Alphonse Henríquez

Alphonse Henriquez from Port-de-Paix was a Haitian artist and writer. He wrote a number of songs most notably some opposing the US occupation of Haiti (1915-1934). He and his brother Constantin, who participated in the Summer Games in 1900 for France, founded the Haitian Union Sportive (USH) in 1912. In the 1930s, Alphonse worked as a lawyer and journalist and was arrested for his liberal views and his fight for equal rights of black Haitians. In 1946, he was one of the few black members of the first constituent assembly of Haiti in 1946 and senator. Henriquez also became a representative of the Haitian League of Human Rights.