ABSTRACT
The wave of Haitian migration to North America began in the late 1950s, when François Duvalier became President of Haiti, and by 1990 had carried 1 million persons to New York, Miami, Boston, Chicago, and Montreal. There are approximately 8 million Haitians and 500,000 of them live in greater New York, as well as the New York and New Jersey communities that participate in the life of the city. This is the largest Haitian diaspora community in the United States. The majority of Haitians serve the Vodou spirits. “Serving the spirits” is the more common expression among Haitians for what journalists and academics, as well as increasing numbers of Haitians themselves, call Vodou.1
