We honor and uplift the life and legacy of Sister Stella Goodpasture who passed away on Saturday, December 13, 2025. Sister Stella was a member of the Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose and a long-time member of Haiti Action Committee. She dedicated her entire life to social justice.
Stella was a determined activist who stood by the just struggle of Haiti’s people not only in words but in deeds. She traveled to Haiti in 2004, 2006 and 2007 when she was in her 70’s, to accompany and bear witness to the terrible repression that followed the 2004 US backed overthrow of the democratic government of President Jean Bertrand Aristide.
During her 2004 visit, she and another member of Haiti Action Committee, confronted United Nations personnel to stop them from evicting Haitian residents from apartments the UN occupation forces wanted to take over. She later helped a Haitian journalist targeted by the coup regime to escape to safety, accompanying him across the border.
Another of her unforgettable acts of solidarity was her visit to legendary pro-democracy activist Father Jean-Juste while he was imprisoned in Port-au-Prince for his outspoken criticism of the coup regime. Father Jean-Juste was a Catholic priest, a liberation theologian and a supporter of Haiti’s Fanmi Lavalas Party – the party of the poor. Sister Stella took a forbidden photo of Fr. Jean-Juste behind prison bars and successfully hid and spirited the photo out of the country.
In the Bay Area, she was arrested many times protesting the US/UN occupation of Haiti. In this video of a September 2005 protest barricading the SF Federal Building, Sister Stella is pictured [minute 2:04] being arrested. She later remarked, “I see it just a pawn in the larger international effort to get hands and ownership not only on raw materials of the earth, but on cheap labor. That is horrifying.”
Stella’s indomitable spirit and her legacy of selfless solidarity will always be with us. Sister Stella Goodpasture Presente!
