The Dominican government is making global headlines again, and not in a good way. The international community condemns the decision of the Dominican government to expel thousands of Haitian immigrants from its territory. You can see the posts all over Facebook, people all over the world are calling out the Dominican Republic for its racism against the Haitian people. If they only knew.
There is a long history of conflict between Haitians and Dominicans, you see. A century ago, twenty thousand Haitians were slaughtered by the Dominican military during a purge. As the Dominican-Canadian wife of a Haitian immigrant and the mother of biracial sons, I can't fathom the hatred that Dominicans have for our Haitian brethren, with whom we share the island of Hispaniola. That's why I am protesting against the Dominican government's racism.
My name is Marianna Martinez, and I've got a story to share with you. A short, curvaceous, bronze-skinned, Black-haired, brown-eyed and feisty gal, that's me in a nutshell. I was born in the City of Toronto, Ontario, to Dominican immigrants Muriel and Jose Martinez. I have two older brothers, Roberto and Juan, whom I no longer speak to because they don't like the fact that I married a man of African descent. Oh, well. I had a decision to make and I chose my husband Stephen Louis and our sons Miguel and Lucas, thank you very much.
Seven years ago, if someone told me that I would be estranged from my family over loving a Black man of Haitian descent, I would have laughed. I came to the City of Ottawa, Ontario, to attend Carleton University. A lot of people from the Greater Toronto Area have been moving to Ottawa because they're looking for a change of scenery. Me? I was born in the G.T.A. and found myself bored there, so I came to study in the City of Ottawa. Little did I know it was a decision that would change my life.
I was walking through the Carleton University Atrium when I was approached by a tall, dark-skinned and ruggedly handsome young man. In a French-inflected, deep and decidedly masculine voice, the brother asked me if I knew where the Tory Building was. I was new to the school but since I hang out on campus all the time, I was quite familiar with it even though I was a first-year student. Smiling, I offered to guide the brother to his destination. Thus I met Stephen Louis, the man destined to change my life.
Stephen thanked me once I showed him to the Tory Building, and asked for my name. I hesitated, then told him. We shook hands, I wished him good luck and walked away. As Stephen headed for the admin offices, I turned around and looked at him. Cute butt, I thought to myself, smiling as I returned to the Atrium. I'm a sucker for a guy with a nice ass and Stephen Louis has the cutest ass I've seen on a man since Wesley Snipes, that sexy Black American actor from the Blade film series. I've got a thing for brothers. Alright?
I am a Latina who likes Black men, and I am not alone. It's something I largely keep to myself since we in the Dominican Republic aren't okay with interracial dating. Oops, I meant to say we aren't okay with interracial dating when the man is Black and the woman is of Latin descent. Latino guys with Black wives or Black girlfriends? Totally okay with us Dominicans. Still, since I was away from my family in Toronto, and nobody knew me in Ottawa, I might as well see what kind of trouble I can get into.
A lot of times, guys think that they are the ones actively pursuing us ladies while we passively wait for them. As if. I couldn't forget Stephen, the tall Haitian brother with the sinfully sexy ass, and looked for him on campus. I had brothers and white guys sniffing after my thick Latin derriere for a piece of my sugar, but I wasn't interested in these snowflakes or the local brothers. Besides, white guys don't do it for me and I'm not interested in Somali guys, since they're Muslim and I have no desire to leave my Catholic faith.