As a native Floridan who has also spent the last ten of my 60 plus years living in the DR, I can unequivocally state there is also as much racism and prejudice in the DR regarding skin color as there is in the southern US today (or many other countries for that matter). It's just not as open, but when Dominicans compare shades of black of other Dominicans the racial undertones are there. A good example is what one of my Dominican friends replied when I asked him about this. He said his dark skinned grandmother always told her kids and grandkids that the only thing in the house that was going to be blacker than her was the frying pan,...and she meant it. They've all married lighter. And I've found the same racial attitude among US blacks where light skin opens many doors among the negro race.
Easygoin, I would like to know what part of Florida you are referring to when you talk about unreported racial murders and other instances of police or authorities not prosecuting criminal matters. Tell me so I can lean on some folks I know up in Tallahassee. And sweeping it under the carpet? Maybe 50 years ago, but not now. And I would like to remind you that Florida was the first of the southern states to integrate in the late 50's/early 60's, and peacefully at that, a testament to then-Governor Leroy Collins' leadership and understanding. I know, I was there and lived it.
I too have been passing back and forth between the cultures for quite some time and I no longer see what you do: keeping to themselves with their own schools (all schools are integrated in Florida), their own businesses employing their own people (BTW the big Lincoln-Mercury dealership here in Daytona Beach is black-owned with a multi-racial workforce as are many other large sucessful, minority-owned businesses that cater to both races here in Florida) and their own churches (granted the African Methodist Episcopal church is unique to the black community). And yes, they do have neighborhood parties,...as do many other ethnicities that tend to congregate geographically and yes, outsiders are usually welcome.
You will still find a degree of suspicion in small towns anywhere when a stranger appears. I just came back from a visit to Quebec and encountered this everywhere we went, even somewhat in Montreal as an English speaking person in a French culture. And even with my white skin and the good ole' boy air I adopt, I still encounter this in many small southern towns today. It's part of human survival skills to be wary of strangers in the community (no matter what their color).
I've followed this string from it's inception and watched it go from a thinly disguised Dominican angle to an unabashed attack on the integrity of many, many fine people who inhabit the southeastern US today and would not begin to consider a racial attitude regarding people of any color be they black, white, pink or purple. It should have been titled "let's stir the racial pot as we have a hidden agenda to air." It could have been easily applied to Dominicans in the Dominican Republic as Dominicans living in the southeastern US.
Get a grip, the old south has changed and dredging up old sins does nothing to further the cause of racial equality nor harmony among peoples of all races and walks of life.
