Ruth Jeannoel’s mother fled the oppressive Duvalier regime in Haiti and settled in Boston, Massachusetts where Ruth was born. From all accounts, it was hard to be a single mother, without knowing any English and never having had faced the brutal New England winters. Ruth, who learnt Haitian Creole at home and English at School became her mother’s interpreter, as she tried to make her way in the United States. In the absence of money – the church was their sole source of solace and inspiration. In this conversation, Ruth explains her early influences, the discovery of words for the inequalities that surrounded her and, ultimately, as a woman of African ancestry – the deep desire to help others like her.

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