a very efficient way," Desroches said.

Desroches, 56, is also among a small number of high-ranking Black executives in corporate America, a statistic he hopes to change.

A Haitian-American, Desroches immigrated to the U.S. with his family at age five, an experience that remains a "foundational piece" of his story with his parents' sacrifices continuing to serve as a source of inspiration.

"When my parents immigrated here — they were in their late 30s, didn't know the language, had to learn the language, secure jobs, and they did it while educating four young children."

Image courtesy of Pascal Desroches
His mother would often work double shifts as a nurse, while his father often had more than one job to help supplement income, including to send their children to college. After graduating from public school in Queens, Desroches went on to earn his undergraduate degree from St. John's University debt-free and then received his MBA from Columbia University.

"[When] I look back at their experience, and what they've done, no matter what I achieved, it will pale in comparison to the courage and resolve they had in coming to this country at a time of great uncertainty for them, personally. They made the sacrifice in order to put us in a better position. So I often say, 'there's no such thing as a bad day,' whenever I think about that."

Desroches began his career at KPMG, rising the ranks to become a partner. He also did a stint with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as part of a fellowship program working with the agency's chief accountant. While with the SEC, he met the controller at Time Warner, who eventually hired him in 2001. Desroches has held various key roles, including global controller at Time Warner, CFO of Turner Broadcasting, and CFO of WarnerMedia. In November 2020, Desroches was selected to succeed John Stephens as CFO effective April 1, 2021.

Desroches pointed out that companies "are really good at executing on things that they prioritize" when it comes to increasing diversity.

"If you prioritize creating a more diverse workforce that is represented at all levels of the organization — it will take some time — but it will happen. You have to be deliberate. And it starts with the board of directors holding executive management accountable for improving diversity across the organization. Then it takes people at my level, making sure that our teams are prioritizing this," the finance executive added.

Part of that effort includes hiring diverse talent and providing candid feedback and development to strengthen the pipeline to fill opportunities as they open up. What's more, it's essential to measure progress quarterly, he noted.

"'What progress are we making? Where do we have gaps?' And really being intentional about measuring progress and holding people accountable for getting better. I think if prioritized and focused on over the long term, that's how you solve the problem. It's a hard one. It's a complicated one, but one that is immediately solvable, if there is a commitment to doing so, from the very top of the organization that pervades itself down to down the ranks," Desroches added.

 

[intruder]

That fat chick that’s a commentator on Island TV Haitian news in South Florida. Her kreyol is so horrible I don’t know how they keep her employed.

Spoiler

She’s must be one of them Haitian kids who grew up here and never spoke kreyol much growing up so as she speaks kreyol on TV you can tell she’s actively translating from English so she translates the words rather the actual expressions and the shyt is excruciating to listen to.
Homegirl was talking about “filing for tax forms” and she kept saying “plen tax ou” I wanted to throw a shoe at the TV the 10th time she said it.

 

[Mtt]

Recent party at Club Fubar in Haiti

 

[Mtt]

Brooklyn

 

[Mtt]

 

[Mega]

I really need to visit Jeremie

 

[get these nets]

 

[intruder]

but some of these questions are subjective. The carnival artist and song would differ based on what generation the person is from. My sister would probably answer DP express or Scorpio while i would answer Sweet Micky and Boukman.

 

[Mega]

@ "King Poze"

 

[intruder]

This Haitian breh on IG got fukkery on deck

thirstpro on Instagram: That would be dope #haitian #haitianflagday

 

[mson]

 

[get these nets]

This is a great look.

 

[havoc]

Its amazing that we are deep in this forum. Shoutout to my zoes in the Coli.

 

[intruder]

I need a vacation. Might hit cap-haïtien some time this summer. Any hotels y’all recommend? I grew up in port au prince and know it and most of southern Haiti well but I’ve never known the north. Anything north of Croix des Bouquets ans Saint Marc areas are foreign to me