Evanston Haitian community reacts to Trump’s false claims

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Last month’s presidential debate was not the first time former President Donald Trump has made derogatory comments about Haiti and Haitians.

In 2018, during a bipartisan meeting with senators about immigration, sources said Trump said, “Why do we need more Haitians, take them out,” NBC news reported. And Trump also included the Caribbean nation among “all these shithole countries,” wondering why the U.S. didn’t have more immigrants from European nations like Norway.

Trump’s continued false claims about migrants in Springfield, Ohio, offended leaders of the Haitian diaspora community in Evanston.

<img decoding="async" width="1024" height="781" data-attachment-id="174258" data-permalink="https://evanstonroundtable.com/2022/06/15/assistant-principal-out-after-9-years-at-willard-but-isnt-going-anywhere/img-6458-3/" data-orig-file="https://evanstonroundtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/IMG-6458-scaled-e1729478672346.jpg" data-orig-size="2120,1617" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"1.6","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 12 Pro","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1654276902","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.2","iso":"32","shutter_speed":"0.00096805421103582","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="IMG-6458" data-image-description=" Longtime Willard Assistant Principal Jerry Succes with his wife, Lori, and their son, Jerry Jr., at a bench dedicated in his honor in spring 2022.

" data-image-caption=" Longtime Willard Assistant Principal Jerry Succes with his wife, Lori, and their son, Jerry Jr., at a bench dedicated in his honor in spring 2022.

" data-medium-file="https://evanstonroundtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/IMG-6458-scaled-e1729478672346-300x229.jpg" data-large-file="https://evanstonroundtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/IMG-6458-scaled-e1729478672346-1024x781.jpg" tabindex="0" role="button" src="https://evanstonroundtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/IMG-6458-scaled-e1729478672346-1024x781.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-174258" style="width:810px;height:auto" srcset="https://evanstonroundtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/IMG-6458-scaled-e1729478672346-1024x781.jpg 1024w, https://evanstonroundtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/IMG-6458-scaled-e1729478672346-300x229.jpg 300w, https://evanstonroundtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/IMG-6458-scaled-e1729478672346-768x586.jpg 768w, https://evanstonroundtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/IMG-6458-scaled-e1729478672346-1536x1172.jpg 1536w, https://evanstonroundtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/IMG-6458-scaled-e1729478672346-2048x1562.jpg 2048w, https://evanstonroundtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/IMG-6458-scaled-e1729478672346-1200x915.jpg 1200w, https://evanstonroundtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/IMG-6458-scaled-e1729478672346-1568x1196.jpg 1568w, https://evanstonroundtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/IMG-6458-scaled-e1729478672346-400x305.jpg 400w, https://evanstonroundtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/IMG-6458-scaled-e1729478672346-706x538.jpg 706w, https://evanstonroundtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/IMG-6458-scaled-e1729478672346-2000x1525.jpg 2000w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px"/>Former Willard Assistant Principal Jerry Succes, with wife Lori and their son, Jerry Jr., sits on a bench dedicated in his honor in 2022. Credit: Submitted “It’s stupid, and it’s very offensive, for that to be out, for them to take one little lie and run with it,” said Jerry Succes, a former assistant principal at District 65 and director of academic supports at ETHS, who was born in Port-au-Prince and immigrated to the U.S. at the age of 8.

Trump’s anti-migrant remarks at the Sept. 10 presidential debate echoed comments by his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, despite multiple fact checks debunking the wild claims.

As the election approaches, Gerald Daye Sr. of the Evanston Haitian Community Organization wants people to instead think about the positive influences immigrants bring to the city and nation.

<img decoding="async" width="1024" height="576" data-attachment-id="400260" data-permalink="https://evanstonroundtable.com/haititv/" data-orig-file="https://evanstonroundtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/haitiTV.jpeg" data-orig-size="1920,1080" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="haitiTV" data-image-description=" Gerald Daye Sr., president of the Haitian Community Organization, was interviewed by NBC Chicago in September.

" data-image-caption=" Gerald Daye Sr., president of the Evanston-based Haitian Community Organization, was interviewed by NBC Chicago in September.

" data-medium-file="https://evanstonroundtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/haitiTV-300x169.jpeg" data-large-file="https://evanstonroundtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/haitiTV-1024x576.jpeg" tabindex="0" role="button" src="https://evanstonroundtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/haitiTV-1024x576.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-400260" srcset="https://evanstonroundtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/haitiTV-1024x576.jpeg 1024w, https://evanstonroundtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/haitiTV-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://evanstonroundtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/haitiTV-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://evanstonroundtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/haitiTV-1536x864.jpeg 1536w, https://evanstonroundtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/haitiTV-1200x675.jpeg 1200w, https://evanstonroundtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/haitiTV-1568x882.jpeg 1568w, https://evanstonroundtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/haitiTV-400x225.jpeg 400w, https://evanstonroundtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/haitiTV-706x397.jpeg 706w, https://evanstonroundtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/haitiTV.jpeg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px"/>Gerald Daye Sr., president of the Evanston-based Haitian Community Organization, is interviewed by NBC Chicago in September. Credit: NBC Chicago “Many Haitians that are doing well, that are helping America,” Daye said, “We’re here and we’re not going anywhere. These little words [don’t] deter our life, [don’t] deter who we are and what we’re about.”

A “Stop Haitian Hate” rally in September drew dozens of supporters from around the Chicago area.

Community in Evanston Haitians have lived in the Chicago area ever since Jean Baptiste Point DuSable first arrived in the 1780s.

Evanston Haitians have cemented themselves in the community. The Haitian Congress to Fortify Haiti, a service and activist organization, was formed in Evanston in 2006. Haitian digital radio station Radio La Différence is based in Evanston, as is the nonprofit Lakou, which teaches people in Haiti how to construct hurricane- and earthquake-resistant buildings.

Several local churches serve the Haitian community, including First Haitian Baptist Church, 1309 Elmwood Ave., and St. Mary Church of St. John XXIII Parish, which celebrates a French/Creole Mass on the first Sunday of every month.

In July, the Haitian Community Organization sponsors an annual Fourth of July celebration that draws hundreds to James Park.

<img decoding="async" width="1024" height="768" data-attachment-id="264944" data-permalink="https://evanstonroundtable.com/sophia-hco-1/" data-orig-file="https://evanstonroundtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/sophia-HCO-1.jpeg" data-orig-size="1080,810" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1688660174","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="sophia HCO 1" data-image-description=" Haitian festival July 4, 2023 Malory Frouin holds a Haitian flag. Frouin s a volunteer helping to set up the food booths, and putting up Haitian and American flags with the festival banners at the festival.

" data-image-caption=" Malory Frouin holds a Haitian flag. Frouin worked as a volunteer helping to set up food booths, and putting up Haitian and American flags at the festival.

" data-medium-file="https://evanstonroundtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/sophia-HCO-1-300x225.jpeg" data-large-file="https://evanstonroundtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/sophia-HCO-1-1024x768.jpeg" tabindex="0" role="button" src="https://evanstonroundtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/sophia-HCO-1-1024x768.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-264944" srcset="https://evanstonroundtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/sophia-HCO-1-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https://evanstonroundtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/sophia-HCO-1-300x225.jpeg 300w, https://evanstonroundtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/sophia-HCO-1-768x576.jpeg 768w, https://evanstonroundtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/sophia-HCO-1-800x600.jpeg?crop=1 800w, https://evanstonroundtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/sophia-HCO-1-600x450.jpeg?crop=1 600w, https://evanstonroundtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/sophia-HCO-1-400x300.jpeg?crop=1 400w, https://evanstonroundtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/sophia-HCO-1-200x150.jpeg?crop=1 200w, https://evanstonroundtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/sophia-HCO-1-706x530.jpeg 706w, https://evanstonroundtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/sophia-HCO-1.jpeg 1080w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px"/>Volunteer Malory Frouin displays a Haitian flag at the the Haitian Community Organization Summer Festival in 2023. Credit: Sophia Sherman Succes recalled that when he came to America he barely knew English, but now he mentors Haitian migrants at ETHS.

“In the ’80s, I’m sitting there in elementary school not speaking English and struggling,” he said. “So now I’m seeing these kids. I say, ‘Hey, you too can do it.’”

The Census Bureau estimates that as of 2022, about 12,500 Evanston residents, or 16.2% of the city’s population, were born outside the U.S. The local Haitian community embraces the intertwining of cultures that results, and urges acceptance of newcomers.

“We grew up in Evanston, but whether they’re [in] Chicago, Evanston and Skokie, regardless, they’re here,” Succes said, “and we just have to accept them for who they are.”

Succes encourages those outside the community to speak up against the lies and support and engage with Haitian immigrants.

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