It's starting!! Thanks to France François of @InCulturedCo for hosting this zoom/FB live on whether Black Lives have mattered in with @FictionsofHaiti & @emmadouyon!! https://twitter.com/InCulturedCo/status/1286359475683827712

France François asking the tough question: since 1804, how have Black lives mattered in Haiti? Marlene starting off with a quick overview of Haitian history since 1804 for those whose knowledge stops with Rev. #BLMinHaiti

@CassandreTheano comoderating with France François of @InCulturedCo. @FictionsofHaiti explaining indemnity & its legacy. #BLMinHaiti

@fictionsofhaiti: Boyer told whole people that this debt was THEIR debt and they needed to now pay it down instead of infrastructure. (I'll add: my friend Alex Dupuy argues that his ancestor Boyer mortgaged Haitian people's future for the interests of his class) #BLMinHaiti

(here's his book: https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781442261112/Rethinking-the-Haitian-Revolution-Slavery-Independence-and-the-Struggle-for-Recognition)

@FictionsofHaiti defends Boyer more: he and Pétion absolutely did not give in to any kind of protectorate with France, and they tried to keep Haiti independent, & they didn't know how disastrous effects of indemnity would be. Hard to know counterfactual history. #BLMinHaiti

@FictionsofHaiti reclaiming Henri Christophe against unfair caricatures, which don't understand circumstances in which he operated. She notes how Christophe *ignored* Clarkson's advice to control writers like Vastey & had a vision he couldn't carry out. #BLMinHaiti

@InCulturedCo: has their been any Hn leader who has carried out Christophe's vision? Daut: many Haitian leaders have had big dreams - but "impossible!" ones because the external interference continued, even before Occupation & Duvalier & 1986 & MINUSTAH . #BLMinHaiti

@FictionsofHaiti adds that it's hard to find a President who has lived up to the expectations for them!!! #BLMinHaiti

@FictionsofHaiti: there will not be reparations from until the Fr people TAKE RESPONSIBILITY. French people know how to disrupt & strike: where there's a will there's a way. Unless they demand that their govt repay Haiti, it won't #BLMinHaiti

@FictionsofHaiti calls out complacence of fellow citizens who want building-name changes but not real change. She's inspired by Haitians protesting in the streets. We need to ask for more here. #BLMinHaiti

Now we're onto contemporary Haiti & inflation & results of #PetroKaribe. @MrsWandaT from @LunionSuite here to help lead this part of the discussion #BLMinHaiti

@emmadouyon noting that effects of inflation in Haiti is among highest in world. She & @MrsWandaT talk also about effects of corruption. (but I'll add here that as @KatzOnEarth has said, we call out corruption in Haiti when we have *many* awful practices - our politicians wait...

...til they're out of office to collect millions from corporations in speaking fees or jobs, but with expectation while they're in office that they need to play) #BLMinHaiti

But yes, as @emmadouyon notes, the #petrocaribe funds could have funded SO MUCH for people (hospitals, schools, etc.) but were stolen. #BLMinHaiti

@emmadouyon discussing why the protests in became so big from 2018. People were fed up 8 yrs after earthquake that none of the reconstruction promises had been kept. Rise in gas prices fueled anger about waste in resources & something needed to change. #BLMinHaiti

@MrsWandaT talking about support for #PetroCaribe protests even here in US, asking whether protests have had any effects. @emmadouyon says not enough yet. That's why people are still protesting #BLMinHaiti

@emmadouyon: Even before George Floyd, the issue of BLM was acute in Haiti. People are being massacred in different neighborhoods by the govt, in their homes, at dance practice. Hashtag was gaining popularity there & people used it to argue govt didn't value them #BLMinHaiti

@InCulturedCo: it's often the voice of Diaspora Haitians who get heard over folks on the ground in Haiti. We can't be "white saviors with melanin" rather than listening to activists there about how to help!! #BLMinHaiti

@emmadouyon: Haitian activists often don't have enough time to communicate with those outside because they're organizing....so others communicate for them and distort what they're doing. (Emma is so inspiring!!) #BLMinHaiti

@fictionsofhaiti answering Q on whether reparations useless since Hn govt would mismanage: "This is a racist question," we don't ask about tsunami somewhere else even if Red Cross & other NGOs waste the $$. Cond'ns of instability & insecurity lead to corruption...and...

...then countries argue that they can't invest because of these conditions. She asks: how do we reform the entire system, which includes reforming the corruption in our own societies ( & ) #BLMinHaiti

@emmadouyon answering a ? re how to ensure fair elections in Haiti in the next election. Attendees in chat noting in chat that the national election is not the only issue, local govt also needs cleaning up. #BLMinHaiti

@emmadouyon: we have a young population, we need to invest in Haiti. Food scarcity a huge problem. She & @FictionsofHaiti emphasized need for agricultural self-sufficiency by Haitians (which, I'll add, the US destroyed in the 1990s with Clinton's rice policies...) #BLMinHaiti

@InCulturedCo notes the irony that the American Red Cross is seen as the gold standard among NGOs, not an outlier, even when it wasted all that $$! #BLMinHaiti

@emmadouyon: one of the main things people can do in the US (Diaspora or other) is to HOLD NGOs ACCOUNTABLE. Haitians don't have the power to do this - but in the NGOs own countries you can. We can push them on their policies & influence what they do. #BLMinHaiti

What would a better world look like? @FictionsofHaiti: one of the reason that #Wakanda resonated so much around the world was this dream of a place where Blacks were prosperous & independent. But her model would be different, without the instability & violence of capitalism.

This was such a great seminar - thanks to @InCulturedCo & all of you for hosting!!! #BLMinHaiti