 Although I was not born Haitian, my name by marriage {Diana Pierre-Louis} often makes people assume I am Haitian, until they meet me in person or see my picture. I have been asked by people before, "are you sure you are Diana Pierre-Louis?" for example at a doctors office when being called into a room. I have also been asked many times, "are you French?" Or when I hand my business card to people which has my name and a picture of me with the shirt that says "what do you mean I don't look Haitian?," I get very strange and confused looks. Recently, I handed my business card to a man, who at first, seemed confused. Then he started talking about how he knows there are light-skinned people in Haiti. He happens to be Puerto Rican and shared with me that the same sort of stigma is attached to his culture where people assume you should look a certain way. So, have you ever gotten the statement, but "you don't look Haitian!" after having a nice conversation with someone. It's kind of a conversation stopper or even a turn-off, in my opinion. I really don't blame anyone. It's not their fault if they are uneducated about Haiti's history, culture and diversity. In fact, on TV we unfortunately usually only see certain groups of people and certain areas of Haiti, which are often populated by "darker-skinned" Haitians. It's the unfortunate truth. If you are in Haiti, you will see people of all shades, depending on where you go. Naturally as Haitians have immigrated to the United States, there are many people from all areas of Haiti. Hence, there are so many beautiful people!  If someone says to you, "you don't look Haitian," here are some responses I came up with to answer back:
Again, it's really not their fault for thinking a certain way. The media teaches us only about things in Haiti that scream drama, disaster, corruption or poverty. As our son grows up, I am finding different ways to be creative in teaching him. These crayons are one way we can draw ourselves in different shades. I also have created activity worksheets to do with him that expose him to Creole and the Haitian culture. I plan on making lots more, so stay tuned! If you'd like to purchase a shirt below (What Do You Mean I Don't Look Haitian tshirt), click the button below! How do you respond when people say "but you don't look Haitian!"
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About 5 years ago, I was searching for a gift for my husband Endy online. I came across Zoe Nation Apparel, a site that sells shirts with sayings in Creole and English promoting Haitian pride and culture. I bought a shirt for Endy and I bought myself one. It said "What do you mean I don't look Haitian." I thought it was hilarious and also serious because what does that even mean? People say it all of the time to Haitians.  Two years ago, I started this blog. I created business cards. I took a picture of me in the shirt for the back of the card as an attention grabber. Everyone who sees it, loves it. I get blank stares and lots of questions like, "Are you French? I see your last name is Pierre-Louis." And I tell them, "No, I am Haitian." Then it starts a conversation. Last year, I was at a Haitian event that had a fashion show. There were models representing Zoe Nation Apparel. They were modeling the Haitian clothing line. My husband grabbed the owners attention, Isaiah Fleurimond, and showed him my business card. He was in shock. It was so awesome to meet each other. We connected instantly. We kept in touch and this year we started selling the shirts on this website. This November, 10 kids from Jacmel (ACFFC) got the opportunity to visit South Florida to work on a project. I told Isaiah and he generously offered to donate shirts to them. And then this happened...  Isaiah is an absolutely pleasure to work with and know. His professionalism and love for life is reflected in his success. Thank you so much for these shirts. The kids absolutely love them! THANK YOU, MESI ANPIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 
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