Yolande Thomas interview

Unidad documental compuesta

Yolande Thomas interview

• August 28, 2013 (Creación)

Yolande  Thomas is a beloved community figure in New York as well as in Miami. She is well known for her beauitful voice and her acting talents. However, most importantly, she has always been at the forefront of all community activities defending the rights of Haitian immigrants. She was named the 2013 Mother of the Year for her deovted work within the archdiocese of Miami and the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Queens, NY. Growing up in Haiti, she enjoyed music, singing, and acting. At the age of five, she was already on the stage, performing at school activities. Yolande Thomas came to the United States in 1954. In New York, she obtained a certificate in office management at City College and a certificate in Socal Work at Adelphi University. In the late 1970's, Ms. Thomas became very activite in the Haitian choir at the church of the Sacred Heart in Queens. Around that time, an exodus of Haitians was leaving Haiti under the dictatorship of the present government for political and economical reasons. The need of a Haitian Center was necessary to provide services to the new arrivals. Reverent Father Guy Sansaricq, with the help of some concerned citizens, founded HAUP (Haitian Americans United for Progress). Ms. Thomas was one of the co-founders. Ms. Thomas became an activist when she met the "Haitian Fathers": Reverend Antoine Adrien, Reverend William Smart, Reverend Jean-Yves Urfie, and Reverend Emile Jacquot. As a Haitan artist, she participated in the plays of well-known playwrights, such as: Mr. Rene Audain, Mr. Otto Louis-Jacques, Mrs. Merceded Guignard (Deita), Mr. Felix Morisseau-Leroy. However, her "cup of tea" was when she joined "Sosyete Koukouy" in 1982 in New York. When she moved from New York to Miami, Mr. Jan Mapou, with a group of Haitian artists, founded the Miami Branch of "Sosyete Koukoy" in 1985. In that same year, Ms. Thomas served as an administrator at the Pierre Toussaint Haitian Catholic Center, Notre-Dame D'Haiti church, from 1985 through 2004 under the direction of Reverend Father Thomas G. Wenski, who is presently the Archbship of Miami. Interviewer: Lucrèce Louisdhon-Louinis Miami, FL