Haitian Studies Institute

Established in 2016 at Brooklyn College, the Haitian Studies Institute is the youngest such ethnic entity inside CUNY, with the main mission of supporting studies on Haitians, Haiti, and its diaspora. Located less than a mile from the newly renamed Little Haiti subway stop, it is a vital center for studying, celebrating, and strengthening one of our borough’s most vibrant communities.

Support Our Work

Your generous donations make our work on behalf of students and the Haitian community possible. Support us with a gift today. Indicate in the comments that your donation is for the Haitian Studies Institute.

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Numbers Served by HSI

2K

Community Members

210

Career
Day

10

Youth in Ayiti in the City

30

Youth in Next Gen/Civics

12

NYC School Visits

2K

Community Members

210

Career
Day

10

Youth in Ayiti in the City

30

Youth in Next Gen/Civics

12

NYC School Visits

Annual Report

For more than 50 years, Brooklyn has been the epicenter of Haitian culture in New York. The Haitian Studies Institute is an indispensable participant in the life of this community. Learn more in our annual report.

Download Report (PDF)

Ayiti in the City

Our summer program offers historical lectures, cultural workshops, culinary explorations of Haitian cuisine, film screenings, and local excursions. It provides students with a vivid and holistic insight into Haitian history, culture, language, and customs. The experience also includes a paid professional-development component, in which students work directly with and for Haitian-owned or operated businesses and organizations. Applications for summer 2024 are now closed.

Research

The Haitian Studies Institute is founded on a mandate to contribute to the corpus of knowledge about Haiti and Haitians, to advance the intellectual field of Haitian studies in various disciplines. We seek to design resources, tools, and informational infrastructures to make this effort possible. The growth of our nascent archive is one such example; the development of a series of bilingual Haitian Creole glossaries is another.

HSI Archives
Bilingual English—Haitian Creole Glossary of Immigration Terms (PDF)