Former Haitian First Lady Visits Detroit On Friday with Rep. Maxine Waters
Mildred T. Aristide describes the intersection between the struggles of African Americans and Haitians.
Few countries in the world have faced as much hardship as Haiti. The Haitian people had been forced to deal with one disaster after another, whether caused by nature or by human hands.
It is a country that reminds us that inequality and institutional racism, subjects that are talked about frequently on Detroit Today, are not confined to the borders of the United States.
Former first lady of Haiti, Mildred T. Aristide, joins Congresswomen Maxine Waters Friday night in Detroit for a discussion about race at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History at 7 p.m.
Aristide joins Stephen Henderson on Detroit Today to talk about Haiti’s people and history.
“The foundational concept that links African Americans, Haitian Americans, and blacks and Africans all over the world,” Aristide says, “is the basis of slavery.”
She also addresses her husband’s controversial legacy as former president of Haiti — including accusations of corruption and human rights violations — and the hardships that Haitians have faced in recent years.
Click on the audio player above to hear the full conversation.
