As the winds of intolerance are blowing toward Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, we mustn’t forget that any attack on the part of the community is an attack on the whole. When racist rhetoric is normalized, all Black people feel the chill. Consider the falsehood shared by Congressman J.D. Vance and former President Donald Trump that Haitians were kidnapping and eating people’s pets. In the aftermath of that racist rhetoric, at least thirty-three bomb threats led public schools and buildings to close. Some members of the Haitian community considered moving as a result. In a nation where Black people are more likely than any group to become victims of race-based hate crimes, spreading anti-Haitian rhetoric was tantamount to pouring kerosene on an open bonfire.
Research indicated that dehumanizing expressions are used to legitimize political violence and “spurs negative emotions that may increase motivation for violent action (Wahlström et al., 2020).” Thus, it’s reasonable to consider that spreading a racist myth about Haitians perpetuated racial intolerance in the area. Some may have felt emboldened by anti-immigration narratives that ultimately jeopardized the safety of the black community. As I wrote in AfroSapiophile, “where racist language is used, violence is quick to follow.” We must also consider that racists don’t stop to check the nationality of an individual before mistreating them. Haitians in America are subjected to xenophobia and racism. Thus, it is impossible to entirely segregate the conversation between anti-Haitian and anti-Black sentiment at the heart of these attacks.
One example of the intersectional impact of discrimination can be found in the way some conservatives talk about the island nation. Mark Krikorian, an anti-immigration activist and Project 2025 board member suggested “Haiti is so screwed up because it wasn’t colonized long enough.” Such rhetoric seeks to blame the social, economic, and political problems the nation has in the modern era on Black people who overthrew their French enslavers. When Congressman Greg Casar questioned his stance at a hearing, explaining that “the end of colonization in Haiti was so the people there would no longer be slaves,” Krikorian doubled down, arguing that remaining enslaved by the French for thirty more years would have been better for Black people living there in the “long run.” Sadly, rather than celebrating their bravery in securing their independence, the language scholars often use when referring to the veterans of the American Revolution, some condemn historical Haitian revolutionaries — believing they didn’t have the right to resist their oppression. As a result, the intolerance toward Haitian immigrants can be explained, in part, by opposition to the black liberation movement more broadly.
To grasp why prejudice against Haitians impacts all Black people, Americans must consider the cultural significance of the African diaspora. Perhaps Khalil Gibran Muhammad said it best in The 1619 Project that while “slave traders were conditioning Africans for plantation slavery” on slave ships, the “captives were also forming a new identity, a diasporic Blackness, forged out of their collective fate, as they found strength in one another.” Despite speaking different languages and possessing various national identities and cultural practices, enslavement necessitated unity. Black people didn’t need to share all cultural traits to consider themselves part of a broader community. What separates Black Americans, for instance, from those of African descent living in Haiti and other Caribbean nations is a boat stop on the Middle Passage. Members of the African diaspora are like leaves on a tree. That is not to say that ethnic groups aren’t unique — they are. They are like branches, stretching out in different directions but never truly separate from the others. Discrimination against Haitians, thus, threatens the well-being of all Black people, no matter their nationality or ethnicity.
A Human Rights First report explained that “White supremacists see anti-immigrant extremism as an avenue to mainstream their ideology and frequently embrace anti-immigrant slogans and policies to appeal to broader audiences who might be turned off by explicitly racist and antisemitic propaganda.” One hand feeds the other. While xenophobia may be their opening pitch, their true objective is subjugating racial minorities, no matter where they live or their nationality. Indeed, by presenting and spreading anti-immigrant narratives, they’re hoping to expand their support beyond those comfortable with blatant racist attitudes. To justify anti-immigrant sentiment by circulating only negative narratives about Haitians and others. Some have even capitalized upon the growth of xenophobia within the black community, arguing that resources provided to immigrants take away from those needed in Black American communities.
When writer Michael Harriet noted that “A lot of Black people are starting to talk about immigrants the way white people talk about Black people,” cautioning them not to feed into such rhetoric, many digitally voiced their disapproval. One woman, Lucy Bibb, claimed, “Immigrants come here, stand on the backs of ADOS (American Descendants of Slavery), access an unearned life, conveniences , and resources; while treating us like trash.” In another response, Rob Smith said, “We will speak as we please. Illegal immigrants are in no way allies to Black people. As soon as they’re positioned to: they will put themselves first.” Their comments demonstrate how pervasive anti-immigrant sentiment has become and speak to the growing problem in our community.
ADOS, founded by a conservative activist and film producer, Tariq Nasheed, has exploited Black Americans’ frustration over the federal government’s failure to provide reparations to strengthen the organization. However, it seems like leadership is pulling a classic bait-and-switch strategy. Despite many joining the organization to demand restorative justice collectively, the group has gained a bad reputation by endorsing anti-immigrant talking points. Furthermore, while ADOS claims to support cash reparations for descendants of slavery, they oppose H.R. 40, the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act, the only bill proposed to address the lasting legacy of chattel slavery. Furthermore, the organization is associated with a “fake-progressive organization, Progressives for Immigration Reform, that is supported by white supremacist John Tanton, according to an investigation published by Jessica Ann Mitchell Aiwuyor, a cultural communications specialist.
Of course, the truth is there is insufficient public and congressional support to secure reparations at this time, though some progress has been made. However, some groups make the false claim that immigrants are why black communities are struggling socioeconomically, why they have yet to receive restorative justice — they’ve been fed a myth of scarcity of resources. While it’s true that anti-black racism is a problem within immigrant communities, it’s misleading to suggest that none of them are allies or to position them as enemies. Some seem entirely unaware that the same winds of prejudice blowing through Haitian communities impact all Black people. When the African diaspora is inflicted by racism, it will not affect only one branch, the entire tree will be compromised.
This post originally appeared on Medium and is edited and republished with author's permission. Read more of Allison Gaines' work on Medium.
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