On today, I’ve been reflecting on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s writings on time—especially in “Letter From A Birmingham Jail”—and the concepts later expanded upon in King’s book Why We Can’t Wait. Dr. King posited that time is neutral, and described the ways that it can work for our against us, especially as we pursue justice and freedom in societies controlled by forces bent on oppression.
Cover art of the Signet Classic Edition of Dr. King’s Why We Can’t Wait
For people of my generation, time has been held hostage, in a sense, by a litany of ever-expanding distractions and traumatizing incidents that stretch into decades. For us a nation, that has allowed for the hijacking, commercializing and systematizing of justice movements, and for sometimes less than obvious top down agendas.
During Dr. King’s era, aspects of those agendas were already evident in the motives of the federal government and others in sanctioned leadership, and Dr. King picked up on this and expressed these clashes in his later speeches and writings, much to the chagrin of many establishment leaders. This chaffing was on display in “Letter…” and Why We Can’t Wait. We have seen that waiting for “right time” to advocate for justice is a deadly tactic.
Now, as in 1963, such “patience” threatens to kill us, and the American dream. Dr. King was wrestling with the conflict of the vision and direction his work was leading him to, and the expectations and desires of the factions that had supported and made his work possible since the 1950s. As he evolved, he began to question and deconstruct the expectations of his allies and “friendly” critics.
We are in such a place today. What has our freedom come to mean? What is our vision of heritage as Americans? What are the costs of a vision that has not been preordained by a powerful political party, church body, civil rights organization, or wealthy trust fund? What happens when the mission does not fit the Call for Grants or Papers? We honor Dr. King, because he was willing to probe such questions, and paid the ultimate price in doing so.
What will be our legacy? What questions are we willing to ask, and at what cost?
I’m posting this poem a couple of weeks later than I’d hoped. Nevertheless, I’m so grateful to be sharing my poem “The Parade”, with you, reader. I recently read it at the open mic presented by the Brevitas Poetry Festival on November 14, 2021. I hope it brings some light.
I’m honored to let you know about a radio special that I’ve produced for WPPM here in Philadelphia, featuring two special interviews that address a compelling issue that made America pause and consider our complicated Immigration policy, and ask difficult questions about the impact of race, ethnicity, and centuries of history on the specifics of that policy.
The special is titled ” Haitian Immigration and the Afro-Immigrant Experience in the United States”. Joining me for this week’s broadcasts are Garry Aime of Komite Ayiti, Inc., and Barbara Fonrose of the Mission Committee of The Parish of St. Barbara Catholic Church — community activists and advocates for the Haitian American and Haitian Immigrant communities based in Baltimore and Philadelphia, respectively.
After kicking off on Thanksgiving weekend, Sunday, November 28, the special airs again this Saturday. Please join me by listening in on Saturday 12/4 at 11:00 AM EST, airing in Philadelphia on 106.5FM and streaming Worldwide here.
The treatment of over 14,000 Haitians seeking asylum in Del Rio, Texas at the US Mexico border two months back, in September 2021, has been burned into our minds — and the image of Border Patrol agents wielding horse reins like whips sparked historic shame and outrage.
Despite expressed condemnation at the border incidents from President Joe Biden and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, the current administration appears to be continuing the highly controversial policies that have been directed at Haitian asylum seekers since the 1970s, and most recently with the administrations of Donald Trump, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton. The realities of political unrest, natural disaster, economic instability, and American culpability in the turmoil in Haiti have caused many Haitians to flee the island nation for decades.
In recent years, Haiti has faced a string of difficulties that have driven many to flee the country, including a horrific earthquake in 2010 and a disastrous combination of a devastating events over the summer of 2021: including a tropical storm, a 7.2 earthquake, and the assassination of President Jovenel Moise.
Despite this, Haitians are still the least likely of any nationality to have their asylum petitions granted in the United States.
And this is not the first time we have seen the spectacle of large numbers of Haitian Americans being denied due process in our immigration system.
In the 1990s, an estimated 12000 Haitian refugees were detained at Guantanamo, and the practice off arresting or ejecting Haitian refugees migrating by boat of the coast of Miami has led to a cycle of images of hundreds of Haitians being denied access to the right to seek asylum on a consistent basis, despite what many see as overwhelming evidence for their claims.
President Jimmy Carter was one of the first to establish harsh U.S. policies toward Haitian migrants seeking asylum, with the aim of sending any Haitians who made it to U.S. shores to detention and then back to Haiti, despite the horrors of the Duvalier regime during this period.
In 1978, the Carter Administration’s infamous Haitian Program directed at Haitian migrants seeking asylum devised a blanket policy designed to deter Haitians from migrating to the U.S. This policy jailed Haitians as they arrived, refused Haitians permission to work, and denied all Haitian asylum claims.
Even though federal courts struck down the Haitian Program, every subsequent administration, — Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden — has carried the stamp of the Haitian Program. Another vital marker of this distinct policy toward Haitian Refugees has been the Reagan tactic called “interdiction” — the practice of intercepting Haitians on boats off the coast of Florida, preventing them from reaching American shores, and detaining them for return to Haiti.
For many in watchdog organizations paying close attention to these events, issues around Haitian Immigration don’t only reflect the history of America’s fraught relationship with the island nation, but also demonstrate a long and troubled pattern of American immigration policies that they say unfairly create a second, less equitable system of immigration for persons of African descent from Africa and throughout the African diaspora.
It’s against this backdrop that I reached out to Garry Aime and Barbara Fonrose to help us to understand the complexity of the Haitian Immigration experience in America.
Don’t miss the final broadcast of this compelling special, featuring insightful interviews and powerful context on one of the most important issues of 2021, and stay tuned for part two of this special, coming soon.
To Listen:
Air Dates & Times: Sunday 11/28 at 12pm EST and Saturday 12/4 at 11am EST
Tara Lake 