In battleground Michigan, Haitian pastor urges congregations to vote, ‘You make your choice’

LANSING, Mich.—On the last weekend before Election Day, Vice-President Kamala Harris held a rally in East Lansing that drew thousands in for a final push to beat Former President Donald Trump for the battleground state. At Waverly Church of the Nazarene about 10 miles west, where American and Haitian flags flank the worship house’s lawn sign, Haitian residents spoke about the high-profile race.

Jean Berniste Ambeau, a pastor of the church, was leaving the morning service when he shared that he is unable to vote because he is not a U.S. citizen. But he fulfilled his duty “as a citizen of this earth.” 

“That’s why this morning, I encouraged people to vote. This is my purpose, my mission on this earth,” Ambeau said. “[Wherher] I’m in Haiti or the U.S., I encourage people to vote. You make your choice.”

As all eyes look to see if Michigan will go red or blue, eligible members of the Haitian population, which runs just short of 4,000, are taking their thoughts and feelings to the voting booth. Or, as in Ambeau’s case, encouraging friends and colleagues who can, to vote.

The message came through loud and clear for Waverly worshipper Josiane Jean Pierre, a naturalized citizen who moved to the United States in 2013. She planned to cast her ballot for Harris by Tuesday, joining the unprecedented 1.2 million who voted early in person in the swing state with 10 electoral votes in play.

“Even though there’s a lot of stuff I don’t like about Democrats, I’ll vote for Kamala,” she said. 

Jean Pierre, a nurse, is most concerned about the anti-immigrant sentiment and xenophobic treatment immigrants face. Despite holding a nursing degree and having many qualifications, she said she has experienced microaggressions and unfair treatment because of her accent and being from Haiti. If Harris and her running mate Tim Walz win the White House, Jean Pierre says, she hopes to see more opportunities in the workforce for immigrants and small business owners credited for holding up the U.S. economy.

By comparison, Jean Pierre said, the Republican Party “tries to label us as a bad country.” She lamented that people like Trump do not appreciate the contributions Haitians have made to help America historically. Instead, he has instigated or repeated disparaging remarks about Haitians eating pets and vowed to conduct mass deportations.

“We don’t have votes for you,” Jean Pierre said, referring to Trump. “No one is going to vote for Trump because he said he’s going to send everybody back.”

Ambeau said if he were eligible to cast a ballot, he too would vote for Harris because of her stance on immigration. That outweighs the conservative views he holds as a pastor, such as condemning abortion.

On Sundays, Ambeau breaks down the political conversations happening in national news for the congregation. He never tells people who to vote for, but he makes it his responsibility for them to understand who and what is at stake on the ballot.

He recalls explaining to his church the lies about the community ‘eating cats and dogs’ in Springfield, Ohio. The rhetoric triggered a disheartening memory of Trump calling Haiti a ‘sh*thole country’ back in 2018. 

“It was hard to explain the pain in my heart,” he said.

The post In battleground Michigan, Haitian pastor urges congregations to vote, ‘You make your choice’ appeared first on The Haitian Times.