Title: Grassroots Advocacy: Building a movement of trained Haitian activist who can implement grassroots advocacy tactics that will continue to bring awareness to the Dominican-Haitian Human Rights Crisis until our demands are met
Issue:
Dominicans of Haitian descent have suffered institutional discrimination in the DR for more than a century. One of the most egregious manifestations of this discrimination is the government’s refusal to recognize their nationality and provide them with identity documents, most importantly birth certificates and cédulas (national id cards), in violation of both international and national law. This practice became law in September 2013 when the DR Constitutional Tribunal (CT) issued a ruling on the legal status of Dominicans of Haitian descent which retroactively changed the meaning of Dominican constitutional law to convey citizenship on the basis of parents’ immigration status, instead of the basis of birth in the territory. As it is currently stands, the ruling denationalizes hundreds of thousands of Dominicans of Haitian descent.
How Grassroots Advocacy Tackles this Issue:
When attempting to tackle any issue, raising awareness and gaining the attention of policymakers or those individuals who play a role in the outcome of your issue is vital. The most effective approach when aiming to do just that is grassroots advocacy. Grassroots advocacy will raise the level of awareness around our issue, providing opportunities for the Haitian Diaspora and friends on Haiti to join in efforts to pressure US policymakers to take a position on the issue and, hopefully, join in efforts to insists that DR restore full citizenship to Dominicans of Haitian descent and allow real due process for Haitian immigrants. This workshop will provide attendees with trainings on two specific grassroots advocacy tactics and an overview of community organizing that, if implemented collectively in states where those in the Haitian Diaspora reside, will help keep our issue high-profile until our demands have been met.
Tactics:
- Bird-dogging is the tactic and, if planned and executed effectively, will leave policy makers with no choice but to address the Dominican-Haitian human rights crisis publicly. The goals is to go after the US government and we are going to do this by observing, following, monitoring and seeking out with persistent attention those individual who can assist in our efforts to restore citizenship for Dominicans of Haitian descent and create a process where they are able to openly continue their lives in the Dominican Republic without fear. Ultimately, this tactic will provide the Diaspora with information on where individuals with power in your state and throughout the country stand on the issue and keep the attention of the media and public because it will be a collective movement- using the same tactic and asking the same questions to these individuals.
- Resolution writing is also a tactic that makes clear to policymakers what solutions the Diaspora think best for resolving our issue. A resolution is a document that contains all the issues that we want to solve and the proposed solutions to that issue. It also asks targeted policymakers and leaders to take a position, and/or an action. For the purposes of this workshop, we will use resources made available by Rights4AllinDR to review resolutions that have already passed and use their template to begin writing resolutions to be passed in other parts of the country.
- Organizing is not an advocacy tactic, but is a strategy necessary for efforts aimed at tackling our issue. Mobilizing individuals who care about our cause help to create a mechanism that will then use grassroots advocacy tactics to advocate on behalf of Dominicans of Haitian descent. Mobilizing those in the Diaspora and keeping them engaged legitimizes our issue. Organizing also helps to build a larger movement. Continuous support in large numbers will gain greater attention from the public and place pressure on policymakers.
Workshop Objectives:
- Ensure that attendees have an overall understanding of grassroots advocacy and why it will help tackle our issue
- Provide attendees with training on bird-dogging and resolution-writing, ensuring that they have a clear understanding of these tactics and how to effectively implement them
- Provide attendee with a training on the strategy of organizing so that they are able to mobilize individuals in their communities who will help implement the bird-dogging, resolutions-writing and other grassroots advocacy tactics they think necessary
- Ensure that attendees have a clear understanding of demands and overall goals we are fighting for on behalf of Dominicans of Haitian descent
Moderators: Advocacy Committee
Participants: TBA
P.O. BOX 5096, Hillside, NJ 07205