1924–1927: (The Power of the Press and the US Intelligence Blindspot — Thoby Understanding the Power of the Press as Antioccupation Organizing Accelerated in…

1924–1927: (The Power of the Press and the US Intelligence Blindspot — Thoby Understanding the Power of the Press as Antioccupation Organizing Accelerated in Haitian Newspapers Journals and Literature in the Late 1920s, A 1924 US Military Intelligence Report Identifying a “Political Group in the United States Consisting of Weldon Johnson and Others of the Garvey Group” Sending Instructions to the “Anti-Occupation Group of Port-au-Prince (Sylvain Hudicourt Cauvin and Others)” — Hinting at an Alliance Between the NAACP UNIA and UP Referenced as the “Black Party,” US Agents Presuming the Threatening Alliances Were Between and Led by the Men of These Organizations and Not the Women — an Embarrassing Oversight, In 1927 Malbranche-Sylvain’s Son Normil Hudicourt’s Nephew Max and Holly’s Brother Arthur Among Writers Founding La Revue Indigène): Thoby understood the power of the press. Although the US government monitored and punished authors and publishers, antioccupation organizing and nationalist appeals by Haitians accelerated in Haitian newspapers, journals, and literature in the late 1920s. In October 1924, US military intelligence reports show that this type of information spread was a threat to the occupation. The report identified a political group in the United States, consisting of Weldon Johnson and others of the Garvey group, who had sent instructions to the anti-occupation group of Port-au-Prince — Sylvain, Hudicourt, Cauvin, and others — to commence active propaganda throughout Haiti that the occupation was to be withdrawn very shortly. In addition to hinting toward a political alliance between the NAACP, the UNIA, and the UP regarding transnational antioccupation organizing, the rumor of immediate withdrawal spread to all parts of Haiti and led to public demonstrations throughout the country. Thoby, and perhaps Theodora Holly, who would have been central to translating these earlier correspondences, used similar press platforms to spread information and embarrass the Coolidge administration about attacks on women. Interestingly, and despite the evidence of international networks between Black women in the region, the US agents presumed that the threatening alliances between the NAACP, the UNIA, and the UP were between and led by the men of these organizations and not the women. This would prove an embarrassing oversight in the coming years. In 1927, Malbranche-Sylvain’s son Normil, Hudicourt’s nephew Max, Holly’s brother Arthur, and several writers and intellectuals including Emile Roumer, Jacques Roumain, and Jean Price-Mars founded La Revue Indigène — the literary journal that would catalyze a cultural renaissance born directly from the occupation’s crucible, nurtured in the salons and study clubs and collection routes that women had established.