Today marks the one year anniversary of the Haitian earthquake that killed around 316,000 people, injured around 300,000 people, and left over 1,000,000 homeless. On this day, I think it important not only that we remember and pray for the Haitian people, but also that we learn about the United States’ history of racially-driven exploitation and oppression of Haiti in order to understand that our obligation to Haiti is not (just) one of charity, but primarily one of justice. To this end, I want to link to an article I wrote a while back for The Other Journal, which discusses the U.S.’s historical relationship with Haiti and explains why this relationship is of deep theological importance.
“Privilege as Blindness: Why North American Christians Need Haiti”
If you are looking for an abridged version of this article, you can also check out this poster version I put together for a conference over the summer: Las Casas, Haiti, and U.S. History
Also, I encourage you to check out this report on the status of Haiti’s recovery effort put out by Partners in Health (Paul Farmer’s organization), which has been working in Haiti for years and has been working to help stem the tide of the current cholera epidemic.
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