1804–present: (Naming and Terminology — The Particularities of Blackness in Haiti Since the 1805 Constitution Proclaimed Haytians Shall Be Known Only by the …

1804–present: (Naming and Terminology — The Particularities of Blackness in Haiti Since the 1805 Constitution Proclaimed Haytians Shall Be Known Only by the Generic Appellation of Blacks, the Chronological Shift When “Noir” Used Until the Late 1920s to Connote Color Was Nuanced by the Sociopolitical Term “Nègre” Articulating Shared African Ancestral and Political Meaning, Color Defined by Epidermic and Somatic Factors Including Comportment Skin Tone Family Lineage Hair Color Language and Economic Resources with Classifications Including Griffe Brun and Clair, the Kreyòl Term Milat Encompassing Both Light-Skinned and a Certain Social Class, Charles Arguing That Blackness in Haiti Is a Conceptualization of Class Interest in the Language of Race — It Is Racial Capital, One Interviewee Recalling That Although Jacques Roumain Was Mûlatre He Seemed Noir): Since the Haitian Revolution and independence from French colonization in 1804, the nation has always conceived of itself as a Black community, as Trouillot explains. But given the intellectual and political dynamism around race, racism, and research on Blackness in the mid-twentieth century, these affiliations are not assumed. Sanders Johnson tracks the chronological shift in the Black Francophone world when “noir,” used until the late 1920s to connote color and African descendancy, was nuanced by the increased use of the sociopolitical term “nègre,” articulating a shared African ancestral and political meaning. Color in Haiti is defined by a series of epidermic and somatic factors including comportment, skin tone, family lineage, hair color, language, and economic resources — with several classifications for light-skinned Black individuals including griffe (mixed race or copper tone), brun (brown or tan), and clair (light brown or olive). The Kreyòl term milat is a more encompassing definition of someone who is both light-skinned and of a certain social class and culture. Carolle Charles argues that Blackness in Haiti is also a conceptualization of class interest in the language of race — it is racial capital. One interviewee recalled her first trip to the Institut d’Ethnologie where “a certain Jacques [Roumain] was there. And although we would say that he was mûlatre, he seemed black (noir).” The salience of impression — the sensation of having a particular quality of Blackness — was significant to women activists in their politics and in how their work was understood historically.