Spaces and Stories: Haitian Churches and Oral Histories in Chicago

Introduction

<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=50&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Chicago+Bethlehem+French+Seventh-day+Adventist+Church+%28%C3%89glise+Adventiste+de+Bethlehem%29">Chicago Bethlehem French Seventh-day Adventist Church (Église Adventiste de Bethlehem)</a>

Chicago Bethlehem French Seventh-day Adventist Church, (Église Adventiste de Bethlehem)

Haitians have lived in Chicago ever since the arrival of the city's founder, Jean Baptiste DuSable, who made his home here in the 1780s. After he left the city in 1800, Chicago and Haiti remain connected through many historical moments. These moments include the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago with the Haitian Pavilion, and the 1933 Chicago World's Fair, which included a replica of DuSable's home. Over the course of the twentieth century, a Haitian diasporic community formed in the city, and churches have been an important part of this communal development.

This project, as part of a larger study on the history of Haitians in Chicago, maps out the locations of Haitian churches across the city while also uncovering the stories of the Haitian people who worship there. Through recording their oral histories, this project helps shed light on how and why a Haitian community formed in Chicago. In addition, this project also attempts to uncover the evolution of Haitian religious traditions over the last fifty years. Finally this project highlights the geographical location of Chicago's Haitian presence, a largely unknown component of this diaspora's history.