The Latest

Haitian Migration in the Americas: Combating Anti-Blackness & Building Transnational Solidarity (June 5, 2023)
As part of the 2nd session of the UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, the Global Justice Clinic at NYU School of Law invites you to a virtual side event and webinar entitled, “Haitian Migration in the Americas: Combating Anti-Blackness & Building Transnational Solidarity.”
Since the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Haitian migration has expanded and transformed dramatically. While the United States, Canada and the Dominican Republic were historically primary destination countries, Haitians are now migrating throughout Central and South America, including Chile, Colombia, Panama, and Mexico. Although the country contexts differ, for Haitian migrants there has been one constant: anti-Blackness. In this panel discussion, Haitian migrant rights’ advocates living in countries in North and South America will share about the challenges facing Black migrants and the need for transnational solidarity and collective power-building.

Haiti in Crisis: The Search for a Way Forward (May 30, 2023)
Haiti is experiencing one of the most difficult moments in its troubled history. In the aftermath of the July 2021 assassination of President Moïse, political instability and criminal violence affect all aspects of daily life. Gang activity has all but incapacitated efforts to provide food and medical supplies. Homicides and kidnappings have skyrocketed. Calls for an international rescue effort have not yet been answered. The international community is struggling to find a way to support restoration of the rule of law, provide urgently needed humanitarian assistance, and strengthen the government of Haiti’s capacity to govern. The United Nations’ Integrated Office in Haiti noted last year that “the current situation … demonstrates the extent to which political, security, development and humanitarian dimensions are intertwined and mutually reinforcing…”.

Haitian-American Heritage Month: “All Eyes on Haiti” Virtual Panel Discussion (May 25, 2023)
Haitian-American Heritage Month: “All Eyes on Haiti” Virtual Panel Discussion.

From Statelessness to Global Black Solidarity (May 18, 2023)
In 2013 the Dominican Republic’s Constitutional Tribunal denationalized more than four generations of Black Dominicans of Haitian descent rendering them stateless. This ruling commonly referred to as “La Sentencia” was the result of a series of xenophobic and racist administrative rulings and policies, which throughout the twentieth century sought to systematically marginalize Haitian migrant laborers and strip their Dominican born children of citizenship.
Through a discussion with Ana María Belique and Epifania St. Chals, leaders of the Reconoci.do movement, this talk will explore the impact of La Sentencia on Black Dominicans of Haitian descent, historical linkages between the US, Haiti and the Dominican Republic and draw on Global Black Solidarity as a tool of resistance and liberation.

Call For Submissions for the 2023 HSA Book Prize Award (June 12, 2023)
The HSA Book Award is given in alternate years to the best book in Haitian Studies in the Social Sciences, with relevance towards the betterment of Haiti and its people. Books must have been published within the last 2 years, June 2021 to June 2023. Anthologies and edited volumes do not qualify.

Microplastics and Environmental Health: Identification of the Environmental Hazards in Haiti
Over the past several decades, various studies have highlighted the impact of microplastics (MP) on living organisms. By definition, MP refers to all plastic particles with a size less than 5 mm in diameter according to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Agency of the United States (NOAA). They are themselves pollutants and act as vectors for the transport of various types of chemicals in natural ecosystems. Depending on their characteristics, they are easily introduced into the environment by wind and heavy rains and persist there due to their low solubility. They can be found in: seawater, freshwater, agroecosystems, atmospheric, food and aquatic environments, drinking water, natural biota as well as other remote locations (Lambert et al., 2014).

The Haitian Women’s Collective – Research Fellow
The Haitian Women’s Collective-theHWC.org, a fiscal program of Diaspora Community Services, seeks an intern to act as a Research fellow.
The ideal student would work with HWC to develop data profiles and conduct research on women and girl issues and join a team of women dedicated to transforming development and addressing priorities for women in Haiti.

Professors Petrouchka Moïse and Fredo Rivera Secure $350K Grant for “Haitian Art Digital Crossroads” Project
Petrouchka Moïse, assistant professor and Cultural & Community-based Digital Curator in the Grinnell College Libraries, and Fredo Rivera ’06, assistant professor of Art History, have been awarded a $350,000 grant from the Humanities Collections and Reference Resources program of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The grant will support their project, “Haitian Art Digital Crossroads,” which aims to digitize over a thousand Haitian artworks held at several sites in Haiti and the United States and incorporate them into a multilingual database.
“We are thrilled to have this opportunity to share the richness and diversity of Haitian art with a wider audience and to make it accessible to scholars and researchers around the world,” said Moïse.

Lunch & Learn with Local Haitian Civic Leaders (May 10, 2023)
Anseye Pou Ayiti is a grassroots movement of Haitian civic leaders working together to transform the nation’s education system as a lever toward justice and liberation.
We are equipping civic leaders who will transform Haiti’s classrooms and communities into spaces that will be foundational to Haiti’s citizens reclaiming their identity and agency. We believe that education will be the next cultural revolution in our mighty Haiti. We know Haiti’s potential and, for almost ten years, our network of now 450+ civic leaders have been contributing to community transformation.
Our new series of “lunch-n-learn” sessions are meant to help us continue to build meaningful allyship as we expand connections that reinforce and elevate the work of APA’s civic leaders.

Emerging Scholars Café (Apr. 28, 2023)
The Emerging Scholars Committee would like to invite you to our first Emerging Scholars Café of this year on April 28, 2023 at 2:00 pm EDT on Zoom.
We welcome Dr. Kapriskie Seide, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology at Davidson College, on the topic “Disability related to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti” and Pascal Dafinis Ph.D Student, Global Studies, University of Irvine, on the topic “Haitian Migration through Latin America”. We also welcome Dr. Darlene Dubuisson, Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh, as a commentator for this panel. Presentations will be in English and French and will be followed by a discussion in all three languages (English, Creole, French). We look forward to your attendance.

Video games, food and ‘aha’ moments make this Cal State San Marcos professor one of the best
Alyssa Sepinwall was named the best teacher in the CSU system for getting students to grasp how their lives have been shaped by events that occurred long ago and far away.

Conversation with Jean Abel Pierre (Apr. 19, 2023)
Conversation with Jean Abel Pierre about his book ‘Sociologie critique de la corruption: Comment Haïti est pris au piège de la pauvreté’
Kwazman Vwa is delighted to welcome author Jean Abel Pierre. Pierre will be with us to discuss his recent book, Sociologie critique de la corruption: Comment Haïti est pris au piège de la pauvreté. Corruption is a subject that concerns us all, and somehow, our preoccupation with limiting its effects and abuses never seem to fully eliminate it entirely. In Sociologie Critique de la Corruption, Pierre charts a roadmap for understanding how development, “good governance,” and neoliberalism further instill corruption in our political and economic systems. With a specific focus on Haiti, Pierre shows how corruption is something more than a colonial inheritance, rather, it is part of an economic framework cultivated by domestic and international forces. Our guest will be in conversation with Erika Serrato and Nathan Dize, and the event is kindly sponsored by the Department of French and Italian at Oberlin College.

Religion Prof Receives Fellowship to Help Preserve Vodou Temple
Professor of Religion Elizabeth McAlister is working alongside colleagues in Haiti to help preserve the precious art and sacred objects at one particular temple. To support her efforts, McAlister has recently been named a 2023 Crossroads Research Fellow by Princeton University. The Crossroads Project “responds to challenges that call for deeper public understanding of and scholarly engagement with Black religious histories and cultures,” according to its website.

Information Forum: Helping Newcomers Find Community Support (Apr. 16, 2023)
April 16, 2023 at 5-6:30 ET
CUNY Haitian Studies Institute of Brooklyn College and the Haitian Studies Association invite you to this information forum to discuss ways to help newcomers to find various support in communities around the U.S.