From Douglass to Duvalier: U.S. African Americans, Haiti, and Pan Americanism, 1870-1964

310 Pages·2010·1.93 MB·English

by  Millery Polyne

3.5" .1875" 6.188" 0.955" 6.188" .1875" 3.5"
M
HISTORY/LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES/AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES P
O
O
l R
y F
n aiti has long been both a source of immense
H
é pride—because of the Haitian Revolution—
“A remarkable new analysis of how African Americans and Haitians and of profound disappointment—because
interacted over the long term. It asserts bold new methods and of the unshakable realities of poverty, political
instability, and violence—to the black diasporic
conclusions on inter-American relations, Pan Americanism,
FROM
imagination. Charting the long history of these
and U.S.-Haitian relations.”
multiple meanings is the focus of Millery Polyné’s
—David Sheinin, editor of Beyond the Ideal: Pan Americanism D
rich and critical transnational history of U.S. African
in Inter-American Affairs o
Americans and Haitians.
u During the post–Civil War period, the United
“Adds an important and a much-needed layer to our understanding g States aggressively expanded its territorial hold-
of the strengths and weaknesses of diasporic relations.” ings and commercial markets westward and
l
Millery Polyné is assistant professor at New York —Carol Anderson, author of Eyes off the Prize: The United Nations a southward, solidifying itself as a formidable force
University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study. and the African American Struggle for Human Rights, 1944–1955 s in the Americas and globally and thus shaping
a U.S.-centered Pan Americanism that benefited
s
U.S. interests. However, many Caribbean and Latin

t American peoples questioned and actively chal-
o lenged a U.S.-centered inter-American movement.
Drawing from the thoughts and words of Ameri-

D can and Haitian intellectuals, artists, journalists
A volume in the series u and activists such as Frederick Douglass, Walter
New World Diasporas, edited by Kevin A. Yelvington White, Jean-Léon Destiné, Claude Barnett, and
v
Lavinia Williams—all of whom believed firmly in
a
Front: Jacob Lawrence, “Haitian Revolution series, #41.” the creation and inclusion of African-descended
© 2009 The Jacob and Gwendolyn Lawrence Foundation, l peoples in the development of organizations and
Seattle / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. i
in the decision-making processes of programs and
e
Author photo by Brian A. Gaffney. policies that affected their humanity—Polyné’s
r
temporal scope is breathtaking. Just as impressive
is the thematic range of his work, which carefully
analyzes the political, economic, and cultural rela-
tions between U.S. African Americans and Haitians.
é From Douglass to Duvalier examines the cre-
n
ative and critical ways U.S. African Americans
y
and Haitians engaged the idealized tenets of Pan
l
O Americanism—mutual cooperation, egalitarian-
P
ism, and nonintervention between nation-states—

y in order to strengthen Haiti’s social, economic,
R
e and political growth and stability. The depth of
l Polyné’s research allows him to speak confidently
l
about the convoluted ways that these groups have
i
M viewed modernization, “uplift,” racial unity, and the
univeRsity PRess OF Fl ORida ISBN 978-0-8130-3472-0
rhetoric of Pan Americanism, as well as the shifting
www.upf.com ,!7IA8B3-adehca! u.s. african americans, Haiti, meanings and importance of the concepts over
uPF time.
anD Pan americanism, 1870–1964
From Douglass to Duvalier
New World Diasporas
University Press of Florida
Florida A&M University, Tallahassee
Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton
Florida Gulf Coast University, Ft. Myers
Florida International University, Miami
Florida State University, Tallahassee
New College of Florida, Sarasota
University of Central Florida, Orlando
University of Florida, Gainesville
University of North Florida, Jacksonville
University of South Florida, Tampa
University of West Florida, Pensacola
New World Diasporas
Edited by Kevin A. Yelvington
This series seeks to stimulate critical perspectives on diaspora processes in the New World. Repre-
sentations of race and ethnicity, the origins and consequences of nationalism, migratory streams
and the advent of transnationalism, the dialectics of homelands and diasporas, trade networks,
gender relations in immigrant communities, the politics of displacement and exile, and the utiliza-
tion of the past to serve the present are among the phenomena addressed by original, provocative
research in disciplines such as anthropology, history, political science, and sociology.
International Editorial Board
Herman L. Bennett, Rutgers University
Gayle K. Brunelle, California State University at Fullerton
Jorge Duany, Universidad de Puerto Rico
Sherri Grasmuck, Temple University
Daniel Mato, Universidad Central de Venezuela
Kyeyoung Park, University of California at Los Angeles
Richard Price, College of William and Mary
Sally Price, College of William and Mary
Vicki L. Ruiz, Arizona State University
John F. Stack Jr., Florida International University
Mia Tuan, University of Oregon
Peter Wade, University of Manchester
More Than Black: Afro-Cubans in Tampa, by Susan D. Greenbaum (2002)
Carnival and the Formation of a Caribbean Transnation, by Philip W. Scher (2003)
Dominican Migration: Transnational Perspectives, edited by Ernesto Sagás and Sintia Molina
(2004)
Salvadoran Migration to Southern California: Redefining El Hermano Lejano, by Beth Baker-
Cristales (2004)
The Chrysanthemum and the Song: Music, Memory, and Identity in the South American Japanese
Diaspora, by Dale A. Olsen (2004)
Andean Diaspora: The Tiwanaku Colonies and the Origins of South American Empire, by Paul S.
Goldstein (2005)
Migration and Vodou, by Karen E. Richman (2005)
True-Born Maroons, by Kenneth M. Bilby (2005)
The Tears of Hispaniola: Haitian and Dominican Diaspora Memory, by Lucía M. Suárez (2006)
Dominican-Americans and the Politics of Empowerment, by Ana Aparicio (2006)
Nuer-American Passages: Global Migration in the Twentieth Century, by Dianna J. Shandy (2006)
Religion and the Politics of Ethnic Identity in Bahia, Brazil, by Stephen Selka (2007)
Reconstructing Racial Identity and the African Past in the Dominican Republic, by Kimberly Eison
Simmons (2009)
Haiti and the Haitian Diaspora in the Wider Caribbean, edited by Philippe Zacaïr (2010)
From Douglass to Duvalier: U.S. African Americans, Haiti and Pan Americanism, 1870–1964,
by Millery Polyné (2010)
From Douglass to Duvalier
U.S. African Americans, Haiti,
and Pan Americanism, 1870–1964
Millery Polyné
University Press of Florida
Gainesville/Tallahassee/Tampa/Boca Raton
Pensacola/Orlando/Miami/Jacksonville/Ft. Myers/Sarasota
Copyright 2010 by Millery Polyné
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Polyné, Millery
From Douglass to Duvalier: U.S. African Americans, Haiti and Pan
Americanism, 1870–1964 / Millery Polyné.
p. cm.—(New world diasporas)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8130-3472-0 (alk. paper)
ISBN 978-0-8130-4019-6 (e-book)
1. African Americans—Relations with Haitians—History. 2. United
States—Relations—Haiti. 3. Haiti—Relations—United States.
4. Pan-Americanism—History. 5. United States—Race relations.
6. Haiti—Race relations. I. Title.
E185.61.P674 2010
303.48'27294073089969–dc22 2009051048
The University Press of Florida is the scholarly publishing agency for the
State University System of Florida, comprising Florida A&M University,
Florida Atlantic University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida Interna-
tional University, Florida State University, New College of Florida, Univer-
sity of Central Florida, University of Florida, University of North Florida,
University of South Florida, and University of West Florida.
University Press of Florida
15 Northwest 15th Street
Gainesville, FL 32611–2079
http://www.upf.com
For Ellison

Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Acknowledgments xi
Note on Usage and Terminology xv
Introduction 1
1. “The Spirit of the Age . . . Establish[es] a Sentiment of Universal
Brotherhood”: Haiti, “Santo Domingo” and Frederick Douglass at the
Intersection of the United States and Black Pan Americanism 25
2. “To Combine the Training of the Head and the Hands”: The 1930
Robert R. Moton Education Commission in Haiti 56
3. “We Cast in Our Lot with the Policy of Good Neighborliness”: Claude
Barnett, Haiti and the Business of Race 89
4. “What Happens in Haiti Has Repercussions Which Far Transcend
Haiti Itself”: Walter White, Haiti and the Public Relations Campaign,
1947–1955 131
5. “To Carry the Dance of the People Beyond”: Jean-Léon Destiné,
Lavinia Williams and Danse Folklorique Haïtienne 154
6. “The Moody Republic and the Men in Her Life”: François Duvalier,
U.S. African Americans and Haitian Exiles, 1957–1964 180
Notes 209
Bibliography 245
Index 269

Illustrations
Fig. 3.1. Claude Barnett pays homage to a bust of Toussaint L’Ouverture,
Haiti, 1952 123
Fig. 3.2. Jacques Leger presents Claude Barnett with the Haitian National
Order of Honor and Merit Award, Haiti, 1955 124
Fig. 4.1. Fisk University president Charles S. Johnson and George Redd,
dean of the College of Higher Studies, honor Haitian president
Paul Magloire with an honorary doctorate, Nashville, Tennessee,
February 3, 1955 150
Fig. 5.1. Dancers perform in choreographer Lavinia Williams’ “Les
Racines D’Haiti, Ceremonie du Bois Caïman,” at Hotel Oloffson,
Port-au-Prince, date unknown 159
Fig. 5.2. Lavinia Williams instructs young Régine Mont-Rosier in ballet,
Haiti, 1959 175