René Aristide Chancy

    

René Aristide Chancy
Chancy in 2022
Member of the Hispaniola Provisional Assembly from the 32nd district
Incumbent
Assumed office November 4, 2014
Preceded by	Drew Hastings
Mayor of Georgetown
In office June 30, 2010 – June 30, 2014
Preceded by	Louis Anestor
Succeeded by	Emilie Louissaint
Personal details
Born	(1958-01-14) January 14, 1958 Georgetown, Hispaniola, Antilles
Political party	Civic Democratic
Other political affiliations	Haitian Democratic Party
Spouse(s)	Sabiana Desravine
Children	3
Education	University of the Antilles (BA) US Berkeley School of Law (JD)
Religion	Roman Catholic

René Aristide Chancy (born January 14, 1955) is an Antillean lawyer, activist, and politician serving as a member of the Hispaniola Provisional Assembly. A member of the Civic Democratic Party, he is also affiliated with the Haitian Democratic Party and is a proponent of Haitian independence. He previously served as mayor of Georgetown, Hispaniola.

Born to a working-class Haitian family during the Great Blue Terror of President Amelia Abarough, Chancy became politically involved during his youth in the Antillean civil rights movement. He graduated from the University of the Antilles in 1975, becoming one of the first black graduates in the newly desegregated university, and obtained a law degree abroad in the Kingdom of Sierra at the US Berkeley School of Law. He practiced private law and established his own law firm, representing mostly black and Hispanic clients in civil rights cases. He was the lead counsel in a number of high-profile civil rights cases including Williams v. United Commonwealth of America, in which he successfully argued against the state-sanctioned practice of redlining. He was arrested in 1978 during protests in support of the international boycott of the Antilles. Chancy's arrest and detention drew international condemnation and was considered a pivotal event in ending all forms of racial segregation nationwide and the start of democratization in the Antilles.

In the 1990s, he became the chief legal officer of the Hispaniolan People's Congress, a civil rights organization which advocated for the advancement and furtherance of civil rights for Antilles' non-white citizens. He supported the Haitian sovereignty movement, asserting that the former Republic of Haiti should be restored and that the Haitian people should be given reparations due to the effects of "colonialism, subjugation, disenfranchisement, and genocide". He founded the Caribbean Legal Aid Society in 1999.

In 2010, he was elected mayor of Georgetown and unsuccessfully attempted to rename the city to "Gonaïves", the original name of the city prior to national anglicization. During his tenure, he focused on local housing initiatives and public works to improve quality of life in the city.

In 2014, Chancy was elected to the Hispaniola Provisional Assembly, representing the parishes in the historic region of Central Haiti. He has been reelected in every election since.