Haitian Center cancels cultural celebration as impact of ICE raids in Evansville continues
EVANSVILLE — A local celebration of Haitian culture has been canceled by event organizers after U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement descended on Evansville this week.
Gelina Mascoe, director of the Haitian Center of Evansville, announced Tuesday that in light of the ICE raids, the Taste of Haiti event planned to celebrate Haitian Flag Day would be canceled.
Mascoe said she cannot put the city's Haitian families at risk.
"I don't want to be responsible for that," she said. "This is too heavy of a burden to carry. I'm not willing to carry that burden."
The event was planned for May 17 at Wesselman Park. Community members were invited to the free event to learn about Haitian culture, try Haitian food, listen to music and visit a variety of vendor booths.
May 18 celebrates the creation of the Haitian flag, originally created in 1803.
In a video posted to social media, Mascoe said the last few days, weeks, months and years have been "exhausting."
"I think sometimes as an Evansville community we tend to separate the immigrant community," she said. "These are your neighbors. These are people who your kids go to school with their kids. They are human beings who deserve to be cared for."
Mascoe said they can't celebrate their culture in this environment.
"It's not good for our mental health to keep going. People expect us to keep going," she said. "We're not robots. We're human beings. We have children. We have these families who depend on us."
Tuesday, it felt like they were acting as a task force for Evansville's immigrant community, Mascoe said.
"So no, we don't get to celebrate our culture. You won," she said. "We don't get to display the beauty that is our culture. We don't get to share that. Because you don't want us to."
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Haitian Center cancels cultural celebration after Evansville ICE raids
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNN
16 minutes ago
- CNN
In pictures: The nationwide ‘No Kings' protests
More than 2,000 protests are scheduled across all 50 states Saturday through the No Kings movement, which organizers say seeks to reject 'authoritarianism, billionaire-first politics, and the militarization of our democracy.' The mobilization is a direct response to a military parade rolling through Washington, DC, on Saturday that celebrates the 250th anniversary of the US Army. It also coincides with President Donald Trump's 79th birthday. Saturday's rallies have been amplified by a week of protests against ICE raids in Los Angeles and other major cities. Following the Hands Off! and 50501 protests this spring, Saturday's demonstrations aren't the first nationwide rejection of Trump's policies. But organizers expect them to be the largest. Millions of Americans are expected to take part.
Chicago Tribune
an hour ago
- Chicago Tribune
Protesters gathering downtown for Chicago ‘No Kings' rally
Demonstrators have begun gathering in Daley Plaza for Chicago's 'No Kings' rally, part of a national slate of marches planned around the country to protest President Donald Trump's policies and agenda. Among those crowding into the Daley Center plaza Saturday morning were Theresa and Robert Hoban, retired attorneys who split their time between Chicago and Florida. The Hobans said they attended to support their grandchildren's future, and the throngs of others present for the rally gave them a sense of hope. 'We are doing this for our grandchildren's future because we believe the country has taken a turn for the worse under this administration,' Theresa Hoban said. 'We believe that standing up and people hearing our voices is the most profound way to get our message across.' As the crowd grew, loudspeakers near the Picasso statue blasted songs by Beyonce and Rage Against the Machine. The Chicago protest was planned to be one of more than 2,000 'No Kings' events nationwide, with organizers anticipating it would be one of the largest. Tens of thousands were expected to march from Daley Plaza and coalesce in defiance and admonition of Trump near the downtown hotel tower bearing his name. Organizers described the protest as 'a national mobilization to reject authoritarianism,' and was scheduled to begin with several speeches, including one from U.S. Rep. Jesús 'Chuy' García, a Democrat from the Little Village Neighborhood. There are also several other No Kings protests scheduled around Chicago, including ones in Evanston, Geneva, Naperville, Highland Park and Arlington Heights, among other suburbs. The protests, according to organizers, are in 'direct response to President Trump's self-aggrandizing $100 million military parade and birthday celebration, an event funded by taxpayers while millions are told there's no money for Social Security, SNAP, Medicaid, or public schools. 'Across all 50 states, communities will gather to declare: The president is not a king.' The downtown protest comes after a week of tension in Chicago, where city streets have filled in recent days in response to the Trump administration's actions in Los Angeles. There, Immigration and Custom Enforcement raids and the administration's deployment of Marines and the California National Guard have led to fiery confrontations among demonstrators, ICE agents and police. Earlier this week, in anticipation of a similar scene in Chicago, Johnson urged the city's residents to 'resist.' He described it as 'a necessary fight for all of us to be able to push back' against ICE raids and the specter of the mobilization of troops in the city. Planners said they intend to do just that. 'We could all just sit at home and scroll on our phones and be really worried about what's happening with our country, or we can go out and be in the streets and, very visibly, say we are not OK with what is going on with this administration,' said Sally Schulze, a spokesperson for Indivisible Chicago, which is organizing the downtown protest.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
NJ Rep. LaMonica McIver makes court appearance for assault charges in Newark ICE incident
Rep. LaMonica McIver appeared in federal court via Zoom on May 21 for a routine initial hearing after she was formally charged with allegedly "assaulting, resisting and impeding' Homeland Security investigators and ICE agents at Delaney Hall in Newark on May 9. The charges against McIver were first announced on May 19 by acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba on social media. McIver was at Delaney Hall with her fellow Democratic Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman and Rob Menendez. The congresswoman was released on her own recognizance and no bail was needed. The next hearing is scheduled for June 11 but that could change if prosecutors seek an indictment. In the event of an indictment, a formal plea would be entered. McIver's lawyer Paul Fishman served as U.S. Attorney in New Jersey during the Obama administration. He said earlier this week the 'decision to charge Congresswoman McIver is spectacularly inappropriate.' 'She went to Delaney Hall to do her job. As a member of Congress, she has the right and responsibility to see how ICE is treating detainees,' he said. 'Rather than facilitating that inspection, ICE agents chose to escalate what should have been a peaceful situation into chaos. This prosecution is an attempt to shift the blame for ICE's behavior to Congresswoman McIver. In the courtroom, facts – not headlines – will matter.' The freshman congresswoman said in a statement on May 19 that earlier in May she joined her colleagues to "inspect the treatment of ICE detainees at Delaney Hall in my district." "We were fulfilling our lawful oversight responsibilities, as members of Congress have done many times before, and our visit should have been peaceful and short," she said. "The charges against me are purely political — they mischaracterize and distort my actions, and are meant to criminalize and deter legislative oversight." She said the Trump administration "will never stop me from working for the people in our district and standing up for what is right," thanked those who have shown support, and said she looks forward to the "truth being laid out clearly in court.' This article originally appeared on LaMonica McIver appears in court for charges in Newark ICE incident
