We were lucky to catch up with Dr. Charlene Desir recently and have shared our conversation below.
Dr. Charlene, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
One of my greatest models was my maternal grandmother. She became an orphan at birth, raised by white nuns in rural Haiti but was always committed to her community and lived a life of service. She would eventually marry in what was perceived as midlife and live in an upper-class community in Haiti and ultimately migrate with me to the United States. Her life was a model of resistance to social construction that devalued her as a rural black woman with minimal education. On the contrary, she taught me that a life well lived was that of family, love, and service. My woman-centered home modeled a context provided of confidence and pride in being Haitian the first free black republic in the West and maintaining a rich cultural ethos of resistance and liberation despite the outward perceptions of the label of the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Every morning as I left the house there were two symbols a brown Jesus and a plaque that read Haiti the first Black republic in the West. Contrary to my home life, the school was a place of counter-narratives for me as a dark-skinned girl from a Haitian woman-centered household. I was placed in remedial classes when I began elementary school and teachers questioned my quiet and obedient behaviors as deficient. I remember being in these classes and thinking the work was so easy and looked around the school and at that young age recognized a social structure where the darker students were treated differently from the white students. I started studying school and realized that white girls were the most favored but white boys were given more opportunities to excel or show their intelligence. I was one of the few that were removed from the remedial classes and once I understood the contradictions I was able to compartmentalize and merge the social expectations versus the academics – I excelled academically. At a female-led home, my mother, and my aunts worked and provided a nurturing home and my grandmother with limited education was the guardian of my holistic education – she wanted one of her grandchildren to be a scholar. We constantly had cultural opportunities to understand our social context – my mother and aunt were actresses in a Haitian community plays, we attended a black liberation theology Haitian Catholic church, I visited Haiti every two years with my grandmother, and during the summers was her spiritual apprentice being groomed to be a culturally centered woman of service. Most of this foundation was unconscious at the time until I entered Boston Latin School, a rigorous academic space- 1st high school created and led to the creation of Harvard for those students to matriculate – originally for white men, serval of the forefathers of this country. In my senior year, my academic accomplishments were challenged by the white students, and teachers as I was accepted to multiple colleges despite my consistent honor grades. Race became a major issue when college decisions began despite achievement. I even got into a verbal argument with a student when she questioned that scholarships for minority students were biased. I was for the most part a good student, well-behaved, and a bit of a nerd, and for this incident, I was called to see the assistant headmaster who happen to be a black woman. I was nervous and thought my mother was going to kill me. She looked at me and explained that what happened was an act of racism and it would not be the last, and to counter this I had to always center who I know myself to be not who defines me. She found a mentoring program in Roxbury a black neighborhood and I worked there as a peer mentor and recognized the significance of my upbringing and coined this motto in my head “The opposite is true”. I went to college and had more similar experiences for example the instructor wrote on one of my assignments I should have written the essay in rap lyrics when I centered on non-traditional black families in sociology class, and had many more incidents where race was a lens and used as an attempt to highlight insecure and a false sense of inferiority and this continued through graduate schools. Fortunately, I countered these incidents by creating a community with centering service – a mentoring program for minority girls near campus, volunteering and joining organizations that empowered Black and ethnic scholarship like the Haitian Studies Academic Association which I have been a member of since 18 years old and was the 2012 president. I became a School psychologist and received a doctorate from Harvard in the school of education – honoring my grandmother that wanted an academic and my Haitian women-centered cultural upbringing became my anchor.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I am a research professor at a university in South Florida, I work primarily with doctoral students in education. My university has been a model of how non-traditional education integrating students’ professional backgrounds is essential. Through my classes, I am able to mentor a majority Black and Brown student population in applied dissertations studies. My academic work is an extension of my service model to support individual students’ process of self-development and an opportunity to integrate their personal and professional lives into the academic space. After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, I founded a non-profit called the Empowerment Network (T.E.N.) Global. T.E.N. GLobal promotes and supports the academic, spiritual, and psychological development of Haitians and Haitian Americans through culturally responsive curriculum, mentoring, and community engagement projects. In South Florida, I ran the Literacy Initiative for Empowerment and Haitian Empowerment Literacy Programs for seven years supporting 100 Haitian students per year. Presently, we are centering similar projects with young people in Haiti. Much is given Much is required – I became a school psychologist at 23 year old working with Haitian families in a privileged community and learned that understanding Haitian spirituality was central to supporting the development of children who struggled despite religious affiliation – there was a Haitian epistemology that guided their understandings of education, healing, and wellness. I committed to studying these things to be a more productive example and support my ethnic and larger community in Haiti and the US. In my mind, it would be a disservice and reproducing a system that did not understand the significance of healing through a cultural lens. I applied to Harvard for my doctorate and in Education was accepted at 25 years old and immediately began to study everything Haitian and had a wealth of resources in the Harvard libraries – I remember finding 100’s books, videos, and archived information and I was most interested in cultural understanding which primarily spoke of Vodou – more than the religion but the epistemology of a people – how they understand the world – a sustained an ethos of liberation. Intrigued by seeing myself and my ethnic community in an expanded intellectual context fed me. “They” were studying me but I was not studying myself. I began an 18-year journey studying Vodou and subsequently initiating as a Vodou Manbo/Priestess in Jacmel, Haiti in the Sosyete Nago Lakou/Temple. “the opposite is true” learning True resistance comes from a knowing that you are sacred and divine. My academic and non-profit work centers on this notion and Harvard open the pathway to explore these ideas through my dissertation. Vodou’s epistemology continues to be central to my personal, professional, and spiritual life. Fundamentally, a commitment to a life of Service. Presently, I have started to expand my work with young people in Haiti. The majority population is under 25 years old, My goal is to create an education institute that supports the academic and psychological development of these young people. I have worked in Haiti for the last 20 years through small projects and have seen the success I want to initiate and expand the youth work and hope to raise the capital to accomplish this while providing opportunities for those in the diaspora and allies to support young people that want to stay in Haiti and be part of its ongoing transformation.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
The three most impactful qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge are…
1. Cultural Identity and Empowerment: Understanding and embracing my Haitian cultural heritage as a foundation of resistance and liberation has been a transformative aspect of my journey. Recognizing the historical context and values embedded in my identity has provided me with a sense of purpose and a powerful connection to my roots.
2. Mentorship and Diverse Experiences: The opportunities I had for mentorship and exposure to various experiences greatly influenced my path. Programs like Inroads, community mentoring initiatives, and engagement with organizations such as the Haitian Studies Association expanded my horizons and offered insights beyond traditional educational settings. White and Black allies who supported me in navigating institutional challenges and exploring my cultural curiosities played a crucial role in my development.
3. Values and Purpose: My grandmother’s teachings instilled in me a deep sense of purpose and a commitment to service. Understanding that success is not solely about personal achievement but also about making a positive impact on others’ lives has been a guiding principle in my journey.
For those who are early in their journey, I would offer the following advice:
1. Self-Exploration: Take the time to truly understand yourself—your strengths, weaknesses, passions, and cultural background. Self-awareness forms the foundation for your journey, helping you align your pursuits with your values and identity.
2. Mentorship and Networking: Seek out mentors who can challenge your perspectives and provide guidance based on their experiences. Embrace opportunities to connect with a diverse range of people, as their insights can offer fresh perspectives and open doors to new opportunities.
3. Embrace Personal Growth: Understand that your journey is unique, and your only competition is yourself. Focus on continuous learning and improvement. Embrace challenges as opportunities for growth, and be open to exploring avenues that might not seem conventional but align with your passion and values.
4. Service and Purpose: Recognize the power of service in shaping your journey. Develop a sense of purpose beyond personal gain and strive to make a positive impact on your community and beyond. Align your pursuits with values that resonate deeply with you.
5. Cultural Anchoring: Embrace your cultural identity and heritage. Understand the historical significance and values associated with it. Allow this understanding to ground you and inspire your actions.
6. Resilience: Challenges are inevitable in any journey. Cultivate resilience and perseverance to navigate obstacles. Learn from setbacks and keep your focus on your long-term goals.
To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?
The most impactful thing my parents, who were actually three generations of strong women who migrated from Haiti to the U.S. during a tumultuous dictatorship period, did for me was to nurture and cultivate a profound sense of empowerment, strength, and identity. Growing up in a household guided by the wisdom and resilience of these remarkable women, I learned invaluable lessons about love, care, and resourcefulness. With limited resources, they exemplified various ways of thriving and providing for our family. Yet, what stood out the most was the unwavering focus on instilling a profound understanding of the power and strength inherent in being a Black woman. Rather than conveying a sense of inferiority, my mothers fostered a deep sense of pride and privilege within me. They highlighted our lineage as descendants of liberation in the Western hemisphere, grounding me in the understanding that I was part of a legacy of strength and resistance. This foundation allowed me to approach life with confidence, knowing that my heritage was a source of power. Additionally, their emphasis on self-sufficiency and unapologetically pursuing one’s personal and professional aspirations left an indelible mark on my character. Their example of carving out their paths in a world that often offered limited opportunities taught me to value my independence and to forge ahead with determination. Their legacy continues to shape every aspect of my life, empowering me to embrace challenges, stand tall in the face of adversity, and proudly carry forward the legacy of liberation and resistance they so beautifully embodied.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @haitianjeni13
- Twitter: Charlene Desir
