Martin Luther King Day in Haiti

Admittedly I was a little bummed that I didn’t get today off for Martin Luther King Day, but I did have a really nice time helping one of the medical teams out in La Coup, a small village a few miles in the mountains. Last year I celebrated Martin Luther King day by volunteering, and though I wouldn’t have minded the day off, I was glad to do the same. Though Haiti did not play a large part in the civil rights era of the 1960’s, Haiti has a very interesting place in the racial history of America.

After the Haitian revolution, most all of the white population fled back to France, or was killed in Haiti. There are a few stories about former plantation owners peacefully returning to their plantations and living among their former slaves, but for the most part the white plantation owners were not welcome. This meant that the entire government was made up of people from African descent, as most of Haiti still is today. This meant that any ambassador to the US from Haiti would have to be black. In today’s world this might not be a huge issue, we just swore in a black president for the second time today, but in 1804 when Haiti became an independent nation, the antebellum south refused to allow the US to receive a black ambassador. The Antebellum South wouldn’t even recognize Haiti as a legitimate nation. Formally recognizing a slave nation as a diplomatic equal would openly challenge the legitimacy of slavery. How could the US admit an that a nation run by Africans could exist when Africans in the US were seen as property?

            This lack of recognition was a great impediment to Haiti’s diplomatic development throughout the 18^th century. Haiti was continuously bossed around by the French and German navies and could not call on the US to assist. Under the Monroe doctrine the US was defensive of any intimidation by a European power of any independent nation in the Americas. Though Haiti was geographically in the Americas, since it was not recognized as a formal nation, it could not ask the US to advocate for it when France and Germany parked their navies outside of Port Au Prince.

            One move Haiti employed in protest to America’s actions was to divert slave-trading ships from Africa to Haiti’s shores. When the ship arrived in Haiti all of the African slaves were set free. I don’t know what affect this had on its diplomatic relations with the US, it probably just angered a few slave traders, but it sent a clear message to America. Abraham Lincoln wanted to see Haiti be recognized as a real nation, and when the Civil War was over, the first ambassador to Haiti from the United States was Fredrick Douglas. Though Haiti was going through a great upheaval at the time, Fredrick Douglas served Haiti well, and repaired the poor relationship between Haiti and the US. Unfortunately this relationship deteriorated as Haiti’s general state of public affairs deteriorated, but Douglas’s did what he could to support the Haitian cause as well as America’s best interests when he served as Ambassador.

            Looking through Haitian history, there are very few figures like Martin Luther King. I never realized how blessed America is to have figures like Martin Luther King, Abraham Lincoln, and Fredrick Douglas. We look up to these men and women and celebrate their achievement because they represent a point when we as a country took a great stride forward; they represent a time when our better nature won out. Haiti does not have as many moments as we do in the US but I’m hopeful. All I can hope is that when I return to Haiti in 50 years I’ll celebrate Haiti’s Martin Luther King and the great strides Haiti will have made.