“The Black Engineer on the Titanic: Joseph Laroche’s Untold Story as the Nephew of Haiti’s 1911 President and His Legacy in Haitian Pride ”
In the sea of stories about the ill-fated Titanic, one name often gets overlooked in mainstream history: Joseph Philippe Lemercier Laroche, the only known Black passenger aboard the ship. His journey—marked by love, racial resilience, and cultural legacy—deserves to be known, especially among those who value Black excellence, Haitian heritage, and fashion with a purpose.
✊🏿 A Haitian Legacy of Intelligence and Pride
Joseph Laroche was born in Cap-Haïtien, Haiti, in 1886—descended from a prominent Haitian family. He was a nephew or close relative of President Cincinnatus Leconte, a progressive Haitian leader determined to rebuild the country with modern infrastructure and intellectual capital.
At a young age, Laroche moved to France, where he studied engineering. Though he graduated with honors, racial discrimination in early 20th-century France blocked his access to meaningful employment.
But Joseph wasn’t just an engineer. He was a visionary Haitian man committed to providing for his family, blending African intellect with European education, and returning to Haiti to uplift his people.
💍 Love, Race, and Migration
Joseph married Juliette Lafargue, a white French woman. Their interracial marriage was frowned upon by French society, adding yet another layer of difficulty to Joseph’s pursuit of success.
By 1912, he had made a bold decision: leave France with his wife and two daughters to return to Haiti, where a job opportunity—likely facilitated by his politically connected family—was waiting. That journey would take them aboard the legendary RMS Titanic.
🚢 The Titanic: A Journey Interrupted
The Laroche family boarded the Titanic as second-class passengers—a status that gave them more comfort than most immigrants on the ship but still subjected them to the subtle but real divides of class and race.
When the ship struck an iceberg on April 14, 1912, Joseph ensured his wife and daughters got onto a lifeboat. He did not survive.
Juliette and their daughters, Simonne and Louise, did. They returned to France heartbroken, and Juliette never remarried.
