Frist, my declaration: I am Haitian. My great-great-grandmother, born in the 1840s, was taken from Africa, brought to Haiti, and then to Eleuthera, Bahamas as an enslaved woman. Her descendants left the Bahamas in 1870s as free people to seek their fortunes in the USA; first in Key West, Florida, then on to Miami.

Therefore, I take personally, the ongoing assaults against the plight of the country of Haiti and its people, my people.

What many of you don’t know is that the USA has always needed Haiti for good, and more often, for nefarious reasons.

Before the formerly enslaved and free people of color boldly struck out against the dominant western powers, trade between sugar-rich Haiti and the early planters, especially in the southern region, was healthy and mutually beneficial.

In fact, a troop of free Haitians (Blacks) fought with the early colonizers against the Spanish in Florida, in support of the fledgling American colony. Much later, the purchase of the Louisiana territory, where many Haitians were imported to work the land, is directly tied to the outcome of the Haitian revolution after which France needed cash.

But the notion of Black people being in charge of their own destiny in the Americas, has not been sitting well with so-called western powers, white-dominated political entities, for nearly 300 years.

That is a long time for the deep enmity against Black power to be held, against a group who only wanted what was behind the spirit of the French and American revolutions: the promise of liberty, equality, and fraternity for all people.

The Haitian revolution in 1791 was a direct threat to the plantation economy of the south which was dependent on enslaved labor. There were too many rebellions taking place on those islands. Policies and practices quickly shifted from one that imported enslaved people from throughout the Caribbean, to one where the southern planters resorted to bringing Africans directly from the continent into the Americas, at least until 1808 when it became illegal to import any more.

Haiti declared its sovereignty in 1804, just a few years before the direct importation of enslaved Africans was outlawed by the US government. The US did not recognize Haiti’s independence until the 1860s.

Growing fear of having an independent Black nation, that had been won over by violence, so close to our shores struck panic in the early planter class, especially in the agrarian south which was experiencing ongoing revolts and violent uprisings amongst its enslaved people.

From its beginning, France, Spain, Great Britain, and the US have all competed for control over the island nation. Haiti’s fate has ping-ponged between Western “interests’’ ever since.

Love them. Hate them.

Our paths have been intersecting since before the Haitian revolution began in 1791; our policies toward the island nation have constantly shifted, and are still in flux. The ongoing CIA manipulation of the governance of Haiti is well documented.

The US government has “wrestled’’ with the Haiti question, the place and it’s people for more than 200 years. In fact, one of the earliest “immigration” policies, the Alien and Sedition Acts enacted in 1798, were adopted in direct response to revolutionary immigrants from Haiti which consisted of white Frenchmen and their enslaved who fled to the USA. The government was threatened by how their revolutionary fervor might influence the new republic of the USA.

Sound familiar? Echoed in chants of making America great again; threats of deportations, “aliens” as boogeymen who eat pets, etc.?

Haitians are being scapegoated, again, because, in my opinion, they are an easy target: They are mostly Black people who also speak a non-English language.

But like with all boogeymen, the fears are irrational; the foundations are worthy of closer examination.

So, just what are the greatest threats of Haiti and its population of mostly Black people?

Let me count some of the perceived threats: USA’s unsuccessful attempts to totally control the nation despite its proximity to our shores; its resiliency to everpresent internal and external attempts to overthrow the country’s elected and appointed governmental officials; living in fear of increasing gang terror; its ability to recover from drastic earthquakes, soul-chocking poverty, ongoing foreign exploitation of its natural resources, population-reducing plagues, and diseases; and, the eternal pride and hubris of its people who continue to survive and thrive, to name a few.

Are these really threats to the USA?

It’s that last one that I admire the most, and makes me proud to say “I’m Haitian.” So, in this election, we can all take a lesson from Haiti and its people. I urge you to stand tall and filled up with pride, and self-declare your independence from unfounded fears and fight for your right to all the promises of a having free and fair democratic country.

It will be a bloodless revolution when you vote. Vote. Vote!