HAITI ACTION COMMITTEE ROOTS ARE IN THE FIGHT FOR HAITIAN DEMOCRACY & REFUGEE RIGHTS!
After the 1991 military coup that overthrew Haiti’s first democratic government headed by President Aristide, thousands of his supporters were hunted down and killed by the military junta and their death squads. The number of Haitian refugees fleeing repression rose dramatically. The Coast Guard captured and forcibly repatriated many thousands, and imprisoned up to 21,000 Haitians at a time at Guantanamo Bay.
This outrage sparked massive worldwide protest. Within the US, a vibrant movement consisting of the Haitian diaspora, prominent Black activists and artists, college students, churches, human rights, labor and anti-imperialist activists emerged. In 1992, 82 year old dance artist Katherine Dunham undertook a 47 day hunger strike to protest the Bush Administration’s policy of repatriating Haitian refugees. Tennis champion Arthur Ashe was arrested in front of the White House along with other leading Black activists at a protest organized by TransAfrica and the NAACP. Two years later, TransAfrica Forum Director Randall Robinson fasted nearly a month to protest the Clinton Administration’s policy of returning refugees to Haiti without hearings on asylum.
The Haiti Action Committee grew out of this movement. Our first action took place in 1992 when Haiti Action, Bay Area Peace Navy, ACT-UP, Global Exchange, and others joined together to protest the unjust and racialized policy of the US towards Haitian refugees. With the enthusiastic participation of Haitian community members, the Bay Area Peace Navy launched three boats across the San Francisco Bay from Berkeley to San Francisco filled with several dozen Haitian passengers, some who were formerly refugees. Waiting to welcome the Haitians at the San Francisco pier were 250 demonstrators along with supportive members of the City Board of Supervisors ready to present them with flowers. The District Attorney at the time, Terence Hallinan, was set to give a welcome speech.
The Coast Guard got wind of the action and thought San Francisco was threatened with an influx of Haitian refugees. Carrying out official US policy, a Coast Guard cutter and helicopter intercepted the boats to prevent their landing. Authorities boarded the boats and inspected everyone’s papers. Passersby on the San Francisco wharf began chanting Let Them Land! Let Them Land! The action made headlines and brought the issue right to the shores of the Bay Area. Like today, activism and solidarity make a difference!
