1928 – “First Pan-African Congress in the Caribbean Opens in Haiti”

On June 12, 1928, Haitian intellectuals and political leaders hosted a regional Pan-African Congress in Port-au-Prince. The conference focused on Black unity in the Americas, Haiti’s revolutionary legacy, and resisting U.S. occupation (1915–1934). Delegates included Caribbean thinkers, African-American activists, and African diaspora scholars. Haiti was chosen as symbolic ground for its 1804 independence and global Black pride. The Congress connected anti-colonial and anti-imperial struggles, reinforcing Pan-Africanism’s cultural and political potential. Though less internationally known than the five Pan-African Congresses held in Europe and Africa, the Haitian meeting significantly influenced regional resistance and Black consciousness across the Caribbean.