According to Brooklyn Eagle, AP journalist and author Jonathan M. Katz will be joining Haiti Cultural Exchange (HCX) on Wednesday, April 24, to discuss his new book “The Big Truck That Went By: How the World Came to Save Haiti and Left Behind a Disaster.” The conversation is part of HCX’s An n’ Pale Café series, a monthly run program that features a wide range of artists whose work reflects their connections to Haitian culture.
Régine Romain, executive director of HCX, told Brooklyn Daily Eagle, “Our An n’ Pale program is a monthly public forum designed to engage multiple and diverse audiences in conversation with artists, cultural workers, and academics…[the program] provides a platform for artists to present their work, foster community engagement, and provide participants with the opportunity to discuss issues relevant to our community.”
Indeed, Katz’s book will stimulate an engaging dialogue surrounding Haiti and the implications of foreign aid. Katz’s book chronicles the post-earthquake year he spent in Haiti, documenting the disaster’s repercussions on Haitians and their everyday lives. Katz closely follows relief efforts as well, exposing complications that arose when money and aid were not put to best use. The discussion will be moderated by Jocelyn McCalla, former executive director of the National Coalition for Haitian Rights, and of the New Jersey Immigration Policy Network, and Advisory Board Member of Human Rights Watch/Americas.
Jonathan M. Katz was born in Queens, N.Y. He earned both a bachelors and master’s degree at the Medill School of Journalism and as worked for the Congressional Quarterly. In October 2007, he was assigned to be the AP correspondent in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Katz was the only full time American correspondent in the country when the devastating earthquake hit on January 12, 2010.
The April 24 event will take place at FiveMyles Gallery from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. FiveMyles Gallery is located at 558 St. Johns Place in Crown Heights.
For more information, visit www.haiticulturalx.org.