Just watched the first four minutes.
Was going to mention that her husband is Haitian, but she said it. Guessing their ages, and he would be old enough to remember the entire story and recount it to her.
Here is the complicated timeline
Late 70s to early 80s, there is an immigrant crisis of Haitians fleeing Baby Doc's brutal regime on boats/rafts and landing in Miami. Overwhelmed coast guard/border protection. The more that landed, the more who tried to come here. Unlike legal immigrants, who are vetted/screened and who follow the law, in hopes of being able to legally bring in relatives in the future, a segment of the refugees were lawless and brought their vagabon ways to this country. Crime,etc.
Politicians highlighted that segment, and used it as justification to vilify Haitians, and revise immigration policies. The term boat people and refugees became slurs synonymous with Haitians.
*The Fugees name comes from Clef co-opting the REFUGEES slur.*
Before this exodus, many Americans weren't aware of Haiti, or even where it was, but immigrant crisis brought it to their attention, and in a negative light.
Off the heels of that, early 80s...among the early cases of what came to be diagnosed as Aids were Haitians in South Florida. When they went back, the first cases of the disease was traced to a Black young man (non Haitian) in the midwest, deaths of white men in San Francisco, and a white male flight attendant in Canada. Scientists eventually determined that the people died from the same thing.
CDC initially said that four groups were especially at risk 4 Hs, Homo, Hemophiliacs, Haitians, and Heroin users (who shared needles). You can't tell who is gay, can't tell who is a heroin user, can't tell who has hemophilia, but Black ,French name, and sometimes heavy accent can reveal that a person is Haitian.
So, the "boat people bringing the disease to the country" is an easy story to sell, and for people to believe. The reception and discrimination was very bad.
Even after the CDC removed Haitians from the at risk group
HAITIANS REMOVED FROM AIDS RISK LIST (Published 1985)
Stigma continued.
Years later, FDA went further and said the Haitians couldn't give blood donations.
Our response.
Months later the FDA lifted the blood donation ban, because the data and research refuted whatever the initial ban was based on.
Stigma continued.
Man this is crazy, I had no idea.