(Français)
Fritzner Pierre, whose poetry, art, and presence were a central and unvarying feature of Haitian democracy demonstrations for decades, died at his home in North Miami, Florida on Sat., Apr. 4, 2026 of heart failure.
His passing sent a shockwave through the progressive Haitian communities of New York and Miami, coming just two months after that of his long-time comrade Didier Leblanc. He had relocated from his Newkirk Avenue apartment in Brooklyn, NY to his North Miami home off 12th Avenue in 2019 because he had been in declining health.
Born and raised in Port-au-Prince, he had emigrated to New York in 1976. In the 1980s, when Haitians often were protesting against the Duvalier dictatorship, Fritzner emerged as a regular fixture at rallies, where he would recite extemporaneous poems about repression, corruption, and injustice in Haiti.
He would also show up for the preparatory koumbit (work session) before the demonstrations to think up the slogans and then paint beautiful posters (pankàt) or decorated cardboard caskets which would be carried on the demonstrators’ heads.
The superintendent of his Brooklyn apartment building, Fritzner also was the Haitian community’s handyman, always renovating a basement, painting an apartment, or fixing a door or faucet. At both Haïti Progrès in the 1980s and 1990s, and Haïti Liberté in the 2000s and 2010s, he contributed a lot of his time and expertise in building and fixing their offices and meeting spaces.
Born on Dec. 22, 1947, Fritzner would always show up to be feted and honored with others born in December at the monthly party of le Club des Amis d’Haïti Liberté. And, of course, he would always recite a poem.
But perhaps Fritzner’s greatest claims to fame were not only his working-class poetry and poster art but his unfailing participation in the demonstrations and meetings of the Haitian struggle for democracy and justice and against dictatorship and imperialism. He was an avid member of the Lavalas movement from 1990 onward in both New York and Miami, with the latter city being where he increasingly spent his final years.
Fritzner is survived by his wife, Marcia, and his two sons, Junior and Emmanuel, and daughter, Juniora, his brother, Edgar, and two grandchildren.
His funeral will be held on Sat., Apr. 18, 2026 at the St. Fort Funeral Home at 16480 NE 19th Ave, North Miami Beach, FL 33162, and he will be buried in the Southern Memorial Park cemetery in North Miami.
For more information, call the funeral home at 305.940.1428.
