https://www.selonwalter.com/les-ori...-de-la-communaute-haitienne-de-montreal/

Article about the origin of haitian gangs in Montreal in the 80s.

We are in the spring of 1982, when racism is at its highest level, in the Rosemont district. Joël, a teenager of Haitian origin, enters the café Les Trois Copains to play Pac-Man and Donkey Kong, the video games of the hour, without suspecting that, like Rosa Parks, he will pose an act of bravery that will forever change the face of the Haitian community in Montreal.

Barely seated in front of one of the café's video games, tension mounts when Joël refuses to comply with the owner and the customers of the establishment who order him to leave the premises because of the color of his skin.

After being pushed around by the horde of racists, the young black man went to seek reinforcement from a man named Ducarme Joseph, alias Kenny, where other friends had gathered to play basketball.

Armed with kitchen knives from "Kenny's" mother and iron bars, there are about a dozen of them in front of Les Trois Copains cafe, which is located on Belair Street, corner 15th avenue, ready to avenge Joël and enforce the law. black skin color.

Faced with the Dessalinian anger of young mutineers who demanded their rights, the café's managers had to seek the intervention of Joel's older brother and promised to make changes to their racist admission policies.

Thus was born the famous Bélanger (The Bélanger Boys for the intimate), the first Haitian street gang in the history of Quebec.