Boston's Ruthzee Louijeune on Haitian pride, from flag to food

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You may notice another red, white and blue flag flying in your city or town this weekend.

Saturday is Haitian Flag Day. And in Massachusetts — which is home to the third-largest Haitian community in the U.S. — celebrations have already begun. Boston and Lowell have raised the Haitian flag above their city halls, and more ceremonies are planned today in communities like Somerville and Norwood.

For local Haitians, the holiday evokes a mix of emotions this year. The island nation is in the midst of a violent political collapse, and thousands of Haitians who have fled and sought asylum are still struggling to steady their new lives in Massachusetts.

Despite political turmoil, the holiday is also a day of great pride for Haitian people, according to Boston City Council President Ruthzee Louijeune, the city's first Haitian-American elected official. I recently spoke with Louijeune to learn more about the history of Boston’s Haitian community and the meaning of Haitian Flag Day (plus some tips on where to find delicious Haitian food in the Boston area).

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Hanna Ali: What has historically drawn the Haitian community here, to Boston?

Ruthzee Louijeune: The Haitian community started coming to Boston in the late '50s, early '60s as an alternative to Miami and to New York. People were told that there were jobs here, there were good schools here, [and] even though it was colder than Miami, colder than New York, people started coming little by little to the point where we got a community.

HA: How do Haitian communities in Boston and beyond celebrate Haitian Flag Day?

RL: Haitian Flag Day is the second-biggest Haitian holiday after Independence Day on Jan. 1. It’s a celebration of the creation of the Haitian flag, which was sewn together on May 18 in 1803 by Catherine Flon. [Legend] has it that [they] took the French tricolor flag, ripped out the white part, and then the red and the blue were sewn together, and that was the original Haitian flag.

As the only country in the world founded from a slave revolt, as the first free Black republic in the Western Hemisphere, and as the second free Black republic in the world at the time, it is a source of incredible pride for who we are. So it’s a day where we look at the flag with an immense amount of pride.

But you know, also there’s a great depth of sadness when we see it, given the current political and humanitarian realities that people are facing in Haiti. People are suffering from deep, deep hunger. Gangs control 80% of the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince. And so while nothing can take away our pride of self and our resilience, it is also sobering to think about how Haiti, the first free Black republic, in so many ways has yet to truly be free.

HA: Since 2022, thousands of Haitian immigrants have arrived in Massachusetts to escape the aforementioned political turmoil. What are some of the challenges currently facing new Haitian migrants in Boston?

RL: Well, I would say the biggest challenge that folks coming here face is one of shelter. There are a limited number of spaces and locations for shelter. The second is the language; not a lot of folks are coming here speaking or knowing English. And there is a desire to work, but being able to speak English is an important part of that. And third, the trauma that a lot of folks have experienced in their journey to get here. Children — having traversed different countries — sometimes [arrive] nonverbal. There are a lot of issues people face just getting here.

HA: Shifting gears a bit here, Haitian people are a big part of Boston's cultural and economic landscape. What are some spots where people can try Haitian food in Massachusetts?

RL: Well, the place that I go to try Haitian food is always my mom’s [laughs]. But we have some great spots. We have Little Haiti International Cuisine in Hyde Park, and Fan Fan Bakery, also in Hyde Park.

Las Vegas Haitian Restaurant — there's one in Mattapan and there's one in Hyde Park. There's Gege's Restaurant in Hyde Park. If you're sensing a theme, it's Mattapan and Hyde Park. Outside of Boston, there's some really great places too, like Highland Creole Cuisine in Somerville, La Perle restaurant in Everett, and Gourmet Kreyol Food Truck.

There are also some Haitian-owned establishments [in Boston] that don’t serve the traditional Haitian plates: Hue, a restaurant and speakeasy owned by Rob Eugene, and Savvor, which is in downtown Boston in the Leather District and owned by F. Eddy Firmin.

HA: What dishes would you recommend?

RL: Oh, my favorite is diri djon-djon, black rice. And there's a dish that my mom used to make that I did not like growing up, but now it’s one of my favorite dishes. It’s called legume, and it just means vegetables, but it’s more than that — stewed vegetables, meat and crab all together. So djon-djon and legume. I also like kabrit, which is goat.

HA: How can people educate themselves a little more about the Haitian experience or Haitian history in Massachusetts? 

RL: We’ve been trying to do a comprehensive job on my Instagram page. We put out a whole calendar for the month of May of events my office and the Boston Public Library in Hyde Park [will be] putting on. There will be a new Haitian cultural center in the North End area called the Toussaint Louverture Community Center, and on May 20, there’s gonna be a groundbreaking ceremony for it at 6 p.m. We’ll also have the first-ever Haitian night at the Red Sox on May 24, but that’s unfortunately sold out.

Again, we tried to put together everything, so you can find all this information. We really want people to know more about Haitian culture. Boston has [one of the] largest per-capita Haitian populations. We want people to know who their neighbors, doctors, nurses, Lyft drivers, teachers, cleaners, social workers and elected officials are. We’re centering the Haitian community the same way every community is centered here. The city belongs to all of us.

P.S. — Want to learn more about Haiti's revolutionary history and its current crisis? NPR's Planet Money dives into how rich countries have their fingerprints all over the nation’s stunted development.

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