In 'Talk to Me,' the grandson of a former Haitian president uncovers family secrets

Summary

NPR's Book of the Day: In 'Talk to Me,' the Grandson of a Former Haitian President Uncovers Family Secrets

Host: Andrew Limbong
Guest: Rich Benjamin, Author and Anthropologist
Release Date: February 25, 2025

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1. Introduction

In this compelling episode of NPR's Book of the Day, host Andrew Limbong introduces Rich Benjamin, an accomplished author and anthropologist. Benjamin delves into his latest memoir, Talk to Me: Lessons from a Family Forged in History, which explores the hidden history of his maternal grandfather, Daniel Finole, the president of Haiti for a brief 19-day period in 1930.

2. Rich Benjamin's Legacy

Rich Benjamin begins by outlining his grandfather's tumultuous presidency in Haiti. Despite Daniel Finole's prominent role, Benjamin grew up with little knowledge about his grandfather's life and legacy.

Rich Benjamin [02:01]: "I had known relatively little about my grandfather by the time I rushed to Haiti in 2010. I had vague snippets here and there. He had been president. He had been the leader of several labor unions, but I didn't know much about his personal life."

3. Uncovering Family Secrets

Driven by a desire to fill the gaps in his family's history, Benjamin embarked on a journey to uncover the truth behind his grandfather's short-lived presidency and subsequent exile. His quest led him to significant discoveries about his grandfather's influence and the external forces that undermined his leadership.

4. U.S. Corporate Interests and CIA Involvement

A pivotal aspect of Benjamin's investigation reveals the involvement of U.S. corporate interests and the CIA in destabilizing his grandfather's presidency. Daniel Finole was a formidable leader of labor unions, advocating for better wages and conditions for Haitian workers in industries dominated by multinational corporations such as the Haitian American Sugar Corporation and Standard Fruit.

Rich Benjamin [02:31]: "He was a threat to their profits. He was a threat to their domination of the Haitian labor industry. ... Rabble rouser is the word they used in these confidential reports."

Benjamin uncovered confidential memos where U.S. corporate executives expressed their disdain for Finole, fearing his influence on labor movements could disrupt their operations and profits. These documents highlighted the covert efforts to undermine Finole's authority, painting him not as a communist, but as a "fellow traveler" whose growing power was unacceptable to U.S. business interests.

5. Fighting for Transparency

Despite the silence surrounding his grandfather's legacy, Benjamin was determined to uncover the truth. He faced significant obstacles, including a "tight wall of silence" within his own family, particularly from his mother, who preserved the family's secrets diligently.

Rich Benjamin [04:06]: "Nothing seeped in from my family members. ... there was a real tight wall of silence, particularly coming from my mother."

Undeterred, Benjamin turned to public archives and legal avenues to access classified State Department files. His efforts culminated in obtaining over 150 pages of documents detailing U.S. operatives' surveillance and reports on Finole's activities in Port-au-Prince. However, some records remained redacted, prompting Benjamin to pursue legal action to gain full transparency.

Rich Benjamin [04:44]: "I did what anybody did, which is to sue. ... I had to go to federal district court and sue to have more of those reports unredacted."

6. Haiti's Colonial Legacy

Benjamin provides a broader historical context, emphasizing the long-lasting impact of colonialism on Haiti's development. He explains how Haiti's constitution and economic structures were manipulated to serve U.S. business interests, perpetuating a legacy of dependency and exploitation.

Rich Benjamin [05:21]: "Don’t understand that dire history. So first and foremost, once Haiti was free in the 1800s, France made it pay through the force of violence and gunboats, what they called an independence debt."

He argues that these historical injustices have stunted Haiti's growth, leaving enduring scars that continue to affect the nation despite its over 200 years of independence.

7. Themes of Silence and Historical Awareness

A central theme of Benjamin's memoir is the pervasive silence surrounding his family's past and the broader implications of such silence on historical understanding and personal identity.

Rich Benjamin [07:20]: "Yes, it's about silence. It's about silences between a mother and son. ... And so what does it mean when you tell a political force or a family member? Talk to Me."

Benjamin underscores the importance of confronting and acknowledging history, both personal and collective, to prevent passive acceptance of historical narratives.

Rich Benjamin [06:29]: "One of the things I would love readers to take away from this book is always to be cognizant that history is happening as we live our lives. ... We're active agents in history."

He encourages readers to actively engage with and shape their historical narratives, rather than being passive recipients of inherited stories.

8. Conclusion

Rich Benjamin's Talk to Me serves as a profound exploration of family secrets, historical accountability, and the enduring effects of colonialism. Through his meticulous research and personal introspection, Benjamin not only uncovers the obscured history of his grandfather but also invites readers to reflect on the role of silence and awareness in shaping our understanding of the past and present.

Rich Benjamin [07:09]: "We're not active agents in history. We're not passive victims of the news. ... We're all constantly being forged by history."

Benjamin's narrative is a powerful reminder of the importance of seeking truth and maintaining an active role in the ongoing story of our lives and societies.

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Note: This summary excludes all advertisement segments and non-content sections to focus solely on the insightful discussion between Andrew Limbong and Rich Benjamin.

Transcript

[Andrew Limbong]

Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbong. Sure, we've all got family secrets. I bet there's tons of stuff our grandparents did that we have no idea about. But my grandparents and I'm guessing yours weren't heads of state, but Rich Benjamin's was. His grandfather was president of Haiti. Granted, it was only for 19 days, but that makes his story even more enticing. And yet Benjamin heard nothing about his grandfather growing up. He's got a new book out now titled Talk to Me about trying to uncover his family's history. And he talks to NPR's A. Martinez about how he circumvented the wall of silence erected by his own family. That's coming up.

[A. Martinez]

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[Rich Benjamin]

Author and anthropologist Rich Benjamin's maternal grandfather, Daniel Finole, was the president of Haiti for 19 days in 1930. His short lived presidency ended when the Haitian armed forces broke into the presidential chambers, forced him at gunpoint to sign a resignation letter and then exiled him to New York City. Soon after the brutal reign of Francois Pabadac Duvalier took over Haiti. Now, despite his grandfather being the leader of a nation, Benjamin didn't know much about him. The desire to fill in those gaps are the core of Benjamin's new family memoir, Talk to me. Rich Benjamin joins us now. So, Rich, let's begin actually where your book ends. You rushed to Haiti soon after the earthquake in 2010. How much did you know at that point about your grandfather?

I had known relatively little about my grandfather by the time I rushed to Haiti in 2010. I had vague snippets here and there. He had been president. He had been the leader of several labor unions, but I didn't know much about his personal life. I didn't know that much about his family, how he was raised or what led to his ejection from his country.

So what led to your grandfather being a person of interest for the CIA? I mean, what was the reason for it?

So at the time, beginning in 1946, my grandfather was the leader of labor unions in Haiti. And when I say labor unions, he represented sugar harvesters, he represented people who worked in the fruit industry, he represented people who were in factories, people who cut sugar cane. And often these people were working for multinational or US Corporations, such as the Haitian American Sugar Corporation or Standard Fruit. So he was very effective at his job. He helped workers raise their salaries, he helped workers get better conditions. And so he was a big person of interest. And what I found in the record is US Corporate executives contacting Washington or contacting the embassy in hating saying very explicitly, we don't like this guy.

Don't like him because why? He's a threat to their profits.

He's a threat to their profits. He's a threat to their domination of the Haitian labor industry. He's causing too much trouble. Rabble rouser is the word they used in these confidential reports. And one of the more comical confidential memos I discovered was sugar executive telegram the White House and said begrudgingly. Sure, he's not exactly a communist, but he's a fellow traveler.

Were you ever told anything through other family members? I mean, did nothing else kind of seep in?

Nothing seeped in from my family members. And looking back, it feels surprising to me, too, that nothing got through. But there was a real tight wall of silence, particularly coming from my mother, that once I realized that wouldn't be broken, I had to find my grandfather in other places, like the archive and like in Haiti itself.

Yeah. So when you get back from that trip, I mean, you begin this very long fight to declassify State Department files on your family. So tell us about that process. I mean, what did you find and what remains classified to this day?

Well, I found over 150 pages of documents where US operatives in Port au Prince were spying on him. His activities, his goings, his speeches, and reporting back to Washington at the time. And when I found them, some of those documents were declassified, but four of them still remained redacted. So I did what anybody did, which is to sue. And then my appeal was rejected, so I had to go to federal district court and sue to have more of those reports unredacted.

Just thinking about Haiti and its history, how colonialism has really maybe stunted its growth, even though it's been an independent nation for over 200 years, most people.

Don'T understand that dire history. So first and foremost, once Haiti was free in the 1800s, France made it pay through the force of violence and gunboats, what they called an independence debt. Also, Haiti's constitution when the US started colonizing it in 1915, was organized in a way the banks, the tariffs, its economic output was organized in a way to profit US Business interests. And so we do see these ramifications to this day, even as we see mistakes that Haiti has made on its own since so then When I think.

Of the full title of your book, Talk to Me Lessons from a Family Forged in History, I mean that history is something that I think maybe in this case is difficult to put in the rearview mirror.

One of the things I would love readers to take away from this book is always to be cognizant that history is happening as we live our lives. History is always happening as we are busy, so just not to sleepwalk through our lives and to kind of take certain political developments as a fait accompli. No, they are history. We are active agents in history. We're not kind of just passive victims of the news. We're not passive victims of elections. We're not passive victims of inaction by our leaders. And we are all constantly being forged by history.

Would you in some ways, or is it fair, Rich, to describe your book to be about silence and about the things that we hold back and don't tell the next generation about?

Yes, it's about silence. It's about silences between a mother and son. It's about silences between a grandfather and a mother. It's about state sanctioned silences through the CIA in the way that silences build upon each other, compound each other, and make each other worse. And so what does it mean when you tell a political force or a family member?

Talk to Me Rich Benjamin is a cultural anthropologist. His latest book is titled Talk to Me Rich. Thank you for sharing.

Thank you so much for having me.

[A. Martinez]

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