Family Action Network Movement (FANM)

Corporate body

Family Action Network Movement (FANM)

1991-

Family Action Network Movement (FANM), originally called Fanm Ayisyen Nan Miyami / Haitian Women of Miami, is a private, non-profit advocacy organization that was founded in 1991 by Marleine Bastien. First conceived of as a resource for Haitian women living in Miami, FANM is primarily run by minority women and has always focused advocating for lower-income women of color in particular. They provide services and programming related to issues including immigration, housing, health and mental health access, education reform, gender equality, human rights, crisis and domestic violence intervention, counseling, job training, financial literacy, adult education, and after school programs.

FANM is a founding member of the Miami Climate Alliance, Catalyst Miami, Florida Immigrant Coalition, Haitian American Grassroots Coalition, Center for Haitian Studies, Sant La Haitian Neighborhood Center, and many others. To date FANM has won the following campaigns: The Haitian Immigration Fairness Act (1998); Temporary Protected Status (2010); Haitian Family Reunification Parole Program (2015); Little Haiti Campaign (2016); Little Farm Mobile Home Campaigns (2016). As an organization they are currently pressing forward with the fight for Temporary Status Renewal, and Comprehensive Immigration Reform more broadly, especially pertaining to Haitian immigrants to the U.S.

Bastien’s desire to create an organization specifically for women was inspired by the philosophy that if women – more so the most vulnerable women – are protected and empowered then that means that everyone is/can be. Despite the centrality of women within the organization, FANM has long served people of all races, genders and ethnicities and for this reason FANM staff, community members, and leaders decided to rebrand in 2018. As explained by Bastien, FANM’s new name, “Family Action Network Movement,” was decided on to “reflect FANM’s expanded myriad of services to people of diverse backgrounds in Miami Dade County. FANM has had an impact in the lives of more than 10,000 children, women, and men and built a village network where immigrants and local residents feel welcome. We reach thousands weekly through our radio show, Vwa FANM, and our advocacy work inspires people to passionately organize around civic and other issues close to their hearts” (Bastien).

In excess of advocating for individuals, one of FANM’s most difficult battles to date is advocating for an entire community in the face of the rapid gentrification of Little Haiti. Due to Little Haiti’s location on a ridge that is approximately double the elevation of affluent coastal areas such as Miami Beach, local residents are being displaced as real estate developers attempt to buy up the land for when the inevitable time comes and Miami beach will be under the sea. Currently, SVP realty are trying to get approval for the Eastside Ridge Special Area Plan, which, if approved, will redevelop twenty-two acres of land on the edge of Little Haiti and displace many residents of the area through either the demolition of property or outpricing the locals. In 2018, Bastien commented on the severity of the situation: “We are in the last leg of gentrification, where developers basically come with a lot cash. We call them the ‘cash-empowered’ developers, with their suitcases full of cash. The fear is real. The pressure to sell is real. As a result of gentrification, Little Haiti is shrinking” (Wong). For an ever-precarious community, FANM is not only helping residents who are displaced find new housing and get compensation, but also behind efforts to convince the City to turn over some of the land to the community so that it cannot be bought by developers – an essential concession if Little Haiti is to survive.

Laura Bass
UGrow Fellow for the Department of Manuscripts and Archives Management, 2019-2020

Works Cited

Bastien, Marleine. “Miami advocacy group expands its mission to empower immigrants.” Miami Herald, March 5, 2020, https://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/op- ed/article240932251.html.

Wong, Brad. “Miami’s Little Haiti Organizes on Gentrification.” Marguerite Casey Foundation, July 4, 2018, https://www.caseygrants.org/who-we-are/inside-mcf/miamis-little-haiti- organizes-on-gentrification/.

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Laura Bass, 2020