Tag - Haitian Heritage Month

About 100 people gathered outside Columbus City Hall on Wednesday evening, candles in hand, to remember Pierre Damas Bel as more than a headline. The 20-year-old Haitian student, soccer player, JROTC member, and Wright State University freshman was described by those who knew him as joyful, driven, and full of promise “one of the brightest lights” in a community that has watched too many young lives dim under the weight of immigration policy. Bel died Aug. 31 after walking into westbound traffic on Interstate 70 in Clark County and being struck by a tractor-trailer, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol. His family and advocates say he died by suicide after weeks of shame and bullying over an ICE ankle monitor placed on him in late July, following the end of Temporary Protected Status for Haitians. He had called his father that morning at 8:03 a.m. “Dad, I’m not feeling okay mentally because of the bullying,” he asked his son to come home so they could talk. Hours later, police arrived at the family’s door. At the vigil, friends and coworkers stood with elected officials and Haitian community leaders. They refused to let Bel be reduced to a policy debate. They named him: oldest of three sons, Springfield High School honors graduate, National Honor Society member, varsity soccer player for the Wildcats, and a Texas Roadhouse teammate who showed up, worked hard, and made people laugh. Coworkers from the restaurant attended the vigil and spoke about working alongside him. They described a young man who was reliable on the floor, kind to guests and staff, and proud of the hours he put in while juggling school, soccer, and JROTC. @Iamyola.marj who knew Bel as a close friend and mentee, condemned the way Haitian migrants have been painted as criminals. ICE has rejected claims that the agency is responsible, stating that “any attempts to blame ICE for the death of Pierre Damas Bel are false” and repeating that people without legal status are not required to remain in the country wearing a monitor. Funeral arrangements remain pending. His parents had hoped to bury him in Haiti; that request has not been granted. #lunionsuite #haitianamerican

Economist, author, and public figure @EtzerEmile registered Thursday as a voter at the Lycée National de Pétion-Ville, one of the official voter registration centers in the Ouest department.⁠ ⁠ Emile arrived with a large group of supporters, described by local media as hundreds of young people and close associates. The visit comes as Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) continues the voter registration drive ahead of general elections scheduled for December 13, the country’s first national vote in a decade.⁠ ⁠ While some early social media posts described the crowd shouting “Viv Prezidan,” major reports focused on Emile’s remarks rather than chants. He expressed concern about the current state of the electoral process and called for the security conditions necessary to hold a credible and transparent election.⁠ ⁠ Voter registration at the Lycée National de Pétion-Ville has already drawn high-profile figures, including Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé in early August and Economy and Finance Minister Serge Gabriel Collin this week. Officials have repeatedly urged citizens with a valid national identification card to register.⁠ ⁠ Emile, known for his bestselling book Haïti a choisi de devenir un pays pauvre and his work on entrepreneurship and civic education through Haiti Efficace and Fondation Avenir, has not formally declared a presidential candidacy. His appearance at the registration center has nevertheless fueled speculation about his political intentions.⁠ ⁠ Haiti’s electoral calendar remains contingent on improved security. Gangs still control large parts of the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, and both the CEP and government have acknowledged that the December date will hold only if conditions allow.⁠ ⁠ The registration process continues across designated centers in Pétion-Ville, Delmas, and Tabarre. Citizens must present a valid Carte d’identification nationale to enroll.⁠ ⁠ 🎥 Tripotay Lakay⁠ #lunionsuite #haitianamerican #haitian

Carla Jeffery, the actress best known as Bree in Disney’s Zombies films and as the Haitian-American teen at the center of the 2016 Disney Channel short Exchange, died on Tuesday, September 1. She was 33. Her longtime management team at Alexanders Talent Management confirmed the news. No cause of death has been released. Jeffery was born July 10, 1993, in Houston and began working as a child. At 12 she appeared in Phat Girlz opposite Mo’Nique. She built a two-decade career across Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, and adult television, including a 10-episode run as Keysha Black on Curb Your Enthusiasm, plus roles on Southland, iCarly, Shake It Up, Good Luck Charlie, Best Friends Whenever, and American Vandal. She is survived by her twin brother, actor Carlon Jeffery of A.N.T. Farm. To a generation of Disney viewers she was Bree, the loyal, high-energy Seabrook High cheerleader and best friend to Addison in Zombies (2018), Zombies 2 (2020), and Zombies 3 (2022). She later voiced the same character on Zombies: The Re-Animated Series. Ten years ago, filmmaker Daheli Hall, Haitian-Jamaican, Miami-raised cast Jeffery as the lead in Exchange, one of a slate of Disney Channel shorts. After a class trip to Paris is canceled, Jeffery’s character, Brijitte, a Haitian-American teenager who moves between English, French, and Kreyòl, proposes a different kind of exchange: classmates spend time in each other’s homes. At her house, her granmè (played by Haitian actress Karina Bonnefil) slips between French and Kreyol. L’Union Suite covered the short when it dropped in August 2016, noting how rare it was then, and still is to hear Kreyòl in a kids’ program built for a global audience. For many young Haitian viewers, it was one of the first times a girl who sounded like home was the one driving the plot. Hall posted a tribute this week that she could not finish on camera. “Yesterday I was in a high. Today I’m so low. We lost Carla Jeffrey far too soon,” she wrote. “Ten years ago, I cast Carla as the lead in my short film for Disney Channel… I love you, Carla. Thank you so much for your light.” Our condolences to her family, friends and fans. 🎥 @daheliofficial #lunionsuite

A Department of Homeland Security video showing Black men in shackles and chains boarding a deportation flight to Haiti has drawn sharp condemnation from Haitian community leaders in South Florida.⁠ ⁠ The video was posted by DHS the day after the first deportation flight following the end of Temporary Protected Status for Haitians left on August 27. It shows men being led onto a plane in the rain while restrained and is set to an upbeat Haitian song.⁠ ⁠ In an @NBC6 Miami news piece reported by Ari Odzer, community leaders described the footage as dehumanizing. “This video is absolutely reprehensible, this video is basically dehumanizing us,” said Paul Namphy of the Family Action Network. He connected the imagery to the painful history of how Black people have been treated in this country.⁠ ⁠ L’Union Suite founder Wanda Tima was featured in the NBC 6 report and expressed shock at the decision to release the video. “I was in utter shock that they had even released something like this,” she said. “And then you’re creating this sickening messaging around Haitians on TPS, that they are all criminals. People that are on TPS were here legally.”⁠ ⁠ The flight landed in Cap-Haïtien. Separate arrival footage showed deportees stepping off the plane without shackles. When asked for comment, DHS stated that Temporary Protected Status is temporary by design, compared the moment to “closing time,” and pointed to a $2,600 payment plus a free flight for those who leave voluntarily.⁠ ⁠ Advocates questioned the purpose of the video, noting that Haitians who held TPS already knew their status had ended and that Haiti remains so dangerous commercial airlines will not fly into the capital. ⁠ ⁠ Namphy said his group is asking Florida’s senators to support legislation restoring TPS for Haitians for three more years.⁠ ⁠ VIdeo Source: NBC6 Miami⁠ #lunionsuite #haitianamerican #haitian

Miss World Haiti Marie Kemlyne Félix (@mariekemlynefelix) took the stage at "Dances of the World" in Nha Trang, Vietnam. Performing before a crowd of more than 10,000 spectators, she showcased Haiti's national costume and danced to the rhythms of her homeland, dedicating her performance to the working women of Haiti who never stop hustling.⁠ ⁠ Following her performance, part of the cultural showcase ahead of the 73rd Miss World Final on September 5, Félix shared a tribute dedicated to her grandmother and the everyday women who inspired her journey:⁠ ⁠ "For my grandmother 'Aunt Sarah.' For the culture. For all Mrs. Sara who never stops hustling in life. For all those living in bad conditions. A representation worth a thousand words. Our origin cannot condemn us! Honor and respect for Mrs. Sara, the strength of our country's economy."⁠ ⁠ In Haiti, "Madan Sara" is the name given to the market women often grandmothers, mothers, and aunts who carry goods across the country to sell in markets, forming the backbone of the nation's informal economy. By dedicating her performance to "Aunt Sarah," Félix wasn't just honoring her own grandmother; she was paying tribute to generations of Haitian women whose relentless work has sustained families and communities through hardship.⁠ ⁠ Her words "Our origin cannot condemn us!" struck a chord with viewers, framing her presence on one of the world's biggest pageant stages as more than a personal achievement. It became a statement about resilience, representation, and the refusal to let circumstance define destiny.⁠ ⁠ The "Dances of the World" segment grouped Miss World 2026's 111 contestants into four regions the Americas and Caribbean, Africa, Europe, and Asia-Oceania each showcasing traditional dress and dance rooted in their home countries. Félix's performance stood out as a vivid expression of Haitian culture, color, and pride, reinforcing why national costume moments remain some of the most anticipated segments of the competition.⁠ ⁠ 📸 @missworld @ricardo.siviero @kiengcanpro⁠ #lunionsuite #haitianamerican #haitian #caribbean

The U.S. Department of Justice is expanding what states are required to report to federal immigration authorities. Under a new legal opinion issued by the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel, states that participate in federal programs such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) must report people they know are not lawfully present in the United States to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The change affects all agencies within a participating state, not just the agencies that directly manage TANF or SSI programs. The DOJ says states that fail to follow the reporting requirement could face serious consequences, including the loss of federal program funding. The new opinion reverses a 1998 Office of Legal Counsel interpretation that had taken a narrower approach. Under that earlier interpretation, only the specific state agencies administering TANF or SSI were required to report information to federal immigration authorities. The DOJ says the new interpretation does not create a new law or new reporting requirement. Instead, the department argues that it is restoring what it believes Congress already required under the 1996 welfare reform law. The opinion applies going forward, meaning states will not face retroactive penalties for following the older 1998 interpretation. The financial stakes are significant. The DOJ says all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and several U.S. territories currently participate in TANF and SSI, while federal TANF grants total more than $16.4 billion annually. The change could also mean more state agencies may have to review what information they have about a person’s immigration status and determine when they are legally required to share it with DHS. For immigrant communities, the policy adds another layer to the federal government’s ongoing immigration enforcement efforts. However, the DOJ opinion itself does not say that every undocumented person will automatically be reported. The requirement applies to people a state knows are not lawfully present and is tied to the federal reporting rules outlined in the law. #lunionsuite #haitianamerican

The U.S. has extended restrictions on certain flights over Haiti through March 2, 2027, as security concerns continue around Port-au-Prince.⁠ ⁠ The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) restriction prevents U.S. airlines, commercial operators and certain U.S.-registered civilian aircraft from flying below 10,000 feet in designated areas of Haiti, including the airspace around Port-au-Prince.⁠ ⁠ The restriction was first put in place after gunfire targeted a Spirit Airlines flight approaching Toussaint Louverture International Airport in November 2025. A flight attendant suffered minor injuries, and other aircraft were also damaged.⁠ ⁠ The latest extension comes as gangs continue to control large parts of Port-au-Prince, keeping the capital's airspace under heightened security restrictions.⁠ ⁠ For Haitians and travelers, the decision is another sign of how the country's ongoing security crisis continues to affect transportation in and out of the capital.⁠ ⁠ #lunionsuite #haitianamerican

#LunionSuiteExcellence 🇭🇹 Haitian-American soprano Melissa Joseph is heading to one of the most prestigious music schools in the world. The Brooklyn-based lyric soprano announced she has been accepted into The Juilliard School’s Artist Diploma program in Opera Studies, one of only four singers selected, and the spot is fully funded. “One of four singers, and it’s fully funded. God is INCREDIBLE! I’m overjoyed!” @Meli_joe posted, tagging the school. The Artist Diploma in Opera Studies is Juilliard’s most advanced, highly selective two-year pre-professional program. It is designed for already accomplished singers and focuses on intensive acting, vocal technique, coaching, and career placement at the highest level. Acceptance is rare. Fully funded spots are rarer still. Music was never optional in Joseph’s house. Her father played in the church band. Her mother sang in Haiti. Both of her sisters played the violin. Her godfather and pastor had been a member of the well-known Haitian group Le Souffle Divin. At age 4, she was already singing Haitian hymns in church. Her parents, who immigrated from Haiti to Pennsylvania in the early 1980s, had a more cautious vision. Like many immigrant families, they hoped she would choose a “safe” profession, doctor, nurse, or lawyer. Joseph grew up between Haitian church communities in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The house was filled with music, including her father’s recordings of Mozart, Bach, and Beethoven. She received a full-ride scholarship to Georgia State University to study music and later returned for her Master of Music in Vocal Performance. Those years, she has said, taught her how the opera world actually works and connected her with artists who poured into her. The path after that was long: competitions, young artist programs, cover roles, and mainstage debuts. Joseph made her Opera Philadelphia debut as Musetta in La Bohème; The Washington Post called the performance “show-stopping.” She appeared with Opera Theatre of St. Louis as Lily in the world premiere of Tobias Picker’s Awakenings, sang Mrs. Gleaton in Susannah, and covered the title role in Treemonisha. 📸 @jjfecik #lunionsuite #haitianamerican

September is National S**cide Prevention Month. It is a reminder that looking out for each other is not extra work. It is part of how a community stays alive. All month, mental health advocates, prevention organizations, survivors of s**cide loss, people with lived experience, and ordinary community members come together to talk about something too many families still keep behind closed doors. The goal is not to scare people. The goal is to make help visible, make the signs easier to recognize, and make it normal to reach for support before the pain becomes unbearable. This matters in the Haitian community. Many of us were raised to be strong, to pray, to work, and to handle family business inside the house. Struggle gets called weakness. Depression can many times gets called everything else but what. it is. Pain can gets explained as a spiritual attack or something only God should carry. That silence can leave people isolated when they needed a hand, a call, or a safe place to say they were not okay. S**cide is preventable when people know what to watch for and where to turn. What this month is asking of us. It is asking us to do small things that save lives: - Check on the people who look fine. - Ask how someone is doing and wait for the real answer. - Listen without lecturing, comparing pain, or saying prayer is the only option. - Share resources instead of rumors. - Take talk of hopelessness, being a burden, or wanting to disappear seriously. Signs someone may be in danger - Pulling away from family, church, or friends - Hopelessness about money, immigration status, or the future - Talking as if other people would be better off without them - Sudden calm after a long stretch of distress - Giving away important belongings - Not sleeping, not eating, or not caring about appearance - Increased drinking or risky behavior If someone says they want to die, believe them. Asking directly does not plant the idea. It can open the door. If you or someone else is in crisis: Call or text 988. It is free, confidential, & available 24 hours a day. Ask for a Haitian Creole interpreter if you need one. You can also text HOME to 741741. #lunionsuite

Before she took Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday night, the four-time Grand Slam champion had already given Flushing Meadows a full fashion week: sculptural white bags, orange tulle, ruched caramel minis, fuzzy blue mules, money-print Timberlands, distressed Evisu denim, and a custom Who Decides War hoodie-gown stitched with her own newspaper clippings. Then she walked out looking like Allen Iverson’s tennis cousin cornrows, red headband, one black sleeve, one red wristband and still needed two tiebreaks to beat world No. 101 Anastasia Zakharova 7-6(6), 7-6(3). Style first. Steel second. Both required. Match night was the one built to travel. Styled by Law Roach and made by Who Decides War in about 30 hours, Osaka walked out in a distressed gray sleeveless hoodie with a white tulle train. Newspaper clippings from her own career were sewn into the fabric her name, her photos, “Osaka showed strength.” Cornrows. Red headband. One black compression sleeve. One red wristband. Allen Iverson. The Manhattan Bridge photos of that same look hoodie up, hoodie down, tulle against the skyline made the entrance feel like a fashion film, not just a walk-on. The clothes got the gasps. The match almost got away. Osaka, the No. 13 seed and two-time US Open champion, beat Anastasia Zakharova 7-6(6), 7-6(3) on Monday night in just over two hours. She led both sets. Zakharova, ranked 101, kept coming. Two tiebreaks. Eleven aces from Osaka, including one on match point. A lot of rust. She had not played since Toronto, where Elena Rybakina beat her in three sets in the quarterfinals. First rounds in New York always make her nervous, she said, because she wants to do well, and because she wants to show more outfits. That next match is Kateřina Siniaková in the second round. Osaka leads the head-to-head 2-1. After that the draw gets serious: a possible Mertens meeting, then maybe Rybakina again in a brutal section of the bracket. She is 26-10 this season, 10-2 at the slams, still hunting her first title since the 2021 Australian Open. Last year she made the US Open semifinals. 📸 @NaomiOsaka #lunionsuite #haitianamerican #haitian

[TRIGGER WARNING] Pierre Damas Bel came to the United States to go to school. On Monday morning, the 20-year-old Haitian TPS holder was pronounced dead on Interstate 70 after he was struck by a semi-truck near South Vienna. The Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Springfield Post said troopers were called at 8:45 a.m. to the 66 mile marker of westbound I-70, near Ohio 54. Bel was pronounced dead at the scene. The crash remains under investigation. Bel was a recent graduate of Springfield High School, class of 2026. During his senior year he played soccer for the Wildcats as a forward and midfielder. After graduation, he was looking ahead to college sports. On July 30, Bel wrote on Instagram that immigration authorities had placed a GPS monitor on his leg, and that the device had stripped him of the future he thought he was building. “I came to this country to pursue my education. I didn’t come here to commit a crime or hurt anyone,” he wrote. “Yet now I’m walking through the streets of the United States with a GPS monitor on my leg, carrying a feeling of shame and humiliation that I never imagined I would experience.” His father, Pierre Ronal Bel, told L’Union Suite in an interview Monday that the monitor went on his son’s left leg only a few weeks ago and that Pierre Damas was traumatized & depressed. The last conversation between father and son was at 8:03 a.m. Monday, 42 minutes before troopers were called to I-70. Pierre Ronal said his son was sitting in a car and told him he was struggling. The father told him to come home so they could talk, sit together, eat, and work through it. Minutes later the phone cut off. He kept calling. He could not reach his son. Pierre Ronal said police told him today his son’s death was intentional but he’s having a hard time processing it all. L’Union Suite has not independently confirmed the official manner of death. The Ohio State Highway Patrol investigation is ongoing, & the truck driver has not been publicly identified. What is not in dispute is the pressure Pierre Damas Bel was under. Rest In Peace Pierre. We extend our deepest condolences to Pierre Ronal & the Bel family. 💔🕊️#lunionsuite

From White Rice To Mangoes! 😩🥭⁠ ⁠ Panorama Produce of Mamaroneck, New York, is recalling 302 boxes of Martina-brand mangoes sold at select Walmart stores after U.S. Food and Drug Administration sampling detected Salmonella on fruit grown on the same farm in Mexico.⁠ ⁠ The mangoes that tested positive never entered U.S. commerce. The company issued the voluntary recall because the fruit that reached stores came from that same source. The recall was announced August 28 and posted by the FDA on August 29. No illnesses have been reported in connection with the product, and the recall has not been expanded.⁠ ⁠ The recalled mangoes were distributed and sold between August 10 and August 21, 2026, in four Northeastern states: Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. They were sold only at select Walmart locations in those states. Shoppers who bought mangoes at Walmart in those four states during that window should check their kitchens now. Fruit purchased in mid-August may still be sitting on a counter or in a refrigerator.⁠ ⁠ The fruit shipped in Martina-branded cases. Individual mangoes can be identified by a light blue sticker labeled Agrofepac, Produce of Mexico, PLU number 4584, and UPC 07503061948050. The mangoes are size 9.⁠ If the identifiers match, do not eat the mangoes. Throw them away or return them to the store where they were purchased. Wash hands, cutting boards, knives, and any surfaces that came into contact with the fruit.⁠ ⁠ Salmonella can cause fever, diarrhea that may be bloody, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Healthy people usually recover. Young children, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems face a higher risk of serious or life-threatening infection. In rare cases the bacteria can enter the bloodstream and cause arterial infections, endocarditis, or arthritis. ⁠ ⁠ Symptoms typically begin six hours to six days after exposure. Anyone who ate the fruit and feels ill should contact a healthcare provider.⁠ ⁠ #lunionsuite #haitianamerican