A Visit to the Embassy of Haiti

Story by Miracle Agbeko and Joel Slewion. Photos by Janiya Riveria.  

MARCH 10, 2017: On Thursday, March 2, 2017, the 4th grade classes took a long awaited trip to visit the Embassy of Haiti along with our IB Coordinator, Dr. Shipp. This trip was a part of an international perspectives and cross-cultural unit the 4th grade classes were covering. Speakers discussed the history, customs and rich culture.

At the embassy, we got a chance to meet a Haitian children’s author named Frantz Derenoncourt, Jr. He read from two of his books entitled Haiti: The First Black Republic and Macandal, The Black Messiah. The books were about how slave masters treated slaves and took them to France.

During our visit, one of the first thing we saw was the remarkable artwork that told the story of African American roots. Afterwards, a guest speaker from Haiti made a presentation on Haiti history, customs, and rich culture. He also discussed how an island called Saint Dominique became Haiti.The speaker talked about how all of the people stood up to defend themselves and their families during the island’s take over. Many of them were slaves too. Haiti is a very small island and was the first to get its independence from France in 1791.

Later on, we had a chance to enjoy lunch and check out a room that had what seemed like a million treasures inside. The pieces looked expensive and priceless. What was strange to all of us was how the treasures were just sitting on the floor, hanging on the walls, and tables unprotected.Visiting the embassy helped to expand our global awareness of life in another country.

Miracle Agbeko and Joel Slewion are 4th grade scholars and Janiya Riveria is a 5th grade scholar at Friendship Woodridge Academy.