Danielle Legros Georges will be Boston’s next Poet Laureate

Photo by Priscilla HarmelDanielle Legros Georges, a resident of Dorchester, will begin a four year-term as the city of Boston’s official Poet Laureate in January. Georges, a native of Haiti who teaches Creative Arts at Lesley University, is a published poet and translator. She moved to the United States at age 6 with her parents, who settled in Mattapan. “Mattapan had a small Haitian population when he first arrived, but it has since expanded dramatically,” said Georges, who has lived near Edward Everett Square for the last 11 years. “Poetry is an art form to be celebrated. It helps us tell our stories and express ourselves,” said Mayor Walsh in a statement on Wednesday. “I look forward to the work Danielle will do to share her passion and talent for poetry throughout the Boston community.” Georges has written on a variety of topics, some of it focused on her experience as a member of the Haitian diaspora. She wrote “A Poem for the Poorest Country in the Western Hemisphere” in the aftermath of the catastrophic January 2010 earthquake in Haiti. “I was listening to news and so often I would heard about Haiti always referred to as the poorest country in the western hemisphere. I found it troublesome , so I wanted to add to the voices as a person in the diaspora and a person who cares about Haiti.”

Former Mayor Tom Menino dead at age 71

Mayor Thomas M. MeninoThomas Menino, a self-described "lunch bucket guy" who rose from his roots in Hyde Park to dominate Boston and Massachusetts politics as the capital city's mayor for 20 years, has passed away after battling cancer. He was 71. City's political world reacts to news of Mayor Menino's death Elected to the city's top job in 1993 after spending four months as acting mayor, Menino burnished a reputation as a tireless worker and a chief executive focused on delivering neighborhood services. "Kevin White was the city-builder, gazing out of his fifth-floor window at cloud-topped towers," a 1994 Boston Globe magazine profile of Menino said. "Ray Flynn was the racial healer, jogging through the neighborhoods in search of social and economic justice. Tom Menino is the urban mechanic, cruising the streets with his fix-it list, wanting to know why the grass hasn't been mowed at Garvey Playground."

Boston event raises funds for Haiti charity

Medicines for Humanity (MFH), headquartered in Rockland, MA, recently honored The Daughters of Charity – Haiti with its 2014 Humanitarian of the Year Award. Ceremonies were held at the The Harvard Club in Boston.

In vote push for Democratic ticket, Patrick drops in on Haitian seniors

Gov. Patrick at Sant Belvi: Gov. Deval Patrick visited the Sant Belvi Adult Day Center for Haitian elders on Tuesday to deliver a stump speech on behalf of the Democratic ticket. Photo by Lauren Dezenski This article originally appeared in the Oct. 23, 2014 edition of the Dorchester Reporter. The path to the corner office runs through the Haitian community for any aspiring governor, according to Gov. Deval Patrick – and he would know. “You cannot win without the Haitian community. You shouldn't even try without the Haitian community,” he says.

Oct. 22 lecture on Toussaint L'Ouverture's years as a slave

Harvard lecture Harvard Fellow Philippe Girard will present a colloquium on Toussaint Loverture's early life as a slave on Wed., Oct. 22 at 12 p.m. The event is free and open to the public . Dr. Girard is an esteemed historian of Haiti who is the head of the History Department at McNeese State University. He is presently working with Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. at Harvard's W.E.B. DuBois Research Institute at the Hutchins Center. The event will take place at the Thompson room, Barker Center, 12 Quincy St. Cambridge, MA.

Cambridge event on Saturday to celebrate Haitian language

Cambridge eventAn event billed as the "first annual celebration of Haitian Creole month in Massachusetts" takes place on Saturday, Oct. 25 from 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. at the Cambridge Public Library, 449 Broadway, Cambridge. The event will include lectures, discussions, books and cultural presentations by Haitian artists, writers, publishers, musicians, and scholars of Haitian culture. The program is free and open to the public. Invited guests include Prof. Marky Jean-Pierre, Dr. Louise Evers, Prof. Yvon Lamour, Prof. Merites Abelard. Moderators are Dr. Sophia Cantave and Dr. Lunine Pierre-Jerome. Boston-area author & editor Tontongi (Eddy Toussaint), will present the latest books from Trilingual Press, vanguard publisher of texts in Haitian Creole. Tontongi’s new collection of politico-literary essays, Sèl Pou Dezonbifye Bouki and the Haitian Creole translation of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet by Nicole Titus (author of the first Haitian Creole translations of Plato). Publisher Roosevelt Desronvilles, presenting books in Haitian Creole from JEBCA Editions. Writers at the event will include Jean-Dany Joachim, Charlot Lucien, Fred Edson Lafortune, Ewald Delva, Patrick Sylvain, Nicole Titus, Doumafis Lafontant, Margela Olivier Galette, presenting their published work in various genres, in Haitian Creole or bilingual editions.

US to begin long-awaited Reunification program for Haitian families

After years of lobbying by Haitian leaders and activists, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has finally agreed to launch an official effort to reunify Haitian families displaced by the catastrophic earthquake of Jan. 2010. In a statement sent to the Reporter this morning, the department says that the Haitian Family Reunification Parole (HFRP) Program will begin in spring 2015. The program will "expedite family reunification for certain eligible Haitian family members of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents of the U.S. and to promote safe, legal and orderly migration from Haiti to the United States." The program will impact "eligible Haitian beneficiaries" in Haiti who have been pre-approved for family-based visas. They will be allowed entry to the United States "up to approximately two years before their immigrant visa priority dates become current," according to the Homeland Security department. In announcing the program, Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas emphasized that Haitian migrants should not attempt to come to the Unites States before the program begins.

Haitian man indicted for causing trans-Atlantic flight to be diverted to Boston

A 60 year-old Haitian man was indicted on Oct. 10 for allegedly "interfering with flight crew members" on a trans-Atlantic flight from Miami to Paris. The Aug. 27 incident caused the flight to be diverted to Boston.

Reflections on the Death of an Unpunished Dictator

Patrick SylvainI was barely five years old when François Duvalier died and his nineteen year-old-son was sworn in as President in April 1971. This was done after the Haitian constitution was amended with neither national referendum nor proper parliamentary procedures to account for the dramatic change in the age requirement, from forty years of age to nineteen. I remember my mom dressing me up for school: I had on a new pair of ankle-high black boots, khaki shorts and a white shirt. We had barely reached the first bend in the road when my grandfather quickly ran after us, ordering us to come back. I knew something was wrong, as other families scurried back into their homes. It was the first time that I recollect seeing my family gathered around a large radio in the living room; it was then that I had learned of the passing of a President.

Saturday forum takes aim at Domestic Violence

The Association Haitian Women of Boston —also known as AFAB— will host their annual Violence Prevention Forum this Saturday, August 9 at the Whittier Street Health Center, 1290 Tremont St. from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Founded in 1988, the Fuller Street-based organization has dedicated itself to empowering low-income Haitian women and their children. In collaboration with other Haitian agencies, AFAB also works to educate Haitian women on the dangers of domestic violence.

Boston Haitian Reporter