Churches
The Catholic church has been an important institution for Detroit’s mostly Catholic Haitian community. In the 1980’s, a group of Detroit-based Holy Ghost priests hosted a visit to the city of the activist Haitian priest Gerard Jean Juste, at that time based in Miami. The visit of the dynamic Jean Juste sent waves of energy to many members of the Haitian community. The Holy Ghost priests responded by providing a Mecca for discussion and a friendly support environment.

This supportive environment also included Detroit’s Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, who emerged as a voice within the national Catholic Church to speak on behalf of Haitians and their issues. Gumbleton’s home church, St. Leo’s, became an important meeting place for Detriot’s Haitians. A certain Father Nader is recalled by some members of the community as another strong advocate and catalyst from within the Detroit Catholic church for Haitian issues.

Today, two Catholic Churches in Detroit - St. Gerard’s and Sacred Heart - draw sizable numbers of Haitian parishioners. St. Gerard’s is a vibrant, multi-ethnic and multi-racial parish that incorporates 24 nationalities, including Haitians. Several Haiti parishioners, including Mme. Adeline Auguste, along with African Americans, white Americans. and a Grenadian, explained the pastor, Rev. Donald Archambault, compose the church’s Haiti Committee that manages a parish twinning and an adopt-a-child programs.

St. Gerard’s and Sacred Heart serve as important venues for drawing the tight-knit community together. According to one Detroit Haitian, “for sure it’s at the weddings and funerals at one of these churches when we get to see everyone.”

Social Clubs
In the 1970s, Detroit Haitians socialized largely by way of house parties. Since the 1980s, however, formal social clubs formed, sponsoring events that provided Haitians in and near Detroit occasions to gather and celebrate such occasions as Mardi Gras, Haitian Independence Day, and the 4th of July. That tradition continues to the present, as the Detroit Haitian community is currently served by several active social clubs. One, the Haitian Association of Michigan sponsored Une Soiree d’Elegance on New Year’s Eve, 2002 at a hall in Southfield, just north of the 8 Mile Road Detroit city limit.

Another currently active social club, established in 1999, is the Haitian Network, an organization anchored by young Haitian-born and second-generation Haitian professionals. Its 20 - 25 members are from 25 to 35 years old. Several of the network’s members migrated to Detroit from New York within the past five years to pursue professional opportunities. The organization sponsors an annual poetry reading on Valentine’s Day. According to a member of its board, it is planning to sponsor several educational and heritage activities in 2003 and 2004 linked to Haiti’s bicentennial of independence. In early November 2002 the Haitian Network sponsored a Halloween Masquerade Ball attended by members, their families and non-Haitian friends.

Haitian Radio Programs and Restaurants
There are not currently any Haitian radio programs or restaurants in Detroit. A year or so ago, several members of the Haitian Network opened a small Haitian restaurant, but it soon closed. Apparently, it did not develop much of a client base, assessed one community member, since members of the Haitian community in Detroit “prefer to eat (Haitian food) at home.”

Educational and Cultural Institutions
The Espoir Center for Caribbean Arts and Culture (link to Vision Statement) has been the bedrock institution in Detroit’s Haitian Community since it was established in 1986 by a group of Haitian and non-Haitian citizens. Initially, the organization sought to mobilize the Haitian - and general - community around a vision of assisting Haiti through the provision of direct anti-poverty aid. Over time, Espoir evolved to meet this goal through a partnership with a non-governmental organization called Eye Care Haiti. Espoir sponsored an annual art auction that raised funds to support Eye Care’s work in Haiti. Espoir’s involvement in art led to sponsoring other art exhibits and, eventually, to the creation of a permanent Haiti collection in the Detroit Institute of the Arts. Click here to view the Espoir Vission Statement.

As Espoir evolved into Detroit’s most prominent and enduring Haitian American organization, several Haitians served as members of its board. Prominent among Espoir’s board members has been the organization’s Founder, Julio Bateau. Bateau spearheaded Espoir’s efforts to procure and restore a magnificent turn-of-the century home on Ferry Street in Detroit’s museum district as its permanent headquarters.

Espoir’s activities include an annual banquet, a quarterly newsletter, Krik Krak, and a multitude of educational and cultural events. In 1992, Espoir co-hosted a speaking engagement in Detroit of Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, during the period of his 1991-1993 exile in the United States.

Indicative of its existence as a Caribbean Arts and Culture center, Espoir’s activities include those that reach beyond Haiti into other Caribbean communities. Largely through the work of Dr. Guerin Montilus, Espoir has been involved in hosting events related to Cuba and its culture, including the appearance in Detroit of the renown Buena Vista Social Club.

Artist Victor Sando Rodriguez and the Espoir Board.

Over time, Espoir and its members have deftly developed contacts with city and Congressional leaders, including Detroit’s venerable Member of Congress, John Conyers, and key area private sector organizations, including General Motors. This successful networking has given Espoir a reputation as one of the most prominent ethnic institutions of Detroit.