Haiti is marking the 150th anniversary of the birth of Jean Price-Mars, the physician, ethnologist, writer and diplomat whose work changed the way Haitians see their own culture.

In his best-known book, “Ainsi parla l'Oncle” (“So Spoke the Uncle”), published in 1928, Price-Mars defended Haiti's popular traditions, its African heritage and Vodou as the foundations of national identity, at a time when much of the elite looked only to France.

He inspired the indigenist movement in Haitian literature and influenced the Negritude writers. He founded the Bureau of Ethnology and, in 1956 in Paris, presided over the first Congress of Black Writers and Artists.

UNESCO's General Conference included the anniversary in its 2026-2027 calendar of commemorations. Haiti's permanent delegation to UNESCO said his work “continues to inform reflection on identity, memory and cultural diversity.”

Culture Minister Emmanuel Ménard paid tribute to an intellectual who freed Haitian culture “from the Bovaryism that stifled it.” The ministry has created the Jean Price-Mars National Prize for Haitian Thought.

Haiti's national commission for UNESCO will hold a commemorative day, in person and online, on Friday, October 30, under the theme “Ainsi parla l'Oncle.” Students, teachers, researchers and the public are invited.