Haitian Americans at DNC share their pride, excitement to elect Harris-Walz

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Overview: Sen. Rafael Warnock invokes Haiti during the DNC, a convention that felt more special for many Haitian American delegates witnessing Kamala Harris’s meteoric rise.

By Macollvie J.Neel and Wen-Kuni Céant, Guest Author

CHICAGO — For Linda Joseph, a Florida delegate to the Democratic National Convention, the four nights at the United Center featuring dazzling speakers, electrifying performances and fiery calls to action were only the most visible signs that she belongs. That the most issues most important to her day-to-day existence, including Haiti’s crises, matter to America’s leaders.

Other indications came when Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock invoked Haiti in his remarks. When Joseph — one of nearly 20 delegates from Florida and New York, the states with the highest Haitian populations — met fellow Haitian American Kwame Raoul, the Illinois Attorney General. When Kamala Harris, the highly anticipated Democratic nominee, finally stood at the podium.

“I feel seen,” said Joseph, a union organizer and mother of two. “What I found amazing was her background was no different from mine – two immigrant parents, middle class, with a neighbor [that] helped raise her, who everyone in the neighborhood became our aunt or uncle.

“When she said her mom said… ‘Do not tell people who you are, show them who you are,’ I thought that was just pitch perfect,” Joseph added in a phone interview Friday. “That’s a Caribbean household. Stop your whining. Let’s move forward.”

Moving forward they will, Joseph said, by mobilizing Haitian Americans to elect Harris and her running mate Tim Waltz. She and others said this week that the Democratic delegates, grassroots organizations and campaign staff have much work ahead. But, they’re feeling optimistic, buoyed by the sense of belonging and pride the convention infused.

A flier showing the group of Haitian Americans in the Florida Delegation at the DNC. Getting the vote out is critical in the next 74 days, they said, especially in swing states like Florida back in play. So is organizing beyond the election no matter who occupies the White House, which the election can help them build on.

“This is the time to mobile, mobilize, energize and educate our community and make [ Donald Trump] pay for those words,” she added, a reference to the Republican Nominee calling Haiti a ‘sh**thole county.’ “How great would it be for him to lose his whole State of Florida, and one of the biggest reasons is because of these people from a shithole country.”

Connecting onstage and offstage Warnock’s mention of Haiti, for example, underscores what many of the Haitian American officials and politicos seek to highlight: that Haitians are here in all spaces and that Haiti needs a solution. To that end, Haitians often tout the representation and access they have to influential leaders.

About 20 years ago, Haitians of all leanings were abuzz when one Haitian American woman – Lucy Orlando – appeared at the 2004 Republican National Convention. Similarly, they applauded when Utah’s Mia Love stepped into the limelight at a convention, and later became the first Haitian American elected to Congress.

This year, Maxwell Alejandro Frost was at the podium – as were at least the 20 known Haitian American delegates. For an electorate of 753,000 voters, an overwhelmingly Democratic group, the delegates’ showing also reflects the community’s evolving participation in the democratic process.

During a breakfast held for the Florida Delegation Wednesday, several of the Haitian American elected officials and activists took some time to share what attending meant to them.

“As a Haitian American, this is one of my greatest experiences,” Florida State Rep. Marie Woodson said. “This convention is bigger than all of us. I have been able to see firsthand the support that Vice President Harris has garnered.”

For Marie-Flore Lindor Latortue, of Ayisyen pou Harris, Michelle Obama’s words in particular resonated. Like Joseph said out Raoul, connecting with others off the stage was also motivating.

“[My] greatest excitement about being at the DNC was the connectivity it provided, which former First Lady Michelle Obama reminded us of,” Lindor Latortue said. “If you can’t connect with the constituents, with the people, you are not presidential.”

‘I need my neighbor’s children to be okay’ When it comes to the issues, many community members say concerns such as inflation, wages, jobs and other everyday needs sit at the top of their priorities. On immigration, which remains a key issue, many are worried about what might happen after the recent pause of the Biden Administration’s humanitarian parole, whether Temporary Protected Status will be renewed and the specter of mass deportations that Trump has touted.

The Democrats spoke about being good neighbors globally during the most visible moment invoking Haiti when Warnock spoke about humanity being connected as shown by the pandemic.

“I’m just trying to tell you that we are as close in our humanity as a cough,” said Warnock, senior pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. “I need my neighbor’s children to be okay so that my children will be okay. I need all of my neighbor’s children to be okay.

“Poor inner city children in Atlanta and poor children of Appalachia,” the pastor continued. “I need the poor children of Israel and the poor children of Gaza. I need Israelis and Palestinians. I need those in the Congo, those in Haiti, those in Ukraine. I need American children on both sides of the track to be okay, because we’re all God’s children.”

Joseph said she appreciated the remarks deeply.

“‘We [Haitians] are seen,’ hearing the senator say that” she said, of her thoughts at the time. “You cannot feel for someone if you don’t see them. Seeing them, acknowledging their existence [means] then we can advocate and move forward.”

Still, some said, Haiti and U.S. foreign policy toward the country require more attention than it currently receives on the national stage.

Florida Delegate Ronald Surin, president of the Haitian American Democratic Club of Broward County, was among those who wished for more on the topic.

“There has not been enough discussion about the situation with Haiti, unfortunately it has been put on the back burner,” Surin said.

“The Biden administration has shunned some efforts to address the situation in Haiti,” he said. “We know the administration cares but there is not enough being done to remedy the situation for the average person in Haiti.”

Woodson pointed out that the work needed to turn things around in Haiti can’t be one–sided.

“We’re quick to blame the United States,” she said. “But we have some of the blame ourselves for the corrupt leaders who have brought Haiti to the bottom.”

For Joseph, the many ways that Haiti and her children appeared – on stage, on the sidelines and around the city – is meaningful. For her, it’s more motivation to organize further to help more people of color gain the opportunity and access.

“We need to stop asking people what they’re going to do [for us],” Joseph said. “What do we want? Collectively. And then, maybe we can start to negotiate.”

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