1 00:00:08,141 --> 00:00:11,077 KAREN: So what does it mean to be truly authentic, 2 00:00:11,077 --> 00:00:14,481 and how does this idea of authenticity impact 3 00:00:14,481 --> 00:00:17,984 what it means to be whole or personhood? 4 00:00:17,984 --> 00:00:20,653 And so, like, looking at yourself, how do you identify, 5 00:00:20,653 --> 00:00:23,590 and how is your identity your chosen identity 6 00:00:23,590 --> 00:00:28,328 based on your conceptualization of what it means 7 00:00:28,328 --> 00:00:30,430 to be authentically something? 8 00:00:30,430 --> 00:00:33,466 Does, like, how you define authenticity 9 00:00:33,466 --> 00:00:36,870 and your relationship to authenticity impact how 10 00:00:36,870 --> 00:00:38,872 you choose to identify? 11 00:00:38,872 --> 00:00:41,341 RACHEL: And sort of as an extension of this-- and these kind of 12 00:00:41,341 --> 00:00:41,841 go together. 13 00:00:41,841 --> 00:00:44,310 That's why we're saying them together. 14 00:00:44,310 --> 00:00:46,980 Do the languages, or does the language that you speak, 15 00:00:46,980 --> 00:00:49,649 or that your ancestors spoke affect 16 00:00:49,649 --> 00:00:52,152 this concept of authenticity? 17 00:00:52,152 --> 00:00:56,156 So if you're the son of someone whose parents spoke a language, 18 00:00:56,156 --> 00:00:58,291 but you don't speak it, do you feel less authentic, 19 00:00:58,291 --> 00:01:01,728 or does it make you feel more authentic in some manner? 20 00:01:01,728 --> 00:01:03,930 Or are there linguistic discourses of power 21 00:01:03,930 --> 00:01:05,999 that affect how you perceive the roles 22 00:01:05,999 --> 00:01:08,435 that the languages that you speak or that of your ancestors 23 00:01:08,435 --> 00:01:12,872 spoke affect your choice of identity-- 24 00:01:12,872 --> 00:01:18,078 and how authenticity of my language plays a role in it? 25 00:01:18,078 --> 00:01:20,080 KAREN: Should we present the second question? 26 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:22,115 MICHEL DEGRAFF: I think we should start answering, right? 27 00:01:22,115 --> 00:01:23,015 So thank you so much. 28 00:01:35,660 --> 00:01:37,759 AUDIENCE: I guess I don't mind answering first. 29 00:01:37,764 --> 00:01:39,399 So I guess the first thing-- 30 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:49,440 so I'll answer one and two, but I'll start with two, 31 00:01:49,442 --> 00:01:51,644 because this is something that I always think about-- 32 00:01:51,644 --> 00:01:56,583 is the fact that I don't speak Spanish makes me less authentic 33 00:01:56,583 --> 00:01:59,419 in whatever Hispanic or Mexican identity I have, 34 00:01:59,419 --> 00:02:01,788 because I'm not able-- 35 00:02:01,788 --> 00:02:03,823 I feel like I wasn't allowed to identify 36 00:02:03,823 --> 00:02:05,792 with the Hispanic or Mexican community, 37 00:02:05,792 --> 00:02:07,127 because I didn't speak Spanish. 38 00:02:07,127 --> 00:02:09,062 And like, you know, growing up, I 39 00:02:09,062 --> 00:02:10,597 guess it was different for my mother. 40 00:02:10,597 --> 00:02:14,267 It didn't matter to her, and I guess at that timeframe, 41 00:02:14,267 --> 00:02:17,904 you know, whatever the population-- like, 42 00:02:17,904 --> 00:02:21,941 Spanish is becoming a very profound language in the US, 43 00:02:21,941 --> 00:02:25,578 and so, like, maybe during my mother's time 44 00:02:25,578 --> 00:02:27,680 there weren't a whole lot of Spanish speakers, so, 45 00:02:27,680 --> 00:02:29,082 like, for her, it didn't matter. 46 00:02:29,082 --> 00:02:30,583 And like, my grandmother growing up, 47 00:02:30,583 --> 00:02:32,252 it was, like, not OK for her to speak, 48 00:02:32,252 --> 00:02:35,321 and so I feel like it's different for my mother 49 00:02:35,321 --> 00:02:37,724 because she doesn't care. 50 00:02:37,724 --> 00:02:39,792 Honestly, I don't know how I should ask my mom how 51 00:02:39,792 --> 00:02:42,629 she identifies with herself, but it's very different 52 00:02:42,629 --> 00:02:45,265 because, for me, I do feel like that was important whereas it 53 00:02:45,265 --> 00:02:46,399 wasn't important for her. 54 00:02:46,399 --> 00:02:49,769 And I still don't feel authentic in my Hispanic or Mexican 55 00:02:49,769 --> 00:02:52,505 identity, because I don't speak the language-- 56 00:02:52,505 --> 00:02:55,742 and that maybe, in some ways, speaking the language 57 00:02:55,742 --> 00:02:57,510 would allow me to identify more with, 58 00:02:57,510 --> 00:03:02,649 like, the culture, because I feel like it's important. 59 00:03:02,649 --> 00:03:06,186 And then I guess, overall, authentic, 60 00:03:06,186 --> 00:03:08,888 I honestly hate thinking of it like that, 61 00:03:08,888 --> 00:03:11,791 because I am so un-authentic then, 62 00:03:11,791 --> 00:03:15,562 because I'm African-American, I'm white, and I'm Hispanic, 63 00:03:15,562 --> 00:03:20,433 and nobody considers me authentic because it's like, 64 00:03:20,433 --> 00:03:23,369 how can you be authentic if being-- 65 00:03:23,369 --> 00:03:25,171 I feel like being authentic, in this way, 66 00:03:25,171 --> 00:03:27,040 means, like, having to identify specifically 67 00:03:27,040 --> 00:03:31,010 with one or another, and you can't authentically be all-- 68 00:03:31,010 --> 00:03:32,312 you can't be more than one. 69 00:03:32,312 --> 00:03:35,081 I don't know if that makes sense. 70 00:03:35,081 --> 00:03:37,183 And I guess for me, it's just like my identity, 71 00:03:37,183 --> 00:03:41,921 I just have to pick and choose what I liked, what was OK, 72 00:03:41,921 --> 00:03:43,555 and some of it has been imposed on me. 73 00:03:43,555 --> 00:03:47,327 There are aspects of my identity that I didn't get to choose 74 00:03:47,327 --> 00:03:50,763 and that I'm trying to change, because like now feeling woke, 75 00:03:50,763 --> 00:03:54,033 I guess, and learning about different aspects of my culture 76 00:03:54,033 --> 00:03:58,805 and history regarding whatever it may be, 77 00:03:58,805 --> 00:04:01,941 I feel like I'm trying to change aspects of my identity 78 00:04:01,941 --> 00:04:04,477 that were not-- 79 00:04:04,477 --> 00:04:06,980 yeah, I hope those answered your questions. 80 00:04:06,980 --> 00:04:10,016 I got really flustered, because there's this camera over here. 81 00:04:10,016 --> 00:04:13,052 Normally, it wouldn't matter, but yeah-- 82 00:04:13,052 --> 00:04:14,587 so I hope that answers your question. 83 00:04:17,519 --> 00:04:20,190 MICHEL DEGRAFF: So let me make a note-- let me make a note here, 84 00:04:20,192 --> 00:04:22,060 because I think you've mentioned the camera. 85 00:04:22,060 --> 00:04:23,930 But this is not live, which means that-- 86 00:04:23,930 --> 00:04:25,098 AUDIENCE: It doesn't matter. 87 00:04:25,098 --> 00:04:26,466 MICHEL DEGRAFF: No, with whatever 88 00:04:26,466 --> 00:04:29,636 you decide that you don't want to be going to the billions 89 00:04:29,636 --> 00:04:31,070 will be moved, OK? 90 00:04:31,070 --> 00:04:32,438 AUDIENCE: No, I wouldn't do that. 91 00:04:32,438 --> 00:04:34,240 MICHEL DEGRAFF: OK, so I want you to feel totally comfortable 92 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:36,442 that if you say anything that you feel 93 00:04:36,442 --> 00:04:38,378 should stay in the class here-- 94 00:04:38,378 --> 00:04:39,979 I think it's OK. 95 00:04:39,979 --> 00:04:42,248 We'll just-- we'll just edit it and make sure that-- 96 00:04:42,248 --> 00:04:43,516 AUDIENCE: No, it's not that about. 97 00:04:43,516 --> 00:04:44,017 It's just-- 98 00:04:44,017 --> 00:04:45,351 AUDIENCE: Beyond having it, OK. 99 00:04:45,351 --> 00:04:46,853 AUDIENCE: It's the idea somebody out 100 00:04:46,853 --> 00:04:49,489 there would end up watching and listening to what I say. 101 00:04:49,489 --> 00:04:50,156 MICHEL DEGRAFF: But one thing that you 102 00:04:50,156 --> 00:04:51,057 have to think about, too-- 103 00:04:51,057 --> 00:04:52,859 I mean, which is actually key, so there 104 00:04:52,859 --> 00:04:56,996 are lots of other folks, you know, even younger than you. 105 00:04:56,996 --> 00:04:59,699 At least, you can step back, and as you've just 106 00:04:59,699 --> 00:05:02,302 said-- you said, OK, now I need to remove that 107 00:05:02,302 --> 00:05:03,036 from my identity. 108 00:05:03,036 --> 00:05:04,170 I need to make this choice. 109 00:05:04,170 --> 00:05:07,440 I need to think about what was imposed to myself. 110 00:05:07,440 --> 00:05:10,977 We see that-- how many people don't have this capacity 111 00:05:10,977 --> 00:05:14,247 to actually step back and self analyze the way you just did, 112 00:05:14,247 --> 00:05:15,048 you see? 113 00:05:15,048 --> 00:05:17,082 AUDIENCE: I like to analyze myself. 114 00:05:17,082 --> 00:05:19,419 MICHEL DEGRAFF: Yeah, but that's something 115 00:05:19,419 --> 00:05:21,154 that you're sharing with other people that 116 00:05:21,154 --> 00:05:25,158 might help them a lot, you know, because it frees you 117 00:05:25,158 --> 00:05:27,226 to be able to do that, right? 118 00:05:27,226 --> 00:05:28,261 AUDIENCE: Sometimes. 119 00:05:28,261 --> 00:05:29,829 MICHEL DEGRAFF: It's a path to freedom in a way-- 120 00:05:29,829 --> 00:05:30,797 self-liberation, yeah. 121 00:05:30,797 --> 00:05:35,468 AUDIENCE: I think I also feel constraining at the same time, 122 00:05:35,468 --> 00:05:38,805 because it's so hard to-- 123 00:05:38,805 --> 00:05:40,773 because I think like some of the things-- like, 124 00:05:40,773 --> 00:05:44,711 some of these things are so ingrained into society 125 00:05:44,711 --> 00:05:46,646 and for different people-- 126 00:05:46,646 --> 00:05:48,481 like, how you see yourself in the world. 127 00:05:48,481 --> 00:05:52,485 And it's really hard to change perception. 128 00:05:52,485 --> 00:05:55,221 For instance, I have talked about this, but like, 129 00:05:55,221 --> 00:05:56,956 hair, African-American hair, and trying 130 00:05:56,956 --> 00:05:59,859 to change my perception of African-American hair 131 00:05:59,859 --> 00:06:03,496 relates in some ways to changing perceptions of my own identity 132 00:06:03,496 --> 00:06:08,000 because they're related, if that makes sense? 133 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:09,569 Yeah, other people can-- 134 00:06:12,870 --> 00:06:15,840 AUDIENCE: I guess I don't know. 135 00:06:15,842 --> 00:06:19,912 I think it's, like, kind of unfair not for you guys 136 00:06:19,912 --> 00:06:23,916 because we all do it, but it's unfair to to use the word 137 00:06:23,916 --> 00:06:27,787 authentic when referring to something like identity, 138 00:06:27,787 --> 00:06:31,758 or culture, or a group of people, because it's like-- 139 00:06:31,758 --> 00:06:33,426 I mean, I don't think it was a word that 140 00:06:33,426 --> 00:06:37,029 was intended for a person. 141 00:06:37,029 --> 00:06:40,533 It's very much like one of those adjectives that's 142 00:06:40,533 --> 00:06:42,969 for inanimate objects, you know? 143 00:06:42,969 --> 00:06:45,138 It's like for things that don't have-- 144 00:06:45,138 --> 00:06:45,772 AUDIENCE: Gold. 145 00:06:45,772 --> 00:06:48,107 AUDIENCE: Yeah like gold, like authentic, like something 146 00:06:48,107 --> 00:06:49,542 that you can define. 147 00:06:49,542 --> 00:06:51,544 Like, OK, if something's authentically gold, 148 00:06:51,544 --> 00:06:53,579 that means it's 100% gold. 149 00:06:53,579 --> 00:06:57,016 But you can't put bounds on things 150 00:06:57,016 --> 00:07:01,120 like people, and cultures, and identities to the point 151 00:07:01,120 --> 00:07:03,122 where you have a concrete definition, 152 00:07:03,122 --> 00:07:07,693 because no person's ever going to get that perfect definition. 153 00:07:07,693 --> 00:07:10,029 MICHEL DEGRAFF: But it has always been the tendency 154 00:07:10,029 --> 00:07:14,500 to try to quantize these-- 155 00:07:14,500 --> 00:07:16,269 so you mentioned gold, right. 156 00:07:16,269 --> 00:07:20,273 So in the history of Haiti, there was this famous French-- 157 00:07:20,273 --> 00:07:21,874 she was Creole French, meaning that she 158 00:07:21,874 --> 00:07:24,277 was of French ancestry, but he was born in the Caribbean. 159 00:07:24,277 --> 00:07:28,881 His name was [INAUDIBLE],, and he added one chapter where he 160 00:07:28,881 --> 00:07:30,950 created this calculus of-- 161 00:07:30,950 --> 00:07:36,422 he could compute 128 parts of black versus white. 162 00:07:36,422 --> 00:07:40,092 So he had this calculus of if you half black, half white, 163 00:07:40,092 --> 00:07:41,194 then you're mulatto. 164 00:07:41,194 --> 00:07:45,231 If you're quarter black with three quarters white, 165 00:07:45,231 --> 00:07:46,599 then you're Quadroon. 166 00:07:46,599 --> 00:07:47,800 And he had terms. 167 00:07:47,800 --> 00:07:50,603 He had adjectives-- talking about adjectives-- 168 00:07:50,603 --> 00:07:53,139 he had adjectivves for each of these categories, 169 00:07:53,139 --> 00:07:55,241 but how do you compute that? 170 00:07:55,241 --> 00:08:01,547 How can you look at someone and decide that they are 128 black 171 00:08:01,547 --> 00:08:03,449 versus the rest, white? 172 00:08:03,449 --> 00:08:05,952 But there was this strong belief somebody 173 00:08:05,952 --> 00:08:07,887 that you could do that, and that actually 174 00:08:07,887 --> 00:08:10,990 each of these partitions would define 175 00:08:10,990 --> 00:08:13,392 [INAUDIBLE] biological reasons. 176 00:08:13,392 --> 00:08:15,161 But if you were half black, half white, 177 00:08:15,161 --> 00:08:16,229 you would behave like this, or you 178 00:08:16,229 --> 00:08:18,197 would have physical properties from these lines. 179 00:08:18,197 --> 00:08:20,366 But if you were one quarter white and three quarters black, 180 00:08:20,366 --> 00:08:22,835 then you could predict what your behavior and your physique 181 00:08:22,835 --> 00:08:24,303 would actually look like. 182 00:08:24,303 --> 00:08:31,043 Think of Jim Crow in the US, so one drop of black blood-- 183 00:08:31,043 --> 00:08:37,850 one drop of black blood would make you non-white, right? 184 00:08:37,850 --> 00:08:40,820 But it's good to have people to think of it in these terms 185 00:08:40,820 --> 00:08:44,423 and try to remove ourself from this cognition. 186 00:08:47,120 --> 00:08:49,160 AUDIENCE: So I guess what I'm thinking about is-- 187 00:08:49,161 --> 00:08:51,797 I remember you told this story early in the semester about 188 00:08:51,797 --> 00:08:54,200 how there are these documentarians from New 189 00:08:54,200 --> 00:08:55,968 York who came to do interviews with you-- 190 00:08:55,968 --> 00:08:56,502 MICHEL DEGRAFF: That's right. 191 00:08:56,502 --> 00:08:57,703 I was thinking of that, yeah. 192 00:08:57,703 --> 00:09:00,273 AUDIENCE: --and they felt bad because the idea 193 00:09:00,273 --> 00:09:03,209 that, like, they were less Haitian for not 194 00:09:03,209 --> 00:09:04,210 speaking Haitian creole. 195 00:09:04,210 --> 00:09:07,980 So I agree that the idea of authenticity 196 00:09:07,980 --> 00:09:10,049 implies that there is this paradigm-like way 197 00:09:10,049 --> 00:09:12,652 to be an identity, but so I don't know. 198 00:09:12,652 --> 00:09:15,221 Like, it's not clear to me-- 199 00:09:15,221 --> 00:09:18,858 it seems possible that, like, the paradigm Haitian does speak 200 00:09:18,858 --> 00:09:21,027 Creole, though I don't know. 201 00:09:21,027 --> 00:09:22,862 I wonder about that. 202 00:09:22,862 --> 00:09:26,832 AUDIENCE: I also feel like that I agree with that statement. 203 00:09:26,832 --> 00:09:29,302 However I feel that maybe in the future 204 00:09:29,302 --> 00:09:35,007 it won't be a possible paradigm just because of migration 205 00:09:35,007 --> 00:09:40,680 and the fact that there can be a Haitian who is, like, 206 00:09:40,680 --> 00:09:43,683 three generations away from that parent that was Haitian, 207 00:09:43,683 --> 00:09:46,485 and they're still allowed to say that they're Haitian. 208 00:09:46,485 --> 00:09:47,553 They don't speak Creole. 209 00:09:47,553 --> 00:09:52,258 They may be, I don't know, have whatever you can 210 00:09:52,258 --> 00:09:54,360 define as the paradigm Haitian. 211 00:09:54,360 --> 00:09:57,396 So I guess for now that might be a true statement 212 00:09:57,396 --> 00:09:59,932 to a certain extent, but I don't think that-- 213 00:09:59,932 --> 00:10:02,268 but I think that that was the point of the concept of us 214 00:10:02,268 --> 00:10:05,471 and authenticity. 215 00:10:05,471 --> 00:10:11,978 MICHEL DEGRAFF: And we still got to mention Achebe and Wachongo, 216 00:10:11,978 --> 00:10:15,181 right, because they had the whole debate about what's 217 00:10:15,181 --> 00:10:18,017 authentic African rights, right? 218 00:10:18,017 --> 00:10:20,019 And that was actually part of bigger constraints 219 00:10:20,019 --> 00:10:23,589 where they were debating what makes them authentic. 220 00:10:23,589 --> 00:10:26,192 AUDIENCE: Yeah. but the problem is like the line drawing. 221 00:10:26,192 --> 00:10:29,595 Like, oh, you're not a real Haitian. 222 00:10:29,595 --> 00:10:32,431 MICHEL DEGRAFF: Yeah, yeah. 223 00:10:32,431 --> 00:10:35,301 AUDIENCE: I guess one thing I could add here 224 00:10:35,301 --> 00:10:40,239 is like, a lot of your examples were, like, mixing authenticity 225 00:10:40,239 --> 00:10:42,742 for, like, different cultures and that 226 00:10:42,742 --> 00:10:43,976 not being authentic any more. 227 00:10:43,976 --> 00:10:46,178 But one thing I really liked that you guys brought up 228 00:10:46,178 --> 00:10:48,347 was the idea of, like, tracks-- 229 00:10:48,347 --> 00:10:50,616 and especially what he said about India, 230 00:10:50,616 --> 00:10:52,785 where when you think of India, there's 231 00:10:52,785 --> 00:10:55,254 this one thing you can think of, whether it's like the food 232 00:10:55,254 --> 00:10:56,088 or like the culture. 233 00:10:56,088 --> 00:10:58,724 And that's like very north Indian. 234 00:10:58,724 --> 00:11:03,396 Like, I come from south India, and if I like-- as I came here, 235 00:11:03,396 --> 00:11:05,431 I chose to be more Indian. 236 00:11:05,431 --> 00:11:07,867 Like, I got more involved on clubs on campus and stuff 237 00:11:07,867 --> 00:11:09,802 like that, but like-- 238 00:11:09,802 --> 00:11:11,871 and the Indian I'm becoming is very 239 00:11:11,871 --> 00:11:14,240 different than my actual heritage. 240 00:11:14,240 --> 00:11:15,708 MICHEL DEGRAFF: Yeah-- 241 00:11:15,708 --> 00:11:16,575 AUDIENCE: Yeah. 242 00:11:16,575 --> 00:11:19,345 So I have all these connections on like cultures 243 00:11:19,345 --> 00:11:22,782 that I think I'm getting, but it's actually not 244 00:11:22,782 --> 00:11:24,984 really connected to my family at all. 245 00:11:24,984 --> 00:11:27,653 And I guess that's partially because I don't speak 246 00:11:27,653 --> 00:11:30,890 the language that they have, so none of my culture 247 00:11:30,890 --> 00:11:34,326 came from, like, my family really. 248 00:11:34,326 --> 00:11:39,198 But also by not speaking that language, like, everything 249 00:11:39,198 --> 00:11:41,233 about my culture from home whether it's 250 00:11:41,233 --> 00:11:43,636 religion or anything like that, it's 251 00:11:43,636 --> 00:11:44,904 kind of very separated from me. 252 00:11:44,904 --> 00:11:47,173 So I guess I kind of understand it, 253 00:11:47,173 --> 00:11:49,442 but I don't really understand the roots of most of it. 254 00:11:49,442 --> 00:11:52,111 Whereas everything here that I'm leaning, I'm like, oh, OK. 255 00:11:52,111 --> 00:11:54,480 Like, this makes sense, and this is what everyone does. 256 00:11:54,480 --> 00:11:57,283 I mean, to be like an Indian in America. 257 00:11:57,283 --> 00:11:58,350 MICHEL DEGRAFF: OK. 258 00:11:58,350 --> 00:12:00,319 So I think that that goes back to your question, 259 00:12:00,319 --> 00:12:02,722 because if you think of who is now 260 00:12:02,722 --> 00:12:07,827 one of the best known Haitian writers, Edwidge Danticat, 261 00:12:07,827 --> 00:12:10,262 that we've read in this class, and in which-- 262 00:12:10,262 --> 00:12:13,199 OK, she was in Haiti until age 12, and then at age 12, 263 00:12:13,199 --> 00:12:16,402 she came to Brooklyn, New York, and now she's 264 00:12:16,402 --> 00:12:17,803 one of the best Haitian writers. 265 00:12:17,803 --> 00:12:20,806 And she sees herself as Haitian, you see? 266 00:12:20,806 --> 00:12:23,943 And she speaks Creole, but she doesn't write in Creole. 267 00:12:23,943 --> 00:12:26,645 All of the text that she has become famous for, 268 00:12:26,645 --> 00:12:28,514 they are English texts. 269 00:12:28,514 --> 00:12:30,216 But for me, when I read Edwidge Danticat, 270 00:12:30,216 --> 00:12:33,319 as we did here in the class, I hear Haiti, 271 00:12:33,319 --> 00:12:35,521 I see Haiti, I feel Haiti, because she's 272 00:12:35,521 --> 00:12:38,924 managed to write as a Haitian although she 273 00:12:38,924 --> 00:12:40,793 didn't speak Creole. 274 00:12:40,793 --> 00:12:46,365 And as she does, she's also become a very powerful woman. 275 00:12:46,365 --> 00:12:49,535 Another case is Wyclef Jean, right? 276 00:12:49,535 --> 00:12:52,505 You guys know this hip hop artist, Wyclef? 277 00:12:52,505 --> 00:12:54,907 So Wyclef has done so much for Haiti. 278 00:12:54,907 --> 00:13:00,946 In fact, at some point, even was to be Haitian president, 279 00:13:00,946 --> 00:13:01,981 and he was-- 280 00:13:01,981 --> 00:13:03,682 actually, that's a good story, because he 281 00:13:03,682 --> 00:13:06,252 was excluded from running because he was not 282 00:13:06,252 --> 00:13:07,386 Haitian enough legally. 283 00:13:07,386 --> 00:13:09,121 He had spent too much time out of Haiti. 284 00:13:09,121 --> 00:13:13,793 But yet, he's one of the best known Haitians in the world 285 00:13:13,793 --> 00:13:17,429 today, Wyclef Jean, because a major hip hop artist, 286 00:13:17,429 --> 00:13:19,932 and he sings mostly in English, but he also 287 00:13:19,932 --> 00:13:22,434 has some songs in Creole actually to remind people 288 00:13:22,434 --> 00:13:23,569 that he is Haitian. 289 00:13:23,569 --> 00:13:25,805 And always, when he sings-- when he goes to a concert, 290 00:13:25,805 --> 00:13:28,674 he wrap himself up with the Haitian flag, 291 00:13:28,674 --> 00:13:34,013 so he's very pro-Haitian without having the full inventory 292 00:13:34,013 --> 00:13:36,248 of what defines Haitianes 293 00:13:36,248 --> 00:13:38,784 So I think I like watching this person show's-- the idea that 294 00:13:38,784 --> 00:13:42,254 you can create your own identity even in America, 295 00:13:42,254 --> 00:13:44,123 and that's what an identity should do for it. 296 00:13:44,123 --> 00:13:45,324 It should be an asset. 297 00:13:45,324 --> 00:13:48,360 It should be a tool for us [INAUDIBLE] the world, not 298 00:13:48,360 --> 00:13:49,962 something that we need to hold as fact. 299 00:13:49,962 --> 00:13:51,664 And if you look at the literature on stereotype 300 00:13:51,664 --> 00:13:53,399 threat, that's the way it was actually, 301 00:13:53,399 --> 00:13:56,502 so people were being hindered in their performance because 302 00:13:56,502 --> 00:13:57,536 of identity. 303 00:13:57,536 --> 00:14:00,306 It was because of them being put in a box because of that. 304 00:14:00,306 --> 00:14:02,708 You see what you guys all think that, well, we can use it 305 00:14:02,708 --> 00:14:05,544 in a way, like what you said, it would me to create my own 306 00:14:05,544 --> 00:14:07,980 and be powerful with it and be happy with it. 307 00:14:07,980 --> 00:14:10,816 You see, now, it's other people who put me in the box. 308 00:14:10,816 --> 00:14:16,055 And I think that's what we should think about when people 309 00:14:16,055 --> 00:14:17,790 are imposing on us to actually described 310 00:14:17,790 --> 00:14:21,026 as moving between imposed identities 311 00:14:21,026 --> 00:14:23,762 that they want to pull yourself away from, 312 00:14:23,762 --> 00:14:26,131 and eventually if you do that, well, you become 313 00:14:26,131 --> 00:14:28,000 happier, right, hopefully? 314 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:29,969 AUDIENCE: Hopefully.