Jacques Stephen Alexis Anacaona Jean-Bertrand Aristide Rose Anne Auguste Jean-Michel Basquiat Marleine Bastien Garcelle Beauvais Esther Boucicault Emmanuel "Manno" Charlemagne Marie Chauvet Coupé Cloué Edwidge Danticat Jean Dominique Jean-Jacques Dessalines François Duvalier Tyrone Edmond Hector Hyppolite Wyclef Jean Martha Jean-Claude Emeline Michel Sweet Micky Michel Molaire
Félix Morisseau-Leroy Emile Ollivier Raoul Peck Charlemagne Peralte Gérard Pierre-Charles Yvonne Hakim Rimpel Jacques Roumain Manno Sanon Maurice A. Sixto Toussaint Louverture Loune Viaud Claudette Werleigh
Author - Born in Port-au-Prince in 1969, Danticat was raised by an aunt when her parents emigrated to New York when she was very young. It was during these early years that she was influenced by the Haitian practice of story-telling which has developed because much of the population is illiterate. At the age of twelve, she joined her parents in Brooklyn.At university in the US, she wrote her first novel, Breath, Eyes, Memory (Soho Press, 1994), which tells the story of a young Haitian girl who emigrates to the US, grows to maturity here, becomes estranged from her mother, and then returns to Haiti as a way of reconnecting herself with her past and with her mother. At the age of twenty-six, in 1995, she became a finalist for the National Book Award for her collection of short stories, Krik? Krak!. She has received the 1995 Pushcart Short Story Prize and fiction awards from The Carribean Writer, Seventeen, and Essence magazines, and is now widely considered to be one of the most talented young authors in the United States. In 1998 her novel, The Farming of Bones, set against the backdrop of the 1937 massacre of Haitians living in the Dominican Republic, was published.
A conversation with Edwidge DanticatReview of The Dew Breaker
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General, father of Haitian independence - Born at Habitation Cormier, Grande Rivière du Nord in 1758. The history books have it that this illiterate former slave, whose back bore the scars from his owner's whip, had already escaped to join the bands of runaway slaves in the forests and mountains before the Revolution began. He became one of the principal officers in Toussaint's black army, and after Toussaint was taken prisoner, he took up the fight against the French. He fought with savage courage and cruelty, and became notorious for his battle cry, koupe tèt, boule kay (cut off heads, burn down houses). In May 1803, at the coastal town of Arcahaie, Dessalines created the Haitian flag by tearing the white band from the French tricolor, eliminating the symbol of the whites and joining the blue and the red parts, representing the blacks and the mulattoes, together. The combined forces of Dessalines and Pétion, overcame the French troops, capturing the capital, Port-au-Prince, in October 1803, and, a month later, at Vertieres, outside Cap-Français (today's Cap-Haïtien), the conclusive battle was fought.
The defeated French forces left the colony, and on January 1st 1804, Dessalines read the Proclamation of Independence, swearing "to renounce France forever and to die rather than live under domination". Fearing another invasion, in April 1804, Dessalines ordered the massacre of all the remaining French.
Dessalines had himself proclaimed Emperor but the early years of the Republic were beset with difficulties - war had decimated the population and destroyed towns and infrastructure, and there were bitter tensions between former black slaves and freed mulattoes. On 6 October 1806, Dessalines was ambushed and shot dead by rivals. Despite his ignominious end, to this day, his strong, decisive, and often ruthless leadership is revered by Haitian nationalists across the political spectrum.
Journalist, broadcaster - Born into Haiti's mulatto aristocracy on 30 July 1930, Dominique trained as an agronomist. But he soon aligned himself with the peasantry and the poor, which in Haiti's highly-stratified society, often meant he was called a traitor to his class. In the late 1960s, he joined Radio Haiti as a reporter and then bought the station in 1971, renaming it Radio Haïti Inter. The station began reaching out, starting the first systematic broadcasting in Creole, the country's main language, instead of French, which is spoken only by a tiny minority of Haitians. He encouraged reports from the countryside and gave more coverage of world affairs.
As a critic of the Duvalier dictatorship (1957-86), he was forced into exile in 1981 after his wife, Michèle Montas, and other Haiti Inter staff were arrested and deported by the regime. He returned after the fall of President-for-Life Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier in February 1986, only to leave again in 1991 when the army seized power. He came back in 1994, after that regime fell too.
After the Duvalier regime collapsed, his fight for democracy and interest in social issues drew him to the Lavalas movement which emerged in 1990 around the presidential candidacy of Jean-Bertrand Aristide. But his independent spirit made him reject any suggestion of running for office himself. When his longtime friend René Préval became president in February 1996, Dominique became an unofficial adviser. He continued to air his news and comment show "Inter-Actualités" and an interview programme, "Face à l'opinion." He made many enemies by harshly criticising the country's moneyed elite, the former Duvalierists, the army, US policy towards Haiti and more recently, certain figures in Aristide's Fanmi Lavalas party.
Dominique was murdered when he arrived before dawn on 3 April 2000 at the radio station in the Port-au-Prince suburb of Delmas. He parked his car in the small yard, got out and turned to go into the building. At that moment, a stranger walked into the yard and fired seven shots at Dominique. Four 9 mm bullets fatally wounded him in the neck and the heart and he died on the spot. The gunmen then shot dead the station's security guard, Jean-Claude Louissant.
More about Jean Dominique and the campaign against impunityBack to list
Doctor, politician, dictator - Born in 1907 in Port-au-Prince, Duvalier was a medical doctor who became a leading figure in a group espousing a black nationalist ideology in the late 1930s and 1940s. Explaining Haitian history in terms of racial struggle, Duvalier claimed the time had come for a black middle class to bring an end to the traditional supremacy of the mulatto elite. During the administration of the moderate reformist President Estimé (1946-50), Duvalier worked at the Ministries of Public Health and Labour.
In 1957, with the backing of the Haitian military, he won election as President, and quickly moved to repress all opposition. His master-stoke was to remove the threat of a military coup by re-organising the armed forces and creating an alternative and reliable militia, the Tontons Macoutes. Duvalier used the Macoutes to break all real and potential opponents - trade unions were dismantled, progressive priests expelled, and newspapers closed down. Terror and repression were the watchwords as Duvalier and his henchmen employed ever more blatant forms of extortion and corruption to enrich themselves.
The fourteen-year long dictatorship of 'Papa Doc' Duvalier claimed the lives of tens of thousands of Haitians, and many educated people left the country to live abroad. His regime relied on the support of the black lower middle class who found new avenues of social and economic advancement as members of the Tontons Macoutes, and as rural section chiefs.
On his death in 1971, he was succeeded as dictator-for-life by his 19-year old son, Jean-Claude.
Recommended reading - Papa Doc, Baby Doc - James Ferguson
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International male model - Born in Cap-Haïtien in 1977. His mother died when he was nine years old, and he was raised by an US American missionary family. He moved to Miami, Florida, when he was 15 years old, and for some years studied at university. He continued his studies when he moved to Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York, where he lived with his uncle. In 1999, with the encouragement of his friends, he went to a modelling firm called Q Models and, as he says, "Ever since then things have been poppin'."Soon after his career as a model took off, he started the One Heart Foundation to help impoverished children around the world. He says the accent of the foundation is on education. "If you give food and no education then there is no point. Education sometimes is more important than a piece of meat and bread."
Interview with Tyrone Edmond
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Artist - The father-figure of Haitian art, and one of the greatest natural painters of modern times. Born in 1894 in St Marc, Hyppolite was a Vodou priest, and an artist and decorator. His talent was 'discovered' by Haitian novelist, Philippe Thoby-Marcelin, in 1945. Marcelin came across the doors of a bar in the village of Montrouis decorated with birds and flowers painted by Hyppolite using home-made brushes of cock's feathers.
Hyppolite joined the recently-opened Centre D'Art in Port-au-Prince. He quickly achieved world-wide fame for the visionary style of his paintings of Vodou ceremonies and spirits. André Breton and Wilfredo Lam were among those who projected Hyppolite onto the international stage as the first great Haitian painter. He died in 1948, at the peak of his fame, leaving a legacy that has inspired a whole school of Haitian painting.
Also see Leah Gordon's article "Raw Vision"Back to list
Musician and singer - Born in 1970 in Croix-des-Bouquets, but grew up in Port-au-Prince until the age of nine when his family moved to Brooklyn, New York. Later they moved to Newark, New Jersey, where his father is now pastor of the Good Shepherd Church of the Nazarene. Jean formed a hip-hop trio, the Fugees, with his cousin, "Pras" Michel, and Lauryn Hill. The first Fugees album, Blunted on Reality, 1994, was followed by the monumentally successful, The Score, 1996, which has sold more than 15 million copies world-wide. With its blend of singing, rapping, and lush instrumentation, The Score has been widely hailed as expanding the boundaries of hip-hop. It included the global chart-topping single, a remake of Roberta Flack's Killing Me Softly.
In 1997, he released a solo album, Wyclef Jean Presents the Carnival, containing four songs in Kreyol, and with the Fugees he returned to his homeland to play a benefit for repatriated Haitian refugees in front of 80,000 fans in Port-au-Prince. In 2000, Jean released a second solo album, The Ecleftic, Two Sides of a Book.
In late 2001, Jean was reportedly working on the production of a feature film, Passport, which is semi-autobiographical and based on his experience as an immigrant from Haiti. The film chronicles the transition and assimilation of a young Caribbean immigrant into US society.
More recently he has worked as a writer, and producer helping boost the careers of Whitney Houston and Carlos Santana, and producing CDs by Sinead O'Connor and Mary J. Blige. His latest collaboration has been with Tom Jones, the veteran Welsh singer and hip-thruster.
In December 2004, he launched Yele Haiti - a non-political sustainable development movement. With a focus on education, health, entrepreneurship and environment, Yele Haiti unites music and sustainable development to give the youth and Diaspora of Haiti the tools and resources necessary to rebuild and chart a new course for the future. Yele Haiti is a United States-based nonprofit charitable organization with tax-exempt 501(c)(3) status. Yele Haiti is headquartered in New York City with offices in Port-au-Prince and Miami.
Actress, dancer, singer and writer - Martha Jean-Claude was born in
Port-au-Prince, in 1919, and started singing at a very young age. She was a soloist at the Port-au-Prince Cathedral. On 20 December 1952, when three months pregnant, she was imprisoned for criticising the Magloire government and because of her husband's Communist activities. Released for health reasons, it was made clear that the authorities found her presence undesirable, and she left Haiti for a life of exile first in Venezuela and then Cuba.Her first album, Canciones de Haití, was released in 1956, following a meeting with Celia Cruz, and she became an instant success. Anthony Phelps, a Haitian poet, described her "marvelously nuanced and coloured voice" that "easily glides from the very low to the highest note". She became the star of the largest Cuban cabarets, and performed regularly throughout the Americas and beyond.
Martha Jean-Claude's deep knowledge of Haitian folklore served as the inspiration for her songs, and while in exile in Cuba, during the Duvalier dictatorships, she remained profoundly Haitian and very much in touch with her roots. She did not return to Haiti until after the overthrow of Jean-Claude Duvalier in 1986, when she received a tremendous welcome. In May 1996, the Martha Jean-Claude Cultural Foundation was inaugurated under the direction of her son, Richard, to work to promote the culture and the shared inheritance of Cuba and Haiti.
Martha Jean-Claude died on 14 November 2001. ObituaryDiscography: Canciones de Haití (1956); Martha canta a los niños (1971); Yo soy la canciòn de Haití (1975); Agwe (1976); Mwen se fanm 2 peyi/ Soy mujer de dos islas (1995).
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Singer - Born in Gonaïves, Michel is a captivating performer, versatile vocalist, accomplished dancer, songwriter and producer. She has recorded and appeared on concert stages throughout the Caribbean, Europe, North & South America, and Africa over the last 15 years. Singing both in French and Creole, her seven CDs have catapulted her to international acclaim. Emeline Michel is beloved by Haitians for combining traditional rhythms with social, political and inspirational content. Her first experience in music was singing gospel music at the local church. After completing her education, Emeline accepted an opportunity to study at the Detroit Jazz Center and returned to Haiti as a professional musician. Emeline soon released her first album Douvanjou ka leve (May the Sun Rise) which featured the hit Plezi Mize (Pleasure in Misery) written by Beethova Obas. Subsequent releases Tankou melodi (Like a Melody) and Flanm (Flame) established her as one of the top artists in Haiti and the French Antilles, and she was soon hailed as the "new goddess of Creole music".
Relocating to France, she performed at venues such as the Jazz Festival of Nice and Theatre de la Ville, making numerous appearances on French television and gracing the covers of many music and culture magazines. From her new base in France, Emeline's work quickly spread throughout the french-speaking world; including Belgium, Africa, French Antilles, French Guiana, Quebec, as well as Chile and Japan.
After being signed with several record labels in France, Canada and the US, Emeline formed her own production company (Production Cheval De Feu) in 1999 to gain full control of her career and artistic vision. Emeline's latest CD Cordes et Ame is a ground-breaking recording for a Caribbean artist. A sophisticated song-cycle centered around the theme of perseverance, the CD features the sound of voice & acoustic guitar bathed in the ancient and modern rhythms of Haiti. Soon after its release, the album became the fastest selling recording in Haiti (surpassing even the dance music giants of compas) and received Haiti's Musique En Folie awards for Best Haitian Album and Best Production for the year 2000. Emeline Michel web siteBack to list
Musician and singer - Michel Martelly, better known as "Sweet Micky", was born on February 12, 1961, and grew up in the Port-au-Prince suburb of Carrefour. He released his first album, Ou la la, in 1989. His popularity rapidly increased as he cultivated an image as a hedonistic playboy, and touched a sympathetic nerve among those seeking some escapism from everyday hardships. He soon enjoyed a national notoriety thanks to performances marked by his liberal use of betiz - Creole for playful and satirical obscenities - that form part of his repartee with the audience that is delivered in a slang mixture of English, French and Creole.His popularity really took off with the release of the I Don’t Care album in 1994 featuring numerous hits that rocked dance floors from Haiti to New York City. In an often very conservative country, Martelly's predilection for appearing on stage wearing a skirt, or even performing in full drag, as he did for the 1996 Carnival, is refreshingly daring.
Playing keyboards against a pulsating, infectious beat, and singing sharp and satirical lyrics, Sweet Micky has revitalised Haitian Compas music. Over the last decade, his irrepressible charm and charismatic persona, combined with his new interpretations of compas, roots, salsa, Caribbean soca and jazz-fusion, have shaken up the Haitian music world.
Sweet Micky web siteBack to list
Inventor - Michel Molaire has played an integral role in groundbreaking innovations at Eastman Kodak for more than 20 years. The chemist is a research associate and project manager at Kodak in New York. A native of St Marc, Haiti, Molaire moved to the US in 1971. Much of Molaire's work has been in the area of laser printing and optical recording. In 1984, he received the Eastman Kodak Research Laboratories C.E.K. Mees Award for excellence in scientific research and reporting, and later was inducted into the company's Distinguished Inventor's Gallery. He is one of the top patentholders at Kodak.Back to list