By Olivia Guthrie<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chicago, a city of wind chill and high rises, has a deep connection with Haiti, a country of Caribbean warmth and agriculture. Chicago was founded by a Haitian and continues to be home to a thriving Haitian community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jean Baptiste Point DuSable set up a trading post in what is now downtown Chicago in the 1780s. That\u2019s a fact that many Chicagoans never learn in school, according to Courtney Joseph, an associate professor of African-American history at Lake Forest College and daughter of two Haitian immigrants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Joseph researches Haiti\u2019s diaspora in the city and has written an upcoming book, \u201cInvisibly Visible: A Community History of Haitians in Chicago.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her book explains how Haitian people have existed in Chicago from its founding and illustrates the unique relationship the island has with the Windy City, a connection that has led to the sizable Haitian community today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Joseph said many people are unaware of Chicago\u2019s Haitians, but once they find out they can see it everywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut if you don’t know, it’s largely hidden and invisible, and can often lead to a lot of questions about Haitian identity as well,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unfortunately, most conversations about Haiti in America focus on negative attributes of the country, such as ongoing political turmoil or natural disasters, she said. Even popular media reinforces stereotypes of caricatures that are derivative of Haitian culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Joseph said she has an idea of why Haiti is portrayed so poorly. It all boils down to the Haitian Revolution of 1791-1804. It was the only successful slave uprising in history that led to the creation of a country, she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI will forever quote my father here on this, where he used to say and still says to me, \u2018We will always pay for 1804,\u2019\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Examining the history of the island, Joseph believes that it\u2019s easy to see how Haitians declaring themselves free at the height of the of the Atlantic slave trade as a Black state created backlash that lasted until this day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIdeas of Black resistance, I think, scare folks, especially in the West,\u201d she said, \u201cand the typical response is to demonize things.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The important step forward, she said, is lifting up Haitian voices to tell their own story and giving more historical context on why Haiti is in its current state when covering breaking news of the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many Haitians in Chicago make it a point to uplift their culture and keep ties to their homeland through philanthropy and community organizing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One such charity group is Concerned Haitian Americans of Illinois, which Joseph\u2019s parents helped create. They put on fundraising events and galas in order to send money and aid back to Haiti.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI have vivid memories of being in Haitian parties with my parents where it was raucous, you know, a lot of Haitian music, a lot of Haitian food and a lot of political discussion about what was happening here, but [also] what was happening back home,\u201d Joseph said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other Haitian center organizations and businesses include the DuSable Heritage Association and the Haitian American Museum of Chicago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Joseph collaborated with the museum to create a digital oral history archive that she originally made for her dissertation, but wanted to open it to the public. They have been able to secure funding to develop it into a long-term project and expand it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWorking with the Haitian American Museum has been a pleasure because they\u2019re, number one, excellent partners, and number two, [the museum] has allowed me to think about preservation work,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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