New music compilation created to support Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio

Christopher Carpenter is originally from Springfield, Ohio, and he has held tight these roots since he moved to Columbus more than 15 years ago, returning to the city on most weekends to spend time with his daughter. So, when right-wing influencers and Republican politicians, including current Vice President JD Vance, started to talk about Springfield as though the city were being decimated by an influx of Haitian migrants, he couldn’t square these fables with on-the-ground realities.

“They made it sound like a warzone, where there were barrels on fire in the streets and things like that,” Carpenter said in mid-February. “And as someone who is from Springfield, and who has been there often for a very, very, very long time, it was so matter-of-factly wrong that it was offensive to me. … Hearing [Donald] Trump say Springfield in the debate and then talk about immigrants eating pets and all that, it was an utter shock.”

While the increase in Haitians living in Springfield has caused some legitimate growing pains – Carpenter pointed to driver training as one concern currently being addressed by officials – he said the city should be viewed as an American success story, with the incoming migrant community helping to revitalize a place that had been suffering from decades of youth flight and decreasing population. 

“I mean, I left, so I’m one of them,” said Carpenter, who recalled a recent visit to Springfield when he stopped to buy some used records at Sleeping Bear, a self-storage facility and general store. “And they were packed in a way I’d never seen before. … And when it was my turn and I came up [to the register], I was like, ‘You guys been busy?’ And [the cashier] was like, ‘Man, it’s the busiest we’ve ever been.’ … So, to have people move in and rebuild the community with hard work and dedication and family and all those nice things, it should be a story about success in the Midwest.”

In response to the poisonous rhetoric directed toward his hometown and the migrants who have become such an integral part of the community, Carpenter commissioned a new mixtape on his label Shut Off Notice. Dubbed The Springfield Project, the album features tracks from seven Ohio-based electronic artists, with all proceeds going direct to the Haitian Community Help and Support Center. Carpenter, who DJs under the name RareLife, kicks things off with the kinetic “No Dog Harmed,” which gives way to the warped, stop-start pulses of Teakup’s aptly named “Hesitation Rhythm.” Also among the contributions is the seven-minute-plus “A Meeting of Sorts” by FBK, aka Columbus electronic musician Kevin Kennedy, a patient track that gradually builds and recedes, moving from ambient waves to urgent drum hits to tension-building synthesizer chimes.

The cover image for the album – a distorted picture of downtown Springfield – was taken by Carpenter’s friend, the photographer Michael-Jamar Jean Francois, a first generation Haitian American whose parents settled in Springfield. 

“And the thing that he talks about is that Haitians generally pay no mind to the rhetoric and the bullshit, and they just keep marching forward, stepping forward,” Carpenter said. “He told me that when his parents came to Springfield, everyone was friendly and there were no issues. And he said what happened was when [the right-wing furor] started to be directed at the immigrants, people from other parts of Ohio, from other parts of the country, they started coming in and being angry, flying flags around, harassing people. … It wasn’t even necessarily the people of Springfield who were up in arms about the Haitian community. It’s all just so wildly unfair.”

While some of the national attention directed toward Haitian migrants in Springfield has died down, there are still unknowns about how immigration policies will unfold under this Trump administration, which has discussed the possibility of revoking the legal status of the Haitians, opening up the potential for mass deportations that could damage Springfield in both the short and long term.

“Rounding up the Haitian population, it’s something I can’t even fathom, even though I know that they very well could. I can’t imagine what that would look like, and if there would be safe houses and people stowing families away [from immigration authorities],” Carpenter said. “I mean, there are entire streets that are entirely Haitian families. And also, many of them have been there longer than people realize. This is a long-term thing, and we’re talking about some people who have been here for many years. Ripping out all these people, I mean, Springfield would undoubtedly suffer.”