“There is a lot of love inside the Vodou. It is our heart and blood. So we will not back down. We have an important and strong force with us. Without it, we could not exist today.”

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Feb 22

Ougan Ricardo Marie Dadoune (ree-car-doh mah-ree dah-doon)

priest

IMAGE SOURCE: Caterina Clerici. “Vodou is elusive and endangered, but it remains the soul of Haitian people.” The Guardian. 7 Nov. 2015. | TEXT SOURCE: Kim Wall & Caterina Clerici. “Vodou is elusive and endangered, but it remains the soul of Hai… — IMAGE SOURCE: Caterina Clerici. “Vodou is elusive and endangered, but it remains the soul of Haitian people.” The Guardian. 7 Nov. 2015. | TEXT SOURCE: Kim Wall & Caterina Clerici. “Vodou is elusive and endangered, but it remains the soul of Haitian people.” The Guardian. 7 Nov. 2015.

QUOTE CONTEXT: “The Christians humiliate us by saying that Vodou is evil. It’s not true. Vodou is not a bad thing. They have their faith. We have ours.”

QUOTE QUESTION: What strong force keeps your traditions alive today?

IMAGE CONTEXT: Ricardo, a 26-year-old gay ougan (Vodou priest) in the Port-au-Prince peristyle (vodou temple) where he worships. “This is a safe place. When we have a ceremony here, nothing happens. People like us here, so we’re not afraid to come and enjoy.”

IMAGE QUESTION: What do you surround yourself with to feel safe and grounded?

MEDIA LITERACY CONTEXT: The quote and photo are from an article in an international newspaper.

MEDIA LITERACY QUESTION: How do you decide which journalists are trustworthy to share the experience of your people?

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“Africans who refused to be enslaved said, "Oh no. We insist to have the right to practice our African centered way of life as we see fit and we do not need a slave master over us.”

“There is a lot of love inside the Vodou. It is our heart and blood. So we will not back down. We have an important and strong force with us. Without it, we could not exist today.”

Ougan Ricardo Marie Dadoune (ree-car-doh mah-ree dah-doon)

“Africans who refused to be enslaved said, "Oh no. We insist to have the right to practice our African centered way of life as we see fit and we do not need a slave master over us.”

“I see my role as a human rights activist and as a Manbo Asogwe (high priestess) as one…to help to literally conjure memory, so that our sense of self and sense of place is restored.”