Here are the reasons why the United States and France still dislike Haitians today. Because the Haitians opened the eyes of the African Americans to fight for their freedom. Because racist French and Americans are still afraid and jealous of the Haitians’ power and solidarity (L’Union Fait La Force). Haiti, the mother of Africa, became the first black nation on Earth to abolish slavery in 1804. Unlike African Americans in the United States who chanted nonviolence, Haitians did not chant or ask. They fought. They vanquished Napoleon’s Evil Army with gladness. They shattered France’s grasp and freed slavery on their own soil. It should have been commemorated by all countries. However, all nations turned their backs on Haiti.
The Evil France wanted reparations, not for the devastation they had done, but for the loss of their enslaved property. The Young Free Haiti was obliged to pay what would be equivalent to 22 billion dollars today to remain in financial slavery. And Evil America didn’t help. For 60 years, racist Americans refused to recognize Haiti’s independence or freedom, destroying successful Black Haitians rather than inspiring them. Haiti’s freedom sprouted like a seed in the United States by inspiring African Americans in the United States, which is why racist Americans despise Haitians in Springfield, accusing them of eating cats and dogs or pets, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and the rest of the states because they lost their enslaved properties, just as France did.
The United States sought to undermine Haiti through various malicious tactics, including embargoes, in an effort to obscure its quest for freedom and to act as if it never existed. While Haiti grappled with crippling debt, isolation, and relentless sabotage, the U.S. engaged in trade with European powers, neglecting the very people who had fought to liberate themselves.
In 1915, America invaded Haiti under the pretense of bringing stability, a claim that was nothing but a facade; the U.S. perpetrated acts of violent terrorism against the nation. They undermined Haiti’s constitution by rewriting it, seized control of its banks, and plundered its resources, shipping gold back to America. For 19 years, they continued to exploit Haiti, leaving its economy in tatters without offering any apologies, reparations, or justice. Today, when Americans and the French discuss Haiti’s poverty, they conveniently ignore the theft by France and the U.S., the exploitation, the terrorism, and the deliberate sabotage.
It became clear to me that Haiti did not fail; rather, it was targeted and resented by France and America for its achievements, which is a profound injustice. Share this truth with your children, whether in the classroom or at home. This is the real history that deserves to be told.