Chicago’s Haitian community denounces Trump’s Ohio comments about pets and celebrates its culture

Several dozen Haitians and allies gathered on Federal Plaza with an umbrella in one hand and Haitian flags in the other Sunday afternoon. The gloomy sky and near-constant downpour did not dampen their admonishment of former President Donald Trump’s unfounded accusations that Haitians were stealing and eating pets in Springfield, Ohio, and the onslaught of racist attacks that have followed.

“I watched his debate and, initially when I heard (Trump’s comments), I didn’t know he was talking about us,” said Rebecca Brutus, 13. “I don’t know people who (eat pets) who are Haitian or aren’t Haitian.”

She and her sister Sarah, 15, grew up in the Chatham neighborhood to a Haitian-born mother and a first-generation Haitian American father, Patrick Brutus, who was one of the rally organizers. The girls found out Trump was talking about Haitians on the internet.

“I was appalled,” said the other Brutus sister. “I feel like we’ve been pretty quiet. We haven’t been doing anything to have this comment made against us.”

The rally, organized by the Coalition of Haitian American Organizations in the Chicagoland Area, was as much a denouncement of Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric as it was a celebration of the contributions Haitians have made to Chicago and the nation. Haitian American trader Jean Baptiste Point DuSable founded Chicago after all, several speakers reminded the crowd.

“If it wasn’t for Haiti, there would be no Chicago,” said Ald. William Hall, 6th. He was one of several City Council members who spoke at the rally in solidarity with Chicago’s Haitian community, which is approximately 40,000 strong today, according to the General Consulate of Haiti in Chicago.

Political instability, widespread economic insecurity and natural disasters in the island nation have caused many Haitians to seek asylum in Chicago and the United States at large for decades. Most recently, intensifying gang violence since the 2021 assassination of Haiti’s president has driven many to leave the country.

Citing the recent uptick in violence, in June, the Biden administration extended temporary protected status for Haitian immigrants through early 2026. The status allows citizens of nations with unsafe conditions to reside in the United States legally, and Haiti first received it after a devastating 2010 earthquake.

While in the White House, Trump attempted to terminate the status for several nations, including Haiti.

Now, rally organizer Cydnee Newman said his comments at the Sept. 8 presidential debate have heightened derogatory comments and false assumptions about Haitians.

The Chicago-born daughter of Haitian immigrants recalls her classmates telling her she was “one of the boat people” or had AIDS in the 1980s and 1990s.

“Stop Haitian hate is ultimately the message we want to deliver. And we want people to understand we’re part of this community. We’re here to stay,” she told the Tribune.

As the rally’s lineup of speakers came to an end, the rain dwindled to a drizzle and a small ensemble of musicians playing traditional Haitian music marched into Federal Plaza. Rallygoers put their umbrellas away but kept their Haitian flags high in the air.