Nèg Mawon Podcast

In this week's Konesans, Dr. Greg Beckett, a noted anthropologist, tackles the following question: how much of our African culture did Haitians retain?

Listen as Dr. Robert Fatton discusses a revealing slice of what it means to be a Haitian elite.

In Fragments of Bone, thirteen essayists discuss African religions as forms of resistance and survival in the face of Western cultural hegemony and imperialism. The collection presents scholars working outside of the Western tradition with backgrounds in a variety of disciplines, genders, and nationalities. These experts draw on research, fieldwork, personal interviews, and spiritual introspection to support a provocative thesis: that fragments of ancestral traditions are fluidly interwoven into New World African religions as creolized rituals, symbolic systems, and cultural identities.  Contributors: Osei-Mensah Aborampah, Niyi Afolabi, Patrick Bellegarde-Smith, Randy P. Conner, T. J. Desch-Obi, Ina Johanna Fandrich, Kean Gibson, Marilyn Houlberg, Nancy B. Mikelsons, Roberto Nodal, Rafael Ocasio, Miguel "Willie" Ramos, and Denise Ferreira da Silva Reviews "Takes the reader to a deeper and broader understanding of Afro-Caribbean traditions than we have had before. . . .  The cumulative effect of this unusual collection moves religions such as Vodou, Santeria, Palo, and Candomblé out of the realm of the exotic and into a merited position among progressive religious alternatives in the contemporary world."--Karen McCarthy Brown, author of Mama Lola: A Vodou Priestess in Brooklyn "Impeccably researched, persuasively argued, and engagingly written. . . .  This is the most comprehensive, creative collection available, and should become the standard text for courses on the subject in the United States and abroad."--Richard Brent Turner, University of Iowa "This is a rare and important work. Fragments of Bone makes major progress toward reconstructing and rehabilitating historically subjugated indigenous spirituality. It is innovative, informative, and of the utmost significance."--Claudine Michel, author of Aspects Moraux et Educatifs du Vodou Haitien  About our Guest Patrick Bellegarde-Smith is professor emeritus of Africology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He is also the author of Haiti: The Breached Citadel and other books.

Haitian seasonal migration to Cuba is central to narratives about race, national development, and US imperialism in the early twentieth-century Caribbean. Filling a major gap in the literature, this innovative study reconstructs Haitian guestworkers' lived experiences as they moved among the rural and urban areas of Haiti, and the sugar plantations, coffee farms, and cities of eastern Cuba.  It offers an unprecedented glimpse into the daily workings of empire, labor, and political economy in Haiti and Cuba. Migrants' efforts to improve their living and working conditions and practice their religions shaped migration policies, economic realities, ideas of race, and Caribbean spirituality in Haiti and Cuba as each experienced US imperialism.

This episode is compelling and thought-provoking, The Sexual Politics of Empire examines LGBTQI life in contemporary Haiti against the backdrop of American imperialism and intervention. Evangelical Christians and members of the global LGBTQI human rights movement have vied for influence in Haiti since the 2010 earthquake. Each side accuses the other of serving foreign interests. Yet each proposes future foreign interventions on behalf of their respective causes despite the country’s traumatic past with European colonialism and American imperialism.  Listen as Dr. Durban shows how two discourses can dominate discussions of intervention. One maintains imperialist notions of a backward Haiti so riddled with cultural deficiencies that foreign supervision is necessary to overcome Haitians’ resistance to progress (sounds familiar?). The other sees Haiti as a modern but failed state that exists only through its capacity for violence, including homophobia. In the context of these competing claims, Dr. Durban explores the creative ways that same-sex desiring and gender creative Haitians contend with anti-LGBTQI violence and ongoing foreign intervention.

Part 2 picks up the story during the reign of Boyer. Listen as Dr. Alexander illuminates the ways in which some Black Americans became disillusioned with the policies and decisions made by the Boyer administration. Haitian independence influenced Black thought and action in the United States. Other Black activists in the United States continued to embrace a common identity with Haiti’s people, forging the idea of a united struggle that merged the destinies of Haiti with their own striving for freedom. A bold discussion on Black internationalism’s origins, Fear of a Black Republic stitches together the Haitian revolution to the global Black pursuit of liberation, justice, and social equality. Note: This transcript was created by Nèg Mawon Podcast’s AI tool. It is offered to you as a freebie, so blame the AI for any errors you my find. :)

The emergence of Haiti as a sovereign Black nation lit a beacon of hope for Black people throughout the African diaspora. Listen as Dr. Leslie M. Alexander reveals the untold story of how free and enslaved Black people in the United States defended the young Caribbean nation from forces intent on maintaining slavery and white supremacy.  She focuses on Haiti’s place in the history of Black internationalism, illuminating the ways in which Haitian independence influenced Black thought and action in the United States.  She said Haiti embodied what whites feared most: Black revolution and Black victory. Inspired, Black activists in the United States embraced a common identity with Haiti’s people, forging the idea of a united struggle that merged the destinies of Haiti with their own striving for freedom. A bold discussion on Black internationalism’s origins, Fear of a Black Republic stitches together the Haitian revolution to the global Black pursuit of liberation, justice, and social equality. Note: This transcript was created by Nèg Mawon Podcast’s AI tool. It is offered to you as a freebie, so blame the AI for any errors you my find. :)

A wide ranging discussion with one of my favorite scholars, Dr. Nadève Ménard. [A sprinkle of Kreyol; the rest in English. ] We cover The Haiti Reader and a separate essay (post-2010 earthquake) she wrote to her daughter, "My Dearest Dear Ana". While Haiti established the second independent nation in the Western Hemisphere and was the first black country to gain independence from European colonizers, its history is not well known in the Anglophone world. As co-editor, The Haiti Reader is an introduction to Haiti's dynamic history and culture from the viewpoint of Haitians from all walks of life.   The Reader includes dozens of selections—most of which appear here in English for the first time. She emphasized that the selections are representative of Haiti's scholarly, literary, religious, visual, musical, and political cultures. What you'll find in this reader: poems, novels, and political tracts to essays, legislation, songs, and folk tales.   Spanning the centuries between precontact indigenous Haiti and the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake, the Reader covers widely known episodes in Haiti's history, such as the U.S. military occupation and the Duvalier dictatorship, as well as overlooked periods such as the decades immediately following Haiti's “second independence” in 1934. Whether examining issues of political upheaval, the environment, or modernization, The Haiti Reader provides an unparalleled look at Haiti's history, culture, and politics.

Within the context of Haiti, the word crisis has very specific meaning for Dr. Greg Beckett. As you'll him articulate, this is not just another book about crisis in Haiti. This book is about what it feels like to live and die with a crisis that never seems to end. It is about the experience of living amid the ruins of ecological devastation, economic collapse, political upheaval, violence, and humanitarian disaster. It is about how catastrophic events and political and economic forces shape the most intimate aspects of everyday life. In this gripping episode, anthropologist Greg Beckett offers a stunning ethnographic portrait of ordinary people struggling to survive in Port-au-Prince in the twenty-first century. Drawing on over a decade of research, There Is No More Haiti builds on stories of death and rebirth to powerfully reframe the narrative of a country in crisis. It is essential episode for anyone interested in Haiti today.

Within the context of Haiti, the word crisis has very specific meaning for Dr. Greg Beckett. As you'll him articulate, this is not just another book about crisis in Haiti. This book is about what it feels like to live and die with a crisis that never seems to end. It is about the experience of living amid the ruins of ecological devastation, economic collapse, political upheaval, violence, and humanitarian disaster. It is about how catastrophic events and political and economic forces shape the most intimate aspects of everyday life. In this gripping episode, anthropologist Greg Beckett offers a stunning ethnographic portrait of ordinary people struggling to survive in Port-au-Prince in the twenty-first century. Drawing on over a decade of research, There Is No More Haiti builds on stories of death and rebirth to powerfully reframe the narrative of a country in crisis. It is essential episode for anyone interested in Haiti today.

Within the context of Haiti, the word crisis has very specific meaning for Dr. Greg Beckett. As you'll him articulate, this is not just another book about crisis in Haiti. This book is about what it feels like to live and die with a crisis that never seems to end. It is about the experience of living amid the ruins of ecological devastation, economic collapse, political upheaval, violence, and humanitarian disaster.  It is about how catastrophic events and political and economic forces shape the most intimate aspects of everyday life. In this gripping episode, anthropologist Greg Beckett offers a stunning ethnographic portrait of ordinary people struggling to survive in Port-au-Prince in the twenty-first century. Drawing on over a decade of research, There Is No More Haiti builds on stories of death and rebirth to powerfully reframe the narrative of a country in crisis. It is essential episode for anyone interested in Haiti today.

This is the story of freedom, of choices black women made to anchor their humanity,to retain control over their bodies, selves, loved ones, and their futures. The story of freedom is ambiguous, but often begins with intimate acts steeped in power. Listen as Dr Johnson discusses the peculiar oppressions faced by African women and women of African descent. And it pivots on the self-conscious choices black women made to retain control over their bodies and selves, their loved ones, and their futures. Slavery's rise in the Americas was institutional, carnal, and reproductive.  The intimacy of bondage whet the appetites of slaveowners, traders, and colonial officials with fantasies of domination that trickled into every social relationship—husband and wife, sovereign and subject, master and laborer. Intimacy—corporeal, carnal, quotidian—tied slaves to slaveowners, women of African descent and their children to European and African men. In Wicked Flesh, Jessica Marie Johnson explores the nature of these complicated intimate and kinship ties and how they were used by black women to construct freedom in the Atlantic world. Johnson draws on archival documents scattered in institutions across three continents, written in multiple languages and largely from the perspective of colonial officials and slave-owning men, to recreate black women's experiences from coastal Senegal to French Saint-Domingue to Spanish Cuba to the swampy outposts of the Gulf Coast.  Centering New Orleans as the quintessential site for investigating black women's practices of freedom in the Atlantic world, Wicked Flesh argues that African women and women of African descent endowed free status with meaning through active, aggressive, and sometimes unsuccessful intimate and kinship practices.  Their stories, in both their successes and their failures, outline a practice of freedom that laid the groundwork for the emancipation struggles of the nineteenth century and reshaped the New World. Her profile page on our site. https://neg.fm/dr-jessica-marie-johnson/

Yes. Haitians were in the nation-building business! This episode covers a little-known chapter in Haitian history. Dr. Regine Jackson offers a fascinating, multi-sited, and interdisciplinary study of the United Nations Organization in the Congo (ONUC), a civilian operation established after the Democratic Republic of Congo achieved independence from Belgium.   Through narrative interviews in New York City, Port-au-Prince, Montreal and Paris and analysis of archives in Haiti, Kinshasa, and at UN headquarters in New York and Paris, Dr. Jackson helps us understand better the lived experiences of the Haitian educators, engineers, and doctors in the ONUC during the Congo crisis. her previous research suggests that many of these Haitian professionals saw postcolonial Africa as a space of possibility (see Jackson 2014).   This episode seeks to answer crucial questions about our best and brightest: about their pre-migration experiences in Haiti under Duvalier, the role of international organizations such as the UN and WHO, relations between Haitians and the Congolese, as well the circumstances of their departure from the Congo under Mobutu Sese Seko. Visit her guest page https://neg.fm/dr-regine-ostine-jackson/

A PDF version of this book is available for free in open access via the OAPEN Library platform (www. oapen. org). Historically and contemporarily, politically and literarily, Haiti has long been relegated to the margins of the so-called 'New World.' Marked by exceptionalism, the voices of some of its most important writers have consequently been muted by the geopolitical realities of the nation's fraught history. In Haiti Unbound, Kaiama L. Glover offers a close look at the works of three such writers: the Haitian Spiralists Frankétienne, Jean-Claude Fignolé, and René Philoctète. While Spiralism has been acknowledged by scholars and regional writer-intellectuals alike as a crucial contribution to the French-speaking Caribbean literary tradition, the Spiralist ethic-aesthetic not yet been given the sustained attention of a full-length study. Glover's book represents the first effort in any language to consider the works of the three Spiralist authors both individually and collectively, and so fills an astonishingly empty place in the assessment of postcolonial Caribbean aesthetics. Touching on the role and destiny of Haiti in the Americas, Haiti Unbound engages with long-standing issues of imperialism and resistance culture in the transatlantic world. Glover's timely project emphatically articulates Haiti's regional and global centrality, combining vital 'big picture' reflections on the field of postcolonial studies with elegant close-reading-based analyses of the philosophical perspective and creative practice of a distinctively Haitian literary phenomenon. Most importantly perhaps, the book advocates for the inclusion of three largely unrecognized voices in the disturbingly fixed roster of writer-intellectuals that have thus far interested theorists of postcolonial (Francophone) literature. Providing insightful and sophisticated blueprints for the reading and teaching of the Spiralists' prose fiction, Haiti Unbound will serve as a point of reference for the works of these authors and for the singular socio-political space out of and within which they write. Visit her guest page https://neg.fm/dr-kaiama-glover/

DESCRIPTION In this 3 part chat with Dr. Fatton, you won't hear me asking questions. Fatton is the kind of guest that you just hand him the mic and let him do his thang. It's a master class in polisci 101. Grab pen & pencil. Fatton drops some key terms we all should know and internalize. The collapse of the Duvalier dictatorship in 1986 gave rise to optimism among Haitians in all walks of life—to hopes for a democratic journey leading to economic development, political renewal, and social peace. The reality of the subsequent years, however, has not been so sanguine. Robert Fatton analyzes the vicissitudes of politics in Haiti from the demise of Duvalier through the events of 2001. Despite a relatively stable period since Jean Bertrand-Aristide assumed the Haitian presidency for the second time, in 1994, Fatton reveals a country in which the imperfect trappings of liberal democracy coexist with violent struggles to monopolize the few sites of public power with any access to wealth and privilege. Haiti's Predatory Republic, while recognizing the possibilities of a happier future, tells a somber story of an apparently endless transition to democracy. Terms /Concepts Discussed --Peaks & Valleys --La Politique de Doublure --Tout Moun se Moun --Dechoukaj --La Politique du Ventre --Duvalierism BOOK CONTENTS Introduction. Class, State, and Civil Society in Haiti. The Fall of Duvalier and the Contradictions of Democratization. The Rise, Fall, and Second Coming of Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The Vicissitudes of Lavalasian Power. The Antagonistic Present and Future Alternatives. Toward a Compromise? Conclusion. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Robert Fatton Jr. is professor in the Department of Government and Foreign Affairs at the University of Virginia. His numerous publications include Predatory Rule: State and Civil Society in Africa and The Making of a Liberal Democracy: Senegal's Passive Revolution. Visit his guest page https://neg.fm/dr-robert-fatton-jr/

Sandra Wisner is a senior staff lawyer with the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (IJDH), a U.S. human rights organization, working in partnership with the Haiti-based public interest law firm the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI) [Garment Industry] At first glance, the garment workers’ protests sweeping Haiti appear to be the result of a grossly inadequate minimum wage. But listen closely to the organizers and you will see they are rooted in decades of rights violations perpetrated by foreign states’ approach to investment in Haiti. Foreign actors must be held accountable to their legal obligations both for the harm they have caused and to ensure that future investment in Haiti is fair and sustainable. [Food Insecurities] A series of international economic assistance programs in Haiti has led to a protracted and worsening food crisis in the country, amplifying the country’s vulnerability to starvation and malnutrition, as well as natural disasters, like earthquakes and pandemics. These economic programs, which dealt a crushing blow to the country’s domestic agriculture and left the erstwhile self-sustaining nation vulnerable to chronic food insecurity, have ultimately impeded the ability of Haitian people, and their future generations, to enjoy their right to food, health, education, work, and other fundamental human rights. The lack of responsibility taken by those who imposed these policies—among them, international financial institutions like the World Bank—reveals the need for foreign actor compliance with human rights obligations and remediation. This paper proposes that the food insecurity Haitians face today constitutes a violation of the right to food—a territorial and extraterritorial obligation that foreign actors have pledged themselves, both under the United Nations Charter and other human rights instruments, to promote and respect. As such, this paper outlines the emerging recognition of extraterritorial obligations (“ETOs”) around the globe; suggests available mechanisms at the domestic, regional, and international level for adjudication of cases arising from ETOs; and proposes ETOs’ application to traditional policies and remedies meant to protect individuals from harm and compensate them for harm caused. [Peacekeeper Exploitation & Abuse] In Haiti, UN peacekeeping troops have been tied to sexual exploitation and abuse towards local communities. In pursuit of justice and accountability, BAI has been supporting claims for child support on behalf of children fathered by UN peacekeepers. Our teams at BAI and IJDH are leading the litigation in Haiti and both local and international advocacy to fight for justice and defend the rights of women and children. Visit her guest page https://neg.fm/sandra-wisner-jd/

*Manoumba Records label granted permission to include excerpt of "Dèpi tanbou frape" track by Boulo Valcourt I love foundational work like this! A richly ethnographic and compelling read, After the Dance, the Drums Are Heavy is a study of carnival, politics, and the musical engagement of ordinary citizens and celebrity musicians in contemporary Haiti. The book explores how the self-declared president of konpa Sweet Micky (Michel Martelly) rose to the nation's highest office while methodically crafting a political product inherently entangled with his musical product.  It offers a deep historical perspective on the characteristics of carnivalesque verbal play and the performative skillset of the artist (Sweet Micky) who dominated carnival for more than decade-including vulgarities and polemics. Yet there has been profound resistance to this brand of politics led by many other high-profile artists, including Matyas and Jòj, Brothers Posse, Boukman Eksperyans, and RAM.  These groups have each released popular carnival songs that have contributed to the public's discussions on what civic participation and citizenship in Haiti can and should be. Drawing on more than a decade and a half of ethnographic research, Rebecca Dirksen presents an in-depth consideration of politically and socially engaged music and what these expressions mean for the Haitian population in the face of challenging political and economic circumstances.  After the Dance, the Drums Are Heavy centers the voices of Haitian musicians and regular citizens by extensively sharing interviews and detailed analyses of musical performance in the context of contemporary events well beyond the musical realm.

In this second episode of the series (2/2), Dr. Vincent Joos explores the failed international reconstruction of Port-au-Prince after the devastating 2010 earthquake. He describes the failures of international aid in Haiti while ihe analyzes examples of Haitian-based reconstruction and economic practices. By interrogating the relationship between indigenous uses of the cityscape and the urbanization of the countryside within a framework that centers on the violence of urban planning, Dr. Joos shows that the forms of economic development promoted by international agencies institutionalize impermanence and instability. Conversely, he shows how everyday Haitians use and transform the city to create spaces of belonging and forms of citizenship anchored in a long history of resistance to extractive economies. Taking our listeners into the remnants of failed industrial projects in Haitian provinces and into the streets, rubble, and homes of Port-au-Prince, Dr. Joos reflects on the possibilities and meanings of dwelling in post-disaster urban landscapes.

In this series of episodes (2), Dr. Vincent Joos explores the failed international reconstruction of Port-au-Prince after the devastating 2010 earthquake. He describes the failures of international aid in Haiti while he analyzes examples of Haitian-based reconstruction and economic practices.  By interrogating the relationship between indigenous uses of the cityscape and the urbanization of the countryside within a framework that centers on the violence of urban planning, Dr. Joos shows that the forms of economic development promoted by international agencies institutionalize impermanence and instability.  Conversely, he shows how everyday Haitians use and transform the city to create spaces of belonging and forms of citizenship anchored in a long history of resistance to extractive economies. Taking our listeners into the remnants of failed industrial projects in Haitian provinces and into the streets, rubble, and homes of Port-au-Prince, Dr. Joos reflects on the possibilities and meanings of dwelling in post-disaster urban landscapes.

In Island Futures Mimi Sheller delves into the ecological crises and reconstruction challenges affecting the entire Caribbean region during a time of climate catastrophe. Drawing on fieldwork on postearthquake reconstruction in Haiti, flooding on the Haitian-Dominican border, and recent hurricanes, Sheller shows how ecological vulnerability and the quest for a "just recovery" in the Caribbean emerge from specific transnational political, economic, and cultural dynamics. Because foreigners are largely ignorant of Haiti's political, cultural, and economic contexts, especially the historical role of the United States, their efforts to help often exacerbate inequities. Caribbean survival under ever-worsening environmental and political conditions, Sheller contends, demands radical alternatives to the pervasive neocolonialism, racial capitalism, and US military domination that have perpetuated what she calls the "coloniality of climate." Sheller insists that alternative projects for Haitian reconstruction, social justice, and climate resilience—and the sustainability of the entire region—must be grounded in radical Caribbean intellectual traditions that call for deeper transformations of transnational economies, ecologies, and human relations writ large.

In Island Futures Mimi Sheller delves into the ecological crises and reconstruction challenges affecting the entire Caribbean region during a time of climate catastrophe. Drawing on fieldwork on postearthquake reconstruction in Haiti, flooding on the Haitian-Dominican border, and recent hurricanes, Sheller shows how ecological vulnerability and the quest for a "just recovery" in the Caribbean emerge from specific transnational political, economic, and cultural dynamics. Because foreigners are largely ignorant of Haiti's political, cultural, and economic contexts, especially the historical role of the United States, their efforts to help often exacerbate inequities. Caribbean survival under ever-worsening environmental and political conditions, Sheller contends, demands radical alternatives to the pervasive neocolonialism, racial capitalism, and US military domination that have perpetuated what she calls the "coloniality of climate." Sheller insists that alternative projects for Haitian reconstruction, social justice, and climate resilience—and the sustainability of the entire region—must be grounded in radical Caribbean intellectual traditions that call for deeper transformations of transnational economies, ecologies, and human relations writ large.

This compelling book and author offer a comprehensive analysis of the struggle for democracy in Haiti, set in the context of the tumultuous rise and fall of Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Swept to power in 1991 as the champion of Haiti's impoverished majority and their demand for a more just, equal, and participatory democratic society, the charismatic priest-turned-president was overthrown by the military just seven months into his first term.  Popular resistance to the junta compelled the United States to lead a multinational force to restore Aristide to power in 1994 to serve out the remainder of his presidency until 1996. When he was re-elected for a second and final term in 2000, Aristide had undergone a dramatic transformation. Expelled from the priesthood and no longer preaching liberation theology, his real objective was to consolidate his and his Lavalas party's power and preserve the predatory state structures he had vowed to dismantle just a decade earlier. To maintain power, Aristide relied on armed gangs, the police, and authoritarian practices. That strategy failed and his foreign-backed foes overthrew and exiled him once again in 2004.  This time, however, the population did not rally in his defense. Written by one of the world's leading scholars of Haiti, The Prophet and Power explores the crisis of democratization in a poor, underdeveloped, peripheral society with a long history of dictatorial rule by a tiny ruling class opposed to changing the status quo and dependent on international economic and political support. Situating the country in its global context, Alex Dupuy considers the structures and relations of power between Haiti and the core capitalist countries and the forces struggling for and against social change.

This collection of writings from Haitian anthropologist Michel-Rolph Trouillot includes his most famous, lesser-known, and hard-to-find writings that demonstrate his enduring importance to Caribbean studies, anthropology, history, postcolonial studies, and politically engaged scholarship more broadly.

Legal identity is universal, transcending national and socioeconomic borders. It is a central tenet of the UN’s 2030 SDGs and cuts across over 70 development indicators, including birth registration. Evidentiary proof of citizenship is now a necessary tool to ensure access to health, education, and welfare services. As Laurence Chandy, director of Data, Research and Policy at the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), recently stated: the prioritization of documentation within global policy, including the transition from paper to digital identity systems, is ‘one of the most under-appreciated revolutions in international development’. During a period of intense global political-economic reconfiguration, inter-governmental organizations, multi-lateral and national aid agencies have problematized under-documentation. They have contributed significant levels of financial and technical assistance to governments to improve civil registries and ensure that all citizens everywhere have their paperwork.  Over this time, formal identification has come to be considered a ‘prerequisite for development in the modern world’ (Gelb and Clark, 2013). It is now essential to development strategy planning and assumed in both policy and practice to constitute a common good for all beneficiaries. With a focus on the Caribbean, this book highlights how identification practices as promulgated by the World Bank, United Nations (UN) and the Inter-American Development Bank can force the thorny question of nationality, unsettling long-established identities, and entitlements. Notably, the book is the first to identify tensions in social policy over the use of social protection mechanisms promoting legal identity measures with disputes over race, national identity, and belonging.  The book illustrates how, while keen to follow the World Bank’s lead in promoting a legal identity for all – not least to continue benefiting from external funding and support – the Dominican Republic balked at pressure to recognize the national status of persons of Haitian ancestry. It used social policy programs and international donor funding to trace and register the national origins of persons of non-Dominican ancestry.  This culminated in the now notorious 2013 Constitutional Tribunal ruling that retroactively stripped tens of thousands of persons of Haitian descent of their Dominican citizenship. Significantly, these measures not only affected undocumented or stateless populations – persons living at the fringes of citizenship – but also had a major impact on documented citizens already in possession of a state-issued birth certificate, national identity card, and/or passport as Dominicans.

From 2015 to 2019, Laura Wagner was the project archivist for the Radio Haiti Archive at the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Duke University. She holds a PhD in cultural anthropology from UNC Chapel Hill, where her research focused on displacement, humanitarian aid, and everyday life in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Her writings on the earthquake and the Radio Haiti project have appeared in Slate, Salon, sx archipelagos, PRI’s The World, and other venues. She is also also the author of Hold Tight, Don’t Let Go, a young adult novel about the Haiti earthquake, which was published by Abrams/Amulet in 2015. In the fall of 2021, Laura will be a fellow at the Camargo Foundation, where she will be working on a book about the history and legacy of Radio Haïti-Inter,

Dr. Hadassah St. Hubert's dissertation focuses on the motivations of successive Haitian governments from the late nineteenth century to the 1960s in participating in world’s fairs abroad and in mounting expositions in Haiti. In particular, it explores why and how world’s fairs became a primary path through which Haitian officials and elites sought to represent and defend the nation’s image internationally. World’s fairs were mostly held in countries of the global north as showcases of national progress, imperial reach and power. Having overthrown French colonial rule in 1804 and been denigrated by detractors abroad for decades thereafter, Haitian governments sought to demonstrate through participation in late nineteenth century expositions that they and people of African descent more broadly were capable of “civilization.” While colonized “others” were being displayed at human zoos at these international events, Haiti, the sole independent black nation participating, attempted to represent itself as a beacon of black progress through the nation’s pavilion architecture and displays. Haitian governments in the late nineteenth century also sought investment and new markets for Haitian goods and products through participation in and mounting of world’s fairs. The government of Sténio Vincent (1930-1941) participated particularly actively in international expositions, even while Haiti was still under U.S. occupation. Vincent used each event to declare Haiti's sovereignty, seek European trade and investment, and highlight Haitian history and culture to attract tourism. His administration created a precedent for how future Haitian governments represented the nation abroad in these contexts. Under the presidency of Dumarsais Estimé (1946-1950), Haiti launched its own Bicentennial International Exposition (1949-1950), which transformed a portion of the capital of Port-au-Prince into a visionary “modern” city that celebrated the culture and production of the Haitian masses in order to draw tourists. My study concludes with an examination of Haiti’s participation in expositions in the 1960s during the dictatorship of François Duvalier (1957-1971). The Duvalier regime continued Haiti’s long-standing tradition of participation in world’s fairs and expositions to counter negative international portrayals of the country. In this case, the bad press Duvalier sought to counter stemmed from his authoritarian abuses of power. The Duvalier regime, known for its black nationalist rhetoric asserting Haiti’s autonomy, participated in these international events to attract foreign investment, revealing a dependency on the very western nations from which it claimed its independence. My dissertation contributes to our understanding of how successive Haitian governments negotiated neocolonial relationships at these international events to uplift the nation’s image, open foreign markets for Haitian products, encourage foreign investment, and cultivate tourism.

[Scholar Legacy Series #6b]  (In Kreyol/French/Mostly English) This is part 2 where we dig deeper into Dr Fatton's latest book, The Guise of Exceptionalism, which  compares the historical origins of Haitian and American exceptionalisms. It also traces how exceptionalism as a narrative of uniqueness has shaped relations between the two countries from their early days of independence through the contemporary period. As a social invention, it changes over time, but always within the parameters of its original principles. Guest Profile Page https://neg.fm/dr-robert-fatton-jr/

In 1934 the republic of Haiti celebrated its 130th anniversary as an independent nation. In that year, too, another sort of Haitian independence occurred, as the United States ended nearly two decades of occupation. In the first comprehensive political history of postoccupation Haiti, Matthew Smith argues that the period from 1934 until the rise of dictator Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier to the presidency in 1957 constituted modern Haiti's greatest moment of political promise.  Smith emphasizes the key role that radical groups, particularly Marxists and black nationalists, played in shaping contemporary Haitian history. These movements transformed Haiti's political culture, widened political discourse, and presented several ideological alternatives for the nation's future. They were doomed, however, by a combination of intense internal rivalries, pressures from both state authorities and the traditional elite class, and the harsh climate of U.S. anticommunism. Ultimately, the political activism of the era failed to set Haiti firmly on the path to a strong independent future. Profile Page https://neg.fm/dr-matthew-smith/

In 1934 the republic of Haiti celebrated its 130th anniversary as an independent nation. In that year, too, another sort of Haitian independence occurred, as the United States ended nearly two decades of occupation. In the first comprehensive political history of postoccupation Haiti, Matthew Smith argues that the period from 1934 until the rise of dictator Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier to the presidency in 1957 constituted modern Haiti's greatest moment of political promise. Smith emphasizes the key role that radical groups, particularly Marxists and black nationalists, played in shaping contemporary Haitian history. These movements transformed Haiti's political culture, widened political discourse, and presented several ideological alternatives for the nation's future. They were doomed, however, by a combination of intense internal rivalries, pressures from both state authorities and the traditional elite class, and the harsh climate of U.S. anticommunism. Ultimately, the political activism of the era failed to set Haiti firmly on the path to a strong independent future. Profile Page https://neg.fm/dr-matthew-smith/

[Scholar Series #11a] Mining The Haitian Archives. A Conversation with Dr. Hadassah St Hubert.  Colorism in the archives; weaponized language. And you thought doing research was boring. 

[Episode is in French/English/Kreyol] To commemorate the anniversary of the assassination of Jean Dominique, Nèg Mawon Podcast gives you a taste of the archive of Radio Haïti-Inter and what it can still tell us today. Hear the voices of grassroots activists, intellectual luminaries, and, of course, Radio Haiti's journalists discussing human rights, artistic creation, US imperialism, dictatorship, memory, mobilization, and mawonaj. The voices you hear from Radio Haiti’s archive clips  include Sony Estéus, Magalie Marcelin, peyizan from Kay Jakmèl, a woman from Damassin attending a congress of the Mouvman Peyizan Papay, Emmanuel Ambroise, Roger Gaillard, Frankétienne, Rose-Marie Desruisseau, Konpè Filo, Charles Suffrard, Michèle Montas, and Jean Léopold Dominique. Useful links: Radio Haïti-Inter archive at Duke  Follow the archive on Twitter: @achivradyoayiti  (In the spirit of Konbit, ht/chapo ba goes to Dr. Laura Wagner for bringing Nèg Mawon Podcast's first-ever collaborative effort to fruition. It was truly a great and fun experience. This episode wouldn't have turned out as well as it did without her preeminent expertise on Radio Haïti-Inter--she's even got some post-production chops that are notable! Laura is truly a great human being, scholar, and permanent resident in the Lakou.)

This episode went looking for Haitians in London and we found them! We talked primarily in Kreyol about a range of subjects: from racism, opportunities in London, Haitian Chamber of Commerce, Queen Marie-Louise Christophe, immigration, census, and how the relatively small Haitian community living in London are thriving living abroad.  Wilford told me they've built a bridge in London for other Haitians to come. For those of you looking for a change, London may be the place for you. Join me in a fascinating conversation with Michelet and Wilford.

"THE DEAR REMOTE NEARNESS OF YOU speaks poetry's origin in new and startling ways. This is the precise intelligence that knows it must step carefully across the light on the surface of the water... These poems form the contiguous dance of language choosing its own body at will, traveling across light and the dimensions of unarticulated history. This is the word rubbed onto the palimpsest of our being, the careful solo soprano in the space where music ends and poetry moves in to name what is eternal and what is only in the abbreviation of now. What a delightful book from Boston's Poet Laureate."—Afaa Michael Weaver Guest Profile https://neg.fm/danielle-legros-georges/

The Immortals is set in an infamous neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, on Grand-Rue, where many women, young and old, trade in flesh, sex, and desire. We learn, in glimpses and fragments, about the lives of women who fall in love with the moving images of television, the romance of a novel, and the dreams of escape. This moving novel asks, What becomes of these women, their lives, their stories, their desires, and their whims when a violent earthquake brings the capital city and its brothels to their knees? To preserve the memory of women she lived and worked with, the anonymous narrator makes a deal with her client once she discovers that he is a writer: sex in exchange for recording the stories of the friends who were buried beneath the rubble. She tells the stories of women who were friends, lovers, daughters, and mothers—all while their profession sought to hide any trace of intimacy or interiority through pseudonyms and artifice. Ultimately the book reveals how a group of women sought to make a name for themselves in life, demanding that they not be forgotten in death. Winner of France's 2012 Prix Thyde Monnier de la Société des Gens de Lettres, The Immortals is the first work of fiction by the celebrated Haitian writer Makenzy Orcel. Mingling poetry and prose, Orcel centers stories that too often go untold, while reflecting on the power and limits of storytelling in the face of catastrophe.

In this first episode in the Ginen mini-series, we cover the central tenets of Haitian Vodou, the life, love, and expansive mind of the distinguished scholar, Patrick Bellegarde-Smith.  Professor Emeritus Patrick Bellegarde-Smith received his doctorate in international relations, comparative politics, and Latin American Studies, in 1977. He taught in the field of international development, political economy, and culture, at Bradley University,  then later, at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, in the field of  African-American Studies with a focus on Caribbean cultures, politics and history, Afro-Caribbean religions, and in the area of Black feminisms.  He is the author or editor of five books, among them, In the Shadow of Powers (Humanities Press International, 1985, 2nd ed. Vanderbilt University Press, 2019), The Breached Citadel (Westview Press, 1990, 2nd ed. Canadian Scholars Press, 2004), and Fragments of Bone: Neo-African Religions in a New World,  ed. (Illinois University Press, 2005). The sixth book on gender identities and African religious systems is in preparation. Some of his writings have been anthologized, notably, "Hormones and Melanin: The  Dimensions of 'Race,' Sex and Gender: Reflexive Journeys," in Jacqueline  Bobo et al., The Black Studies Reader (New York: Routledge, 2004). For his work on issues of ethnic,  racial, and national identities, he received from the State University of Haiti, the Jean Price-Mars Medal in 2013, and the Lifetime  Achievement Award for Scholarship from the Haitian Studies  Association in 2010. Some of his books and articles have been translated into French, Spanish, Kreyol (Haitian), and Portuguese. Bellegarde-Smith served as the President of the Congress of Santa  Barbara (KOSANBA), a scholarly association for the study of Vodou and other African-derived religions, and is a former president of the  Haitian Studies Association, (HSA). He is an associate editor for the Journal of Haitian Studies and served on the editorial boards of Kalfou: A Journal of Comparative and Relational Ethnic Studies, and the Journal of Africana Religions. He is an advisory board member/Elders-Distinguished Member of the  Institute for the Study of Canadian Slavery, in Halifax, NSCAD, Nova  Scotia. He is a Houngan asogwe, a priest of Haitian Vodou. He attended The University of the Virgin Islands, the "youngest" HBCU,  Syracuse University at Utica College, and The American University,  School of International Service. Dr. Bellegarde-Smith is the author of many books, including In the Shadow of Powers (1985, 2nd edition 2019), The Breached Citadel (1990, 2nd edition 2004), Fragments of Bone, ed. (2005). For his books and articles on issues of national and personal identities, he received from the University of Haiti, the Jean Price-Mars Medal in 2013, and the Lifetime Achievement Award for Scholarship from the Haitian Studies Association in 2010. Some of his works have been translated into French, Spanish, and Portuguese, and some of his writings are anthologized.

Covering a broad set of topics on Haitian culture, Dr. Cécile Accilien took questions from a live audience on the Clubhouse platform. 

From 1797 to 1801, during the Haitian Revolution, President John Adams and Toussaint Louverture forged diplomatic relations that empowered white Americans to embrace freedom and independence for people of color in Saint-Domingue. The United States supported the Dominguan revolutionaries with economic assistance and arms and munitions; the conflict was also the U.S. Navy’s first military action on behalf of a foreign ally. This cross-cultural cooperation was of immense and strategic importance as it helped to bring forth a new nation: Haiti. Diplomacy in Black and White is the first book on the Adams-Louverture alliance. Historian and former diplomat Ronald Angelo Johnson details the aspirations of the Americans and Dominguans―two revolutionary peoples―and how they played significant roles in a hostile Atlantic world. Remarkably, leaders of both governments established multiracial relationships amid environments dominated by slavery and racial hierarchy. And though U.S.-Dominguan diplomacy did not end slavery in the United States, it altered Atlantic world discussions of slavery and race well into the twentieth century. Diplomacy in Black and White reflects the capacity of leaders from disparate backgrounds to negotiate political and societal constraints to make lives better for the groups they represent. Adams and Louverture brought their peoples to the threshold of a lasting transracial relationship. And their shared history reveals the impact of decisions made by powerful people at pivotal moments. But in the end, a permanent alliance failed to emerge, and instead, the two republics born of revolution took divergent paths.

The Ulrick documentary introduces audiences to Haitian master painter Ulrick Jean-Pierre, who channels his ancestors and pours his soul onto the canvas with exacting detail and visceral impact.

The Guise of Exceptionalism compares the historical origins of Haitian and American exceptionalisms. It also traces how exceptionalism as a narrative of uniqueness has shaped relations between the two countries from their early days of independence through the contemporary period. As a social invention, it changes over time, but always within the parameters of its original principles. Guest Profile Page https://neg.fm/dr-robert-fatton-jr/

This volume is the first to focus on teaching about Haiti’s complex history and culture from a multidisciplinary perspective. Listen as Prof. Accilien makes broad connections between Haiti and the rest of the Caribbean. Other contributors in this book provide pedagogical guidance on how to approach the country from different lenses in course curricula. They offer practical suggestions, theories on a wide variety of texts, examples of syllabi, and classroom experiences. Teaching Haiti dispels stereotypes associating Haiti with disaster, poverty, and negative ideas of Vodou, going beyond the simplistic neocolonial, imperialist, and racist descriptions often found in literary and historical accounts. Instructors in diverse subject areas discuss ways of reshaping old narratives through women’s and gender studies, poetry, theater, art, religion, language, politics, history, and popular culture, and they advocate for including Haiti in American and Latin American studies courses. Portraying Haiti not as “the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere” but as a nation with a multifaceted culture that plays an important part on the world’s stage, this volume offers valuable lessons about Haiti’s past and present related to immigration, migration, locality, and globality. The essays remind us that these themes are increasingly relevant in an era in which teachers are often called to address neoliberalist views and practices and isolationist politics. Contributors: Cécile Accilien | Jessica Adams | Alessandra Benedicty-Kokken | Anne M. François | Régine Michelle Jean-Charles | Elizabeth Langley | Valérie K. Orlando | Agnès Peysson-Zeiss | John D. Ribó | Joubert Satyre | Darren Staloff | Bonnie Thomas | Don E. Walicek | Sophie Watt

On the 12th anniversary of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, we invited Prof. Yveline Alexis to talk about that tragic event and her prize-winning book, "Haiti Fights Back: The Life and Legacy of Charlemagne Peralt." Lots of intelligent questions from our hardcore Neg et Fanm Mawon audience. Guest Profile Page https://neg.fm/dr-yveline-alexis/

Get a free pdf copy of the book here Book Description A new analysis of the origins of the Haitian Revolution, revealing the consciousness, solidarity, and resistance that helped it succeed. About the Author Crystal Eddins is Assistant Professor in the Department of Africana Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Her research has been supported by the Ruth J. Simmons Postdoctoral Fellowship, the John Carter Brown Library, and the National Science Foundation. Editorial Reviews Reviews ‘A compelling, elegantly written, and brilliantly conceived study in the development of racial definitions and solidarity. Eddins bravely opens windows and doors to a subversive and proud Haiti, and its role in the global context. The reader is observing the birth of a ‘new’ classic.’ Patrick Bellegarde-Smith, author of In the Shadow of Powers: Dantes Bellegarde in Haitian Social Thought ‘This beautifully crafted and overwhelmingly researched work restores the place of the multitude of known and unknown individuals who deployed myriad cultural, ethnic and religious practices derived from their African homelands to resist the dehumanization of slavery in 18th-century Saint Domingue (Haiti) in pursuit of racial liberation and human dignity. The book’s de-colonial perspective makes a seminal contribution to current Black and African diasporic studies. It is historical scholarship at its best.’ Carolyn Fick, author of The Making of Haiti: The Saint Domingue Revolution from Below ‘Crystal Eddins tells an important and fascinating story that reveals how oppression can be overturned under the most unlikely of circumstances. Perhaps most striking is her brilliant and counterintuitive analysis of advertisements designed to capture runaway slaves - advertisements that provide clues to piece together processes leading to collective consciousness needed to drive revolution.’ Rory McVeigh, University of Notre Dame ‘Crystal Eddins’s groundbreaking study reveals the agency of marronage and self-determination as key drivers of liberation and revolution. Her stunning analysis of thousands of fugitive advertisements challenges historical sociology and social movement studies with a Black/African diaspora reading of the collective efforts ‘from below’ that negated white-dominated capitalist structures. Her creative and exacting deployment of big data demands that we reconceptualize freedom, citizenship, property, and identity on a wider scale. Bravo!’ Mimi Sheller, Drexel University

El Maniel Maroon community and women's reproductive rights.

Winner of the 2021 Haitian Studies Association Book Prize Haiti Fights Back: The Life and Legacy of Charlemagne Péralte is the first US scholarly examination of the politician and caco leader (guerrilla fighter) who fought against the US military occupation of Haiti. The occupation lasted close to two decades, from 1915-1934. Listen as Professor Alexis argues for the importance of documenting resistance while exploring the occupation’s mechanics and its imperialism. She takes us to Haiti, exploring the sites of what she labels as resistance zones, including Péralte’s hometown of Hinche and the nation’s large port areas--Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haïtien. Alexis offers a new reading of U.S. military archival sources that record Haitian protests as banditry. Haiti Fights Back illuminates how Péralte launched a political movement, and meticulously captures how Haitian women and men resisted occupation through silence, military battles, and writings. She locates and assembles rare, multilingual primary sources from traditional repositories, living archives (oral stories), and artistic representations in Haiti and the United States. The interdisciplinary work draws on legislation, cacos’ letters, newspapers, and murals, offering a unique examination of Péralte’s life (1885-1919) and the significance of his legacy through the twenty-first century. Haiti Fights Back offers a new approach to the study of the U.S. invasion of the Americas by chronicling how Caribbean people fought back. Guest Profile Page https://neg.fm/dr-yveline-alexis/

Key Research Terms  —Baron de Vastey —Noel Colombel —Haiti’s Isolation —Regeneration —Haiti’s Kingdom vs. Haiti the Republic —Edouard Glissant’s Theory of Opacity —The Unmediated Agency of Early Haitian Writings —Black Atlantic Humanism —Earliest formulations of what would later become CRT Episode Description Focusing on the influential life and works of the Haitian political writer and statesman, Baron de Vastey (1781-1820), in this book Marlene L. Daut examines the legacy of Vastey's extensive writings as a form of what she calls black Atlantic humanism, a discourse devoted to attacking the enlightenment foundations of colonialism. Daut argues that Vastey, the most important secretary of Haiti's King Henry Christophe, was a pioneer in a tradition of deconstructing colonial racism and colonial slavery that is much more closely associated with twentieth-century writers like W.E.B. Du Bois, Frantz Fanon, and Aimé Césaire. By expertly forging exciting new historical and theoretical connections among Vastey and these later twentieth-century writers, as well as eighteenth- and nineteenth-century black Atlantic authors, such as Phillis Wheatley, Olaudah Equiano, William Wells Brown, and Harriet Jacobs, Daut proves that any understanding of the genesis of Afro-diasporic thought must include Haiti's Baron de Vastey.

From the publisher: In Slave Revolt on Screen: The Haitian Revolution in Film and Video Games, Dr. Alyssa Goldstein Sepinwall analyzes how films and video games from around the world have depicted slave revolt, focusing on the Haitian Revolution (1791–1804).  Despite Hollywood’s near-silence on this event, some films on the Revolution do exist—from directors in Haiti, the US, France, and elsewhere. Slave Revolt on Screen offers the first-ever comprehensive analysis of Haitian Revolution cinema, including completed films and planned projects that were never made. In addition to studying cinema, this book also breaks ground in examining video games, a pop-culture form long neglected by historians. Sepinwall scrutinizes video game depictions of Haitian slave revolt that appear in games like the Assassin’s Creed series that have reached millions more players than comparable films. In analyzing films and games on the revolution, Slave Revolt on Screen calls attention to the ways that economic legacies of slavery and colonialism warp pop-culture portrayals of the past and leave audiences with distorted understandings. - Carolyn E. Fick, author of The Making of Haiti: The Saint Domingue Revolution from Below, writes: "Alyssa Sepinwall’s exciting new book, Slave Revolt on Screen, examines how the Haitian Revolution—the modern world’s first and only successful Black slave revolt—has been portrayed in film throughout the past century, exposing not only the flagrant distortions and factual departures from the historical record in these films, but also their exoticitized notions about Haiti and their implicitly and often explicitly white supremacist attitudes toward Haitians, and toward Blacks in general, that have permeated Hollywood and the film industry up to today. The book draws upon a sweeping range of films and video games (a new genre) on or about the Revolution as well as personal relationships and interviews with some recent filmmakers. Yet the skillful hand of the historian is omnipresent as Sepinwall brilliantly weaves together the history of the Haitian Revolution and the history of filmmaking about it, urgently calling for the yet-to-come masterpiece film on this historically epic Black liberation struggle for freedom."

Haiti’s Reforestation Initiative - A Conversation w/ Martha Johnson, Former Administrator, US General Services Administration under the Obama administration.

Michael Anello has lived and worked in Haiti at a local level for ten years. Following a 32-year career as a psychotherapist in Charlottesville, VA, he was drawn to work with rural Haitian communities as they rebuilt their lives after the 2010 earthquake. In 2018 he joined Haiti Reforestation Partnership, realizing that his skills with people and the trusting relationships with Haitians that he had built would prove valuable. He works now with the 750- person CODEP organization that has planted and nurtured 15 million trees over the past 30 years. He plays a crucial role with the Animators, the CODEP leaders, as they shift away from a faith-based donor relationship with Americans and respond to two imperatives: to lead their community on its long road to improved health and well-being and to recognize, leverage, and extend their extraordinary success at reforestation. MICHAEL@HAITIREFOREST.ORG | +1 (434) 981-4464 | HAITI CELL: +509-3163-1797

As a small business owner, I have a built-in bias towards action. I want to get stuff done more than I want to talk about getting stuff done. When you have to deal with payroll and all the day-to-day stuff life throws at you, you really don't have time for BS.  This is why this interview with Guerline Emmanuel, another small business owner, resonated so much with me. She doesn't suffer fools gladly when it comes to running her businesses, especially when it comes to loose talk about how to solve the myriad challenges facing Haiti. She just calls balls and strikes. I found this discussion with Guerline Emmanuel refreshing and I hope you do as well.