Summary

Shortly after the one year anniversary of Michael Brown’s death, Edwidge Danticat was in Haiti by the border with the Dominican Republic. Hundreds of Haitians were being driven out of their homes by threats of violence. Many were forced to leave with only the clothes they were wearing. Danticat walked through a resettlement camp near the border. It was filled with makeshift houses, children covered in dust and playing with rocks, and the elderly hoping for food. There was never enough food for everyone.

When Danticat returned to the United States, she read an opinion piece that argued African Americans could be considered refugees considering the consistent murders of black lives. The op-ed’s author was an immigration attorney and law professor. She believed because African Americans belonged to a group that feared being hurt or murdered by the...