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  RESEARCH PRESS RELEASE 08/25/2025 by Moise Anilus The Experiences of Haitian Students in Ivy League Universities The study aims to fill an important gap in higher education literature by giving voice to a population that is underexplored in higher education research Haitian students are among the best and brightest in Ivy League institutions; however, the lack of empirical research focused on Haitian students in elite academic environments overlooks characteristics that shape their unique experiences. By focusing on Haitian students in Ivy League contexts, the study illuminates the complexity and understanding of the process of cultural assimilation, challenges homogenizing narratives about Black student experiences, and informs institutional practices that are more culturally responsive and inclusive.  Examining Haitian students’ experiences becomes even more compelling when contextualized within the broader literature on the experiences of Black students in U.S. higher edu...
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  A Remarkable Contribution Has Been Overlooked: Haitians and the Louisiana Purchase  Moise Anilus Ethno Ivy League Academy 11/05/2024           Despite enduring historic contributions to the United States, Haitians often find themselves the target of antagonistic, discriminatory treatment. The recent unfounded claims targeting hard-working Haitians in Springfield, Ohio, illustrate a pattern of prejudicial sentiments. These disparaging statements, such as the one about Haitian migrants eating pets, are socially damaging and dehumanizing. The former New York mayor recently persisted in this deceptive path, even though authorities have thoroughly dispelled the inflammatory rhetorics. This kind of language often conveys an impression of divisive and derisive attitudes, influencing gullible minds to become unhinged. Yet, in the face of such adversity, the Haitian Revolution represents a crucial thread in the tapestry of American history–a reality that...
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  Leveraging Higher Education to Impact Haiti:  A Conversation with Haitians at Harvard and Beyond by Moise Anilus 04/24/2024 The Team On April 19, 2024, a group of Haitian students at Harvard, including alums and Harvard affiliates, launched an inspired initiative to begin a conversation to invoke a renewed sense of intellectual and practical patriotism on the campus of Harvard University.  With a deep sense of national pride, this group of Haitians endeavored to synergize their collective strength to articulate a shared purpose and a future of possibility for Haiti.  There is an urgency to elevate the conversation about Haiti beyond imaginative hope to a sense of practical patriotism intended to meet our most significant challenges at home. Thus, in the spirit of collaboration, coordinating committee members invested extraordinary time and effort in reaching out to Haitian activists, current Harvard students and alumni, accomplished professionals, and community le...

Kreole or French?

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 by Moise Anilus Kreole or French? Michel Frederic DeGraff is a Haitian professor of linguistics, creolist, and founder of the Haitian Creole Academy at MIT, and the director of the MIT-Haiti Initiative, whose latest project has been revolutionizing education in Haiti by using Creole in the classroom instead of French. "The The basic premise of our initiative," DeGraff explains, "is that using Kreyòl for Haitian education is  essential to improving quality and access to education for all."  While I applaud Professor DeGraff's scholarship and his ongoing efforts to formalize the Creole language for linguistic coherence and autonomy, Creole is far from an autonomous language with adequate grammatical morphemes consistent with global languages like English and Spanish. It is primarily a dialect of French fundamentally intertwined with its syntax and pragmatics. Consequently, in its current state, Kreole needs to have the linguistic verbiage to correspond appropriat...