Haitians Turn Around a Town
An interesting thing happened in the weeks preceding the September, 2002 Democratic primary for the 86th District State Representative race in Delray Beach, Florida. Candidates made house to house visits in predominantly Haitian neighborhoods. As they walked the sidewalks, they passed telephone poles on which flyers in Creole exhorted local residents to go out and vote. Sample ballots written in Creole were being handed out by local non-profits that work with the community, preparing Haitian-American voters for a first in this district: Creole would be one of the languages to appear on the ballot (see ballot at right). This sort of attention was certainly something that the Haitian community in Delray Beach was not accustomed to.

However, for anyone who had witnessed Delray’s meteoric rise out of the economic doldrums throughout the early to middle 1990s, this development was no surprise. By 2002, Delray Beach had become the US town with the largest percentage Haitian population in the United States. More than just sheer numbers, the Haitian community also grew geographically, economically, and socially; extending itself while maintaining a relatively low profile in the community it has adopted as its own. This growth has paralleled the incredible economic turnaround of Delray Beach as a municipality. It represents the awakening of a community which for a long time has lived in the shadow of its larger neighbor in Miami. The impressive growth has also brought about some strains within the Haitian community and in the community’s interactions with the other residents of Delray Beach. These are challenges which the maturing community is ready to take on.

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