Dr. Marlene Daut, Yale University

Making Haiti Pay: Jean-Pierre Boyer, the French Kings, and Modern Debt

Invocation: Sony Ton-Aime, Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures

Following a thirteen-year revolution to permanently end slavery, Haiti (previously the colony of Saint-Domingue) declared its independence from France on January 1, 1804. Yet France’s Napoléon Bonaparte refused to recognize the new nation. Throughout the first two decades of the nineteenth century, Napoléon’s successor Louis XVIII followed suit and repeatedly tried to “restore Saint-Domingue,” which meant to bring back slavery and French domination. But, in 1825, Charles X, brother of Louis XVIII and the new French king, stunned the world with an about-face when he issued an ordinance stating that France would finally recognize Haitian independence, but only if Haiti’s president, Jean-Pierre Boyer, agreed to pay 150 million francs as the price. Perhaps even more shocking than the amount—nearly six times Haiti’s total annual revenue—Boyer agreed. This talk reframes this indemnity not just as an unfortunate anomaly, but as one of the most pivotal acts of global injustice in modern history and a foundational step in the history of racial capitalism.

Dialogic Plenary: IMMIGRATION & REPAIR

Moderator: Ermitte Saint Jacques, University of Wisconsin Madison

Panelists:

Gabrielle Apollon, Director of the Haitian Immigrant Rights Project at NYU School of Law’s Global Justice Clinic and Coordinator, Hemispheric Network for Haitian Migrants’ Rights

Aline Gue, Executive Director of Haitian Women for Haitian Refugees

HEALING & REPAIR

Moderator: Jessica Hsu, Ph.D., Anthropologist & Solidarity Activist; Research and Advocacy Director, Roots of Development

Panelists:

Louino Robillard, Gwoup Konbit; Program Director of Rasin Devlopman

Dr. Cassandra Jean Francois, Gwoup Konbit; Co-founder & Coordinator, Konbit San Pou San

Nadege Bellande Robertson, Executive Director, Fondation Espoir

Marlene Daut

The First and Last King of Haiti: The Rise and Fall of Henry Christophe

Marlene Daut’s The First and Last King of Haiti stands as a landmark achievement in Haitian historiography and biography. Drawing from an extraordinary range of French, English, U.S., and Haitian archival sources, Daut crafts a deeply researched and elegantly written portrait of Henry Christophe and the revolutionary world that shaped him. Reviewers praised the book’s remarkable synthesis of historical detail, narrative vitality, and analytical depth-qualities that make it both a definitive scholarly work and an accessible trade biography.

Through fine-grained analysis of letters, newspapers, and writings by figures such as Baron de Vastey, Daut vividly reconstructs the complex political and intellectual life of early nineteenth-century Haiti. Her work not only humanizes Christophe and his contemporaries but also illuminates the broader tensions and transformations of the post-revolutionary era. The book engages key historiographical debates while offering new insights into the Haitian Revolution, the formation

of the early Haitian state, and the legacies of Black Atlantic humanism.

Reviewers noted that Daut’s prose moves with clarity and energy. The book is ambition and its depth ultimately redefine how we understand Haiti’s revolutionary past and its global significance. The First and Last King of Haiti is a testament to rigorous scholarship, narrative power, and historical imagination.

Julia Gaffield

I Have Avenged America: Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Haiti’s Fight for Freedom

Julia Gaffield’s I Have Avenged America offers a groundbreaking and deeply researched biography of Jean-Jacques Dessalines, illuminating the life and legacy of one of Haiti’s most pivotal revolutionary leaders. Through a meticulous reconstruction of archival sources across multiple languages and nations, Gaffield recovers the historical record of a figure too often misrepresented or misunderstood. Reviewers praised the book for its clarity, accessibility, and integration of

Haitian, French, and U.S. perspectives into a cohesive narrative that speaks to both scholarly and general audiences. Gaffield situates Dessalines as both an extraordinary leader and a product of his revolutionary moment, providing a nuanced understanding of his military and political career, his governance of the early Haitian state, and his navigation of the fraught aftermath of independence.

By revisiting contested interpretations, including the claims of racial violence following the revolution, Gaffield delivers a definitive, contextually rich account that repositions Dessalines within Haitian and Atlantic history. Engaging and elegantly written, I Have Avenged America stands as a vital contribution to Haitian Studies and the historiography of the Black Atlantic.

Cécile Accilien

Bay Lodyans: Haitian Popular Film Culture

Cécile Accilien’s Bay Lodyans of- fers a pioneering study of Haitian popular cinema, illuminating how film becomes a vital space for ex- ploring questions of identity, be- longing, and everyday life in Haiti and its diaspora. Drawing on inter- views with filmmakers and deep engagement with Kreyòl language and cultural idioms, Accilien pres- ents a nuanced analysis of how Haitian creators and audiences engage issues of class, gender and sexuality, religion, and migration through cinema.

Multidisciplinary in scope, Bay Lodyans weaves together film theory, media studies, gender studies, and cultural analysis to highlight how Haitian filmmakers theorize their world through image, dialogue, and storytelling. Reviewers praised the book’s accessibility, intersectional approach, and deep sensitivity to linguistic and cultural politics. By centering Haitian rather than foreign perspectives, Accilien challenges dominant narratives that have long defined the country’s cinematic representation. The book’s appendices (archiving and categorizing Haitian films) further serve as an invaluable resource for scholars and educators. Both pedagogically rich and intellectually provoca- tive, this work fills a significant gap in Haitian Studies and pre- serves a vital archive of Haiti’s visual culture.

AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE

Dr. Cécile Accilien

Dr. Cécile Accilien is Professor of French and Francophone Studies in the School of Language, Literatures and Cultures at the University of Maryland (College Park). She earned her Ph.D. in French Studies at Tulane University and a M.A. in Francophone Studies at the University of Louisiana, Lafayette. Her areas of study are Francophone African and Caribbean Literatures and Cultures, Gender & Sexuality Studies, and Film & Media Studies.

She has published in different journals, including Forum for Inter-American Research, The Southern Quarterly: A Journal of the Arts in the South, Women, Gender & Families of Color, Revue française, and the Journal of Haitian Studies. She is the co-editor (with Valerie Orlando) of Teaching Haiti: Strategies for Creating New Narratives; co-author (with Krishauna Hines Gaither) of The Antiracism World Language Classroom, and co-author (with Jowel Laguerre) of English-Haitian Creole Phrasebook.

She recently published Bay lodyans: Haitian Popular Film Culture with SUNY Press. Since 2019 she has been serving as chair of the editorial board for Women, Gender and Families of Color. She served as the 2023 – 2024 president of the Haitian Studies Association. Prior to that, she served as an HSA board member from 2019 to 2022. She has written for Truthout and Latin American Commentator.

AWARD FOR SERVICE

Allenby Augustin

Executive Director at the Le Centre D’Art

Allenby Augustin was appointed Executive Director of Le Centre d’Art in September 2021. Le Centre d’Art, founded in 1944 became Haiti’s first major space for artistic training and exhibition at a time when no formal art galleries or schools existed in the country. The Center nurtured generations of renowned artists (e.g., Hector

Hyppolite, Georges Liautaud, and Édouard Duval-Carrié) and catalyzed the emergence of the “naïve” art movement that brought Haitian creativity to international attention. A native of Les Cayes, Augustin first collaborated with the Art Center in 2020 through a project supporting artists affected by the March 1st fire on Rue du Centre in Port-au-Prince. He later coordinated the REL exhibition, highlighting artists from Bel-Air before assuming the interim directorship earlier that year.

With a master’s degree in cultural organization management and a background in arts administration and community engagement, Augustin is also a board member of the Haitian Art Society, the founder of Akoustik Prod, and initiator of the “Nou pran lari an” movement and Krik Krak Festival. His leadership centered on rebuilding Le Centre d’Art (destroyed in the 2010 earthquake) and advancing its mission to safeguard, support, and celebrate Haitian artistic creation. Under the leadership of Allenby Augustin and the Board of Directors, Le Centre d’Art continues to preserve Haiti’s artistic heritage and promote the vitality of Haitian creativity through exhibitions, education, and community engagement.

AWARD FOR SERVICE

Dr. Marie Lily Cerat

Marie Lily Cerat is director of the CUNY Haitian Studies Institute at Brooklyn College and teaches in the Africana Studies Department and in Global Languages, Literatures, and Cultures. She holds a Ph.D. in urban education and a certificate in Africana studies from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY).

Prior to her career in higher education, Cerat served as a bilingual Haitian Creole educator with the New York City Department of Education and a resource specialist with the Haitian Bilingual/ESL  Technical  Assistance Center (HABETAC) of the New York State Education Department Office of Bilingual Education.

A postcolonial scholar and culturally responsive pedagogue, Cerat examines the effects of the exclusion of Haitian language, culture, and history in the education of Haitian learners. Her research articles have appeared in Rethinking Schools, the Journal of Haitian Studies, and the International Journal of the Sociology of Language. Her book chapter “Tell All the Others Our Story” is included in the book she co-edited with Patrick Sylvain and Jalene Tamerat, Education Across Borders: Immigration, Race and Identity in the Classroom (Beacon Press, 2022).

In addition to her scholarly activities, Cerat has a long history of organizing within the New York Haitian community. She is the co-founder of Haitian Women for Haitian Refugees, which was established in 1992 to provide ESL and adult literacy instruction to Haitian immigrants and refugees. Today, the organization also offers leadership training to help community members develop the necessary skills to advocate on their own behalf.

Claire Dieula Belineda Pierre is a Ph.D. candidate in Political Economy at National Tsing Hua University (NTHU) in Taiwan, where she also holds her International MBA. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Universidad Católica Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. Building on her diverse academic journey that spans the Caribbean, North America, and Asia, Claire has focused her doctoral research on addressing socio-political and environmental crises in Haiti. She currently investigates how small, informal financial groups in Haiti, such as MUSO and Ti Pa, self-organize financially and support each other during crisis. This project, titled “Selective Solidarity: The Evolution of Social Capital in Informal Microcredit Groups Under Crisis,” examines the growth of trust and cooperation known as social capital within these groups. This work builds on her master’s thesis, which explored the impact of Haiti’s trade deficits on its long- term economic development. Claire has presented her work in academic and public advocacy settings and is also involved in community work like the Association des Ressortissants Haïtiens à Taiwan (ARHT) to bridge academic findings and community impact. Her research interests are development economics, social capital, and crisis resilience in Haiti. Claire is passionate about contributing transformative, community- based development models rooted in Haitian agency through rigorous qualitative fieldwork and intercultural experience.

Jackson Merinor is a Haitian researcher and emerging scholar in international politics. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Political Science with a specialization in International Relations from the State University of Haiti. His undergraduate thesis, “The Haitian-Taiwanese Cooperation with regard to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) during the Period 2009– 2019,” examined the impact of international cooperation on Haiti’s development agenda and marked the beginning of his interest in global development partnerships and domestic governance. In June 2024, he completed a Master’s degree in International Affairs and Strategic Studies at Tamkang University in Taiwan with high commendation on his thesis, “The U.S. Rebalancing Strategy in the Asia Pacific Region under the Obama Administration.” Currently, Jackson is pursuing a Ph.D. in International Politics at the Graduate Institute of International Politics at National Chung Hsing University (NCHU) in Taiwan. His dissertation research focuses on elite politics, state-building, and internal factors that hinder Haiti’s socioeconomic transformation. Through this work, he aims to deepen understanding of how domestic power structures shape development outcomes in Haiti. Jackson is also actively involved in the Haitian diaspora community and has served as President of the Association of Haitian Nationals in Taiwan. Through his academic work and community engagement, Jackson strives to contribute meaningfully to the future of Haiti by combining critical research with real-world impact.

Walner Osna est professeur à temps partiel et candidat au doctorat en sociologie à l’Université d’Ottawa. Il a fait ses études de premier cycle en sociologieàlaFacultédes sciences humaines de l’Université d’État d’Haïti. Sa recherche doctorale porte sur les expériences paysannes d’accaparement de terre à l’épreuve de la souveraineté alimentaire en Haïti. Ses travaux de recherche portent sur mouvements sociaux, écotourisme, mégaprojets, extractivisme, accaparement de terre, souveraineté alimentaire et théories décoloniales. Il est co-appliquant avec des chercheurs canadiens sur une recherche financée par lInstitut de recherche en santé du Canada (IRSC) portant sur la souveraineté alimentaire, genre et santé en Haïti. Cette recherche a donné lieu à plusieurs publications académiques, un guide d’évaluation de la souveraineté alimentaire en Haïti, un rapport d’enquête mené avec ce guide. Il est co-fondateur du Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire et de valorisation des savoirs sur Haïti (CRIVASH). Il organise plusieurs grands événement sur Haïti avec le CRIVASH chaque année. Il est aussi engagé dans des structures comme Coalition haïtenne au Canada contre la dictature en Haïti.

Ammcise Apply is a Fulbright Scholar and course-completed Ph.D. student in Community Research and Action at Binghamton University, where she serves as a Graduate Assistant. A Psychologist with a Master of Public Health, her research focuses on global health, examining the gendered health impacts of climate change, trauma healing, and climate resilience and sustainability in vulnerable communities across Latin America and the Caribbean through participatory mixed-methods approaches.

She is also a second-year TRUST Scholar and volunteers with the Kaschak Institute for Justice for Women & Girls and Catholic Charities of Broome County. Her scholarly contributions include six peer-reviewed publications, three as first author and two as second author, several preprints, and presentations at national and international conferences, including the American Psychological Association, the Haitian Studies Association, and Partners In Health in Haiti.

She is involved in two ongoing community-based  research projects on trauma healing and resilience among rural communities in Haiti, and on intergenerational trauma, climate resilience, and sustainability in the Caribbean. Her earlier work in Haiti included senior technical roles in HIV/AIDS national programs, where she designed operational strategies, promoted patients’ rights, empowerment, and social protection. Ammcise Apply is a committed member of scholarly networks aiming to advance justice, equity, and culturally relevant solutions to public health and climate challenges.