Haitian Americans

Haitian Americans (French: Haïtiens-Américains; Haitian Creole: Ayisyen Ameriken) are a group of Americans of full or partial Haitian origin or descent. The largest population of Haitian citizens in the United States live in Little Haiti to the South Florida area. In addition, they have sizeable populations in major Northeast cities such as New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., and in Chicago, Springfield, and Detroit in the Midwest. Most are immigrants or their descendants from the mid-late 20th-century and ongoing 21st century migrations to the United States. Haitian Americans represent the largest group within the Haitian diaspora.

In 2021, the U.S. Census estimated that 1,138,855 people of full or partial Haitian descent lived in the United States. During the 1960s and 1970s, many Haitians emigrated to the U.S. to escape the oppressive conditions during the dictatorships of François "Papa Doc" and his son Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier. Political unrest, economic strains, lax migration policies and natural disasters have provided additional reasons for people to emigrate.

During the 18th century, the French colony of Saint-Domingue was the richest in the Caribbean due to its massive production of sugar cane. This wealth was concentrated in the hands of a small minority of mostly French and European planters, who used slave labor from Sub-Saharan Africa to cultivate, harvest, and process their crops. Beginning in 1791, slaves (who formed about 90 percent of the population) revolted against their masters, fought against invading forces, and succeeded in forcing France to abolish slavery.

When France attempted later to reintroduce slavery, the former slaves again revolted and won their independence in 1804, declaring the Republic of Haiti the second republic in the Western Hemisphere. The rebellion proved disruptive to the country's economy, however. Many wealthy colonists left, both white and free people of color. The freedmen wanted to cultivate their own plots rather than work on plantations. Many refugees from Saint-Domingue emigrated to the United States, taking their slaves with them, particularly to the New Orleans region, where they reinforced the existing French-speaking and African populations. Though France and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean (Cuba, Santo Domingo and Puerto Rico) were other major destinations for many immigrants, the United States was a much more popular destination.

During the early 19th century, many immigrants from colonial-era Haiti (St. Domingue) helped found settlements in the French Empire, which would later be the sites of Chicago and Detroit in the modern-day United States. During the Haitian Revolution, many white French left Haiti for the New Orleans region because of its strong French connection, despite being a part of the United States by then. They brought slaves with them, an action that doubled the black population in the New Orleans region. Haitian influence includes that of Haitian Creole on the Louisiana Creole language and Haitian Vodou on the Louisiana Voodoo religion. Though these things were already present in the region, the Haitian presence made it stronger. The Haitian descended population has since been heavily mixed into the general Louisiana black population as a whole.

While most of the early 20th-century emigrants from Haiti were from the upper classes, persistent conditions of poverty, as well as political unrest, eventually prodded many lower-class Saint Dominicans to emigrate as well. Altogether, there have been four periods of major migration to the United States in the history of Haiti: the initial wave at the turn of the 20th century, following the U.S. occupation from 1915 to 1934, during the 1960s and 1970s to escape the Duvalier regime, and following the 2004 overthrow of Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

Between 1957 and 1986, when the Duvaliers ruled Haiti, their political persecution of the opposition and suspected activists resulted in many Haitian professionals, the middle class, and students emigrating to other countries, among them the United States, France, Dominican Republic and Canada (primarily Montreal). Between 1972 and 1977, 200,000 Haitians landed in South Florida, many of them settling in the neighborhood of Little Haiti.

In the late 20th century, there was a significant brain drain from Haiti as thousands of doctors, teachers, social workers and entrepreneurs emigrated to several cities in the East, particularly to New York City and Miami. Other Haitians worked in restaurants and music stores. In the early 1980s, 40,000 Haitians who came to the United States seeking political asylum achieved permanent resident status. In 1991, there was another wave of Haitian emigration by boat. But the administration of President Bill Clinton tried to discourage Haitian immigration. People were either detained and/or sent back to Haiti. Still, between 1995 and 1998, 50,000 Haitians obtained temporary legal status.