• Feb 21, 2007

Dr. Leon Pamphile: “Haitians’ & African Americans’ Struggle Against Racism Through the NAACP”

  • 5:30 PM
  • Austin Hall North, Harvard Law School, 1515 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138

Book Signing to Follow

Leon Pamphile was born in Haiti. He was educated at the Lycée Pétion in Port-au-Prince. In July 1968, he received a law degree from the Port-au-Prince School of Law and Economic Studies and graduated from the ECOLE NORMALE SUPERIEURE of the University of Haiti in 1969. Upon coming to the United States in 1970, he pursued further academic studies at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary where he received a M.A. in Religion in 1974. He also attended the University of Pittsburgh, which awarded him a Ph.D. in Education in 1980.

Leon Pamphile is an educator and an independent scholar. His research focuses on the relations between Haiti and the United States with emphasis on the ties linking Haitians and African Americans. In his book, Haitians and African Americans: A Heritage of Tragedy and Hope, he seeks to highlight the common struggle of these two peoples to conquer slavery, racism, discrimination and the socioeconomic sequels stemming from this historical predicament.

The primary vision of his life lies in promoting education and health care in Haiti. In 1983, he founded the Functional Literacy Ministry of Haiti, Inc., a 501(c3) organization, which operates 35 literacy centers in Haiti currently serving 800 participants, a primary school that is attended by 500 students. Since 2000, the F. L. M Haiti has been providing medical care for the needy in Haiti through a Summer Medical Mission. Some 7000 people have been helped through this program. The Functional Literacy Ministry is now building a Community Health Center to provide medical care to 25,000 residents in the rural communities of Laboule and Thomassin.

Leon Pamphile currently serves as the Executive Director of the Functional Literacy Ministry of Haiti.