• COVID-19 Resources
  • About
  • Subscribe
  • Promotions
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • May 8, 2025

Milwaukee Courier Weekly Newspaper

"THE NEWSPAPER YOU CAN TRUST SINCE 1964"

  • News
  • Editorials
  • Education
  • Urban Business
  • Health
  • Religion
  • Upcoming Events
  • Classifieds
EXCEPT WHERE INDICATED, THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED ON THIS PAGE ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF THE MILWAUKEE COURIER

Share:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Tweet
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print

Haiti and American History: There’s More to the Story

September 25, 2021

Legislatively Speaking

By Senator Lena C. Taylor

Lena C. Taylor

Scenes of thousands of Haitians immigrants, seeking asylum in the United States and camped out near the international bridge in Del Rio, Texas, have jolted and exacerbated the continued fault line of race in this country. Images of white U.S. Federal Border Patrol Agents on horseback, using the reigns of their horses to chase Black Haitians, evoked images of violence reminiscent of slavery. As people grappled to understand the harsh treatment they were seeing, they also started asking why Haitians were showing up in such large numbers.

Those questions forced Americans, and quite frankly African Americans, to learn more about Haiti. What many of us didn’t realize, is that Haiti’s history, is tied to American history. When we were young kids in school, we walked right up to the line of learning about Haiti. It was hidden inside our classroom discussions about the Louisiana Purchase. In case you’ve been out of school for a while and need a refresher, just go to the website History.com.

A quick review says that “The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 brought into the United States about 828,000 square miles of territory from France, thereby doubling the size of the young republic. What was known at the time as the Louisiana Territory stretched from the Mississippi River in the east to the Rocky Mountains in the west and from the Gulf of Mexico in the south to the Canadian border in the north. Part or all of 15 states were eventually created from the land deal, which is considered one of the most important achievements of Thomas Jefferson’s presidency.”

You have to nearly go to the bottom of the page before you see any mention of slavery. It sparsely says “It’s believed that the failure of France to put down a slave revolution in Haiti, the impending war with Great Britain and probable British naval blockade of France – combined with French economic difficulties – may have prompted Napoleon to offer Louisiana for sale to the United States.” Maybe, History.com really wasn’t the place to go. Even the wording of the failure to “put down” a slave revolution, demands that we continue researching that history.

The harsh truth is that the story of Haiti includes the enslavement of nearly 800,000 Africans who were brought to the area to work cotton, sugar and coffee crops in the 17th century. The abuse that they suffered at the hands of the French government was absolutely unconscionable. Enslaved Africans would revolt against their condition in 1791. They fought for the next 12 years to gain their freedom and independence in 1804. However, in winning the war, one of the battles they lost is the decision that the formerly enslaved Africans would have to pay reparations to France. Those reparations, which were finally paid off in 1947, the physical location of Haiti, earthquakes and hurricanes, a recently assassinated president, and a number of other factors have created horrific living conditions for the people of Haiti. There’s a lot more to the story and I encourage you to seek out the truth. However, we need to start with this: Haiti’s history is a part of American history and Haiti’s blood runs through America’s veins.

Share:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Tweet
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print

Popular Interests In This Article: Haiti, Legislatively Speaking, Lena C. Taylor

Read More - Related Articles

  • You Don’t Miss Your Water
  • Is Anyone Paying Attention?
  • Real Problems: Real Solutions
  • America’s Game: America’s Shame
  • Migrant Airdrops and Inhumane Bus Rides
Become Our Fan On Facebook
Find Us On Facebook


Follow Us On X
Follow Us On X

Editorials

Lakeshia Myers
Michelle Bryant
Dr. Kweku Akyirefi Amoasi formerly known as Dr. Ramel Smith

Journalists

Karen Stokes

Topics

Health Care & Wellness
Climate Change
Upcoming Events
Obituaries
Milwaukee NAACP

Politicians

David Crowley
Cavalier Johnson
Marcelia Nicholson
Governor Tony Evers
President Joe Biden
Vice President Kamala Harris
Former President Barack Obama
Gwen Moore
Milele A. Coggs
Spencer Coggs

Classifieds

Job Openings
Bid Requests
Req Proposals
Req Quotations
Apts For Rent

Contact Us

Milwaukee Courier
2003 W. Capitol Dr.
Milwaukee, WI 53206
Ph: 414.449.4860
Fax: 414.906.5383

Copyright © 2025 · Courier Communications | View Privacy Policy | Site built and maintained by Farrell Marketing Technology LLC
We use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies, click here.