Episode 6 | Strong and Free | Haitian Diaspora in Quebec: Rhymes and Revolution
In the 1960s and 70s, Quebec saw an influx of Haitian immigrants fleeing Francois Duvalier’s dictatorship. By 1971, thousands of Haitians had immigrated to Quebec, the only other majority French-speaking society in North America. Arriving mostly in Montreal, Haitians encountered the Quiet Revolution, the perfect setting to establish their exiled community and combat Duvalier’s regime from abroad. Their battle for liberation infused with Quebec’s own.
But who are these Haitian immigrants, and what do we really know about their history? We speak with musician Jenny Salgado (a.k.a. J Kyll) and educator and historian Alain Saint-Victor to learn more about the relationship between Haiti and Quebec and the influences of the Haitian community in “la belle province.”
Find Strong and Free and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts: -- https://feeds.transistor.fm/strong-and-free
Strong and Free is produced by Media Girlfriends and Historica Canada.-- This episode was written and produced by Josiane Blanc.
Senior producers are Garvia Bailey and Hannah Sung.
Sound design and mix by David Moreau and Gabbie Clarke.
The Media Girlfriends team is rounded out by Lucius Dechausay, Jeff Woodrow and Nana aba Duncan, the founder of Media Girlfriends.
Thanks to singer/songwriter Jenny Salgado. And thank you to our script-consultant Alain Saint-Victor.
Special thank you to Imposs for the use of his song “Jaco” featuring Jenny Salgado.
Fact-checking by Cloé Carron
English versioning by Power of Babel