NEW YORK—In 2004, The Haitian Times asked a question that caused some discomfort in our community, especially among those who saw themselves as leaders at the time. It was a simple question that took up the entire cover of our then-print tabloid: “Where are the leaders?”
In 2024, the prevailing question is: “Where is the Haitian agenda?”
This question – posed by public officials and individual Haitians alike – has reverberated through public discourse for years. Yet, the answer remains elusive. In fact, the way some community members respond to the question often reveals a fundamental disconnect between expectations of the community and the reality of how it actually operates. This mismatch underscores a sobering truth: We, as a community, are not ready for geopolitical prime time.
As much as we claim we are a force or wish to be a powerful group that can better the lives of Haitians in America and in Haiti, we don’t have the collective wherewithal to be either in an effective, sustainable way. We keep wishing these desires into existence, but we’re not doing the work as a group.
What’s disappointing is that we have the tools — a strong origin story, people and other resources, even some money — but we’re not using them properly. As a group, we are delaying the process of getting down to actually devise a strategy and the accompanying tactical plans to carry out a vision.
And now, looking at Haiti’s increasing fragility and the current state of geopolitics, it’s clear we’re running out of time as a diaspora to get it together. In fact, between the U.S. presidential elections and Haiti’s transition, 2024 may be our last chance to be the influential diaspora we’ve all claimed to be.
The lost decades of leadership
Sorry (not sorry) to be the bearer of bad news, especially on the heels of Haitian Heritage Month. But what needs to be said can’t be delayed. We’ve already lost decades, and the world is moving too fast to hold this in.
Here’s where I’m coming from.
Back in the 2000s, at the time of that “where are the leaders” story, the community was struggling with issues like police brutality, wage theft, ‘rent is too damn high’ gentrification, insufficient social services, high infant mortality, anti-Haitian immigration policies like wet foot/dry foot, keeping teens from joining gangs, scammers selling any and everything (remember Noni, the magical potion). It was a lot.
I can hear you saying, “But we’ve come a long way since then. The Haitian Times talks about successful people all the time.” You’d be right. We couldn’t fill up the site with the thousands and thousands of Haitians in America placed in senior or high profile roles in government, politics, academia, tech, media — you name it. There are so many Haitians doing big things and hitting it big, #haitianexcellence is a consistent and deserving trend worth following.
But as these decades have elapsed and we’ve racked up individual successes, something puzzling has happened — or rathet, has not happened. We didn’t magically morph from being an underserved immigrant community with an albatross around our necks (yes, that’s how Haiti feels sometimes) into an electorally viable group whose might is reflected in that seat at the table to influence Haitians hunger to have. For example, we were not represented at the White House State Dinner for Kenya, where talk of Haiti was on the table.
That absence says it all about our aspirations to go from immigrant “enclave” into a political bloc. We’re not there yet.
Let’s stand on substance
Our individual and one-off group successes haven’t translated to collective community empowerment. Not have they influenced politics so Haiti is in a place we can enjoy without a personal security detail? That’s the gap we need to fix.
Despite our massive, and frequent, cultural celebrations, and many Haitian individuals being on the rise, we’re failing to progress as a group. Just look at the physical enclaves, like Flatbush and Little Haiti/Overtown, for example. In New York, for one, our public officials seem to spend more time getting the neighborhoods to feature Haitian heroes’ names — ironic, when our folks are leaving or bypassing this transient location — than on substantive issues like pushing for basem*nt apartments to be legalized.
It’s a problem when we’d rather ride on the coattails of 1804 than make new history in 2024. It’s a problem when instead of creating community engagement opportunities to coordinate strategic activities, across America and digital spaces, our other so-called leaders are fighting over parades. It’s a problem when we choose to operate the same way immigrant groups before us did, even though the world has changed, instead of pursuing the hallmarks of vibrancy – like neighborhood cleanliness, youth activities and viable small businesses.
It’s no wonder that our youth, professionals and even newcomers choose to flee Haitian areas and organizations. There’s no plan, mechanism nor incentives for them to stay.
What do Haitians want?
The politicians are not solely responsible. Yes, they come begging for Haitian votes saying we’ll have someone who looks like us at the proverbial table. Then, once elected, say things like “we don’t only represent Haitian constituents.” When news breaks in Haiti, their press releases, for example, often read like any stock statement you’d see from non-Haitian officials, with phrases like, “we stand with the Haitian people.”
But how can we hold them accountable when we don’t haven’t formulated what we want as a community?
It makes me feel like we put too much emphasis on “who” would lead the community instead of saying “what” or where we wanted to go. It feels like we might’ve been too concerned with representation instead of looking at the systems that dictate how we live day to day. And that is the higher level of an agenda we need. A sustainable way to affect the system that determines who gets which jobs, what they’re paid, where we get to live, what it costs to live there, which schools our kids attend, what that school environment is like for them, which stores we patronize, how to use the law to punish or protect our own, and so on.
Anything less is “voye fleur,” as my elders would say. It’s just for show.
That is why, since February 29, Haitians calling themselves leaders have been running around having conversation after conversation with elected officials, congressional staffers and the White House to have a say in Haiti. From Capitol Hill to New York City Hall, Brooklyn churches to Miami, Kingston to Port-au-Prince over Zoom, and all points in between, we’ve seen a slew of meetings (open and closed-door), too many statements issued and “proposals” discussed.
Practically every meeting has been a fiasco in some way. If it wasn’t technical difficulties, it was the hodgepodge of attendees coming with “low level” requests that were not the purview of the public official. There’s been lots of output, undeniable. But, no tangible outcome.
About the only consistent factor is that we’re all over the place, literally and figuratively. It’s no wonder that people in positions of power are feeling bold enough to ask the agenda question out loud.
“What do you guys want?”
In May, NYC Mayor Eric Adams asked just that as he reflected on this gaping hole in the city’s Haitian community. Whether or not you agree with Adams’ governing style or have theories about the corruption probes surrounding him, his critique of us Haitians’ haphazard nature is fair. We’ve been in this city for nearly 60 years, more than enough time to go from quaint “enclave” to powerful bloc.
It’s not enough to just have so-called leadership groups made up of our friends and give ourselves grandiose names like Haitian Powerhouse, Haitian Roundtable, Haitian American Alliance, Haitian American Foundation for Democracy, Haitian Diaspora PAC. We actually have to do the work of being aligned. That process, which if done right will cause a lot of friction and head-butting, is what will bring about the unity we love to bring up so much.
That work takes years, generations in fact. That’s why we need a plan to carry us forward. Why 2024 is a pivotal year, yet again, that we can’t afford to squander.
So in Part 2, I’ll share with you some local and unknown plans and efforts from around the country that could be a basis for real collaboration so we can finally answer the question. Until then.
