ABSTRACT
A beat tapped with bare hands, a few dance steps, and the Haitian kid was rapping. His song, titled “Straight Out of Haiti,” was being performed at Edison High, a school that sits astride Little Haiti and Liberty City, the largest black area of Miami. The lyrics captured well the distinct outlook of his immigrant community. The panorama of Little Haiti contrasts sharply with the bleak inner city. In Miami's Little Haiti, the storefronts leap out at the passersby. Bright blues, reds, and oranges vibrate to Haitian merengue blaring from sidewalk speakers. 1 Yet, behind the gay Caribbean exteriors, a struggle goes on that will define the future of this community. As we will see later on, it involves the second generation (children like Herbie), which is subject to conflicting pressure from parents and peers and to pervasive outside discrimination.
