Who Was the Only Black Passenger on the Titanic?

Among more than 1,500 victims of the Titanic sinking, Joseph Laroche, a 25-year-old engineer from Haiti, is recorded as the only Black passenger on this historic voyage. Racial discrimination in France led him and his family on a one-way journey back to Haiti. His forgotten story, which traced his lineage to Haiti's first ruler, has now been revisited in a new play.

According to Ambassador Arjan, on April 10, 1912, the most advanced ship of its time started its first voyage from Southampton port.

At that time, 2,201 people were on board the Aram S Titanic, which was destined for New York; But four days later, the ship hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic and sank.

Undoubtedly, this disaster has been narrated many times and in various forms; From the newspaper reports of the time to the huge Hollywood movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

However, the story of one of the approximately 1,500 people who died in the incident was largely forgotten; Until one day a sociologist happened to visit a museum in Liverpool.

Joseph Philippe Le Mercier LaRoche was the only documented black passenger on the Titanic's maiden voyage.

But who was he? And what fateful twists and turns made this 25-year-old man and his family board the White Star Line company ship; The ship that was said to be "unsinkable"?

La Roche was born in 1886 in Cap-Haitin, Haiti.

La Roche was the great-great-great-great-grandson of Jean-Jacques Dessalines, the first emperor of Haiti; The man who led the Haitian independence war against French colonial rule.

La Roche grew up in a family of social status and wealth, and at the age of 15, accompanied by a tutor, left for France to study engineering at university.

A little more than a decade later, LaRoche died; He was the only black person documented on the Titanic's voyage.

After living in France for 11 years, La Roche boarded the Titanic to return to Haiti with his young family and start a new life there.

La Roche's story was finally investigated and narrated by Dr. Carlett Norwood; He came across La Roche's story when he happened to visit the Liverpool Maritime Museum.

Born in Washington, D.C., the academic researcher wrote and directed a play about LaRoche's life two years ago.

Speaking to the BBC on the eve of his play's first performance in Liverpool on October 17, Norwood recounted the complex story of a man whose story began with glorious beginnings, continued with courageous love, and finally reached a tragic end.

La Roche arrived in France in 1901; When slavery was abolished in the French colonies, barely 50 years had passed.

After studying at a university in the city of Beauvais, near Paris, he was able to become an engineer.

"For a black man in France in the early 20th century, things were extremely racist," Norwood said. "French people at that time really still believed that blacks had tails."

He added: "LaRouche faced a lot of racial tensions there."

Despite the difficulties a mixed-race couple might face in France at that time, LaRoche met and married a white Frenchwoman named Juliette Lafargue.

"She must have been an extraordinary woman to have had the courage to have a relationship with a black man in that period of history," Norwood said of Juliet.

Norwood continued: "Not only did he have such courage, but his family also supported him because he lived with his father.

We know that La Roche and Lafargue had family support because a letter from Lafargue to his father about La Roche survives.

"Juliet's father was more concerned about Laroche's education than the color of his skin."

The couple had two daughters: Simone Marie Anne André LaRoche and Louise LaRoche, born in 1909 and 1910 respectively.

But it wasn't long before LaRoche decided to bring his family back to his homeland, Haiti.

"LaRoche was able to get his degree, although he was struggling to keep his job," Norwood said.

"LaRoche was repeatedly fired or faced with truly racist behavior at work," he added.

The family planned to leave France in late 1912, but when Lafargue became pregnant with their third child, they decided to leave early.

"Laroche did not want his child to be born and raised in France," Norwood explained.

He continued: "LaRoche wanted to return to Haiti. "He had a very close relationship with his mother and he missed her."

According to Norwood, Lafarge was worried that his widowed father would leave him alone in France.

But when Cincinnatus Leconte, Joseph's uncle and the then president of Haiti, arranged for him a job as a math teacher, the final decision was made.

But how did they get off the Titanic?

From deciding to leave France early, to having tickets on another ship and being close to missing the trip, everything worked out for LaRoche to finally board the Titanic, Norwood said.

"He wasn't supposed to get on that ship," he said.

"La Roche's mother had prepared first-class tickets for the entire family on the SS France," Norwood said. But when they realized they weren't allowed to eat with their children on the SS France, they returned the first-class tickets and bought second-class travel tickets for the Titanic instead."

Another twist of fate occurred when the LaRoche family wanted to board the ill-fated White Star Line.

Titanic was supposed to dock in Cherbourg, France, but due to the size of the ship, it was not possible to enter the port. Instead, passengers boarding at Cherbourg were transferred to the Titanic on a smaller ship called the SS Nomadic.

"They had to get to the ship in a boat," Norwood said. The engine of the boat that the LaRoche family was on had a problem and they almost missed the opportunity to board the Titanic. It's really a story about destiny."

Titanic hit an iceberg at around 23:40 on April 14, 1912.