Joseph Laroche was the only black passenger on the Titanic. On April 12, 1912, the Titanic sank in the Atlantic Ocean, leaving the only black passenger on the ship among the victims of the tragedy.
Four days after leaving port, what many call the "unsinkable" ship collided with an iceberg in southern Newfoundland, Canada. This tragedy has been recounted in many Hollywood films, including A Night to Remember, Save the Titanic, and the Oscar-winning film Titanic.
The story is vividly told through the lens of a Hollywood filmmaker, but the story of the only black passenger on the ship is rarely heard. Joseph Laroche was born in Haiti and traveled by boat with his wife Juliette and two daughters. According to Travel Noire Laroche st.
He studied engineering in France and met his wife, the daughter of a vintner.
After graduation, he struggled to find a high-paying job due to racism. Laroche and his wife decided to move their family to Haiti in search of a better job.
They intended to travel on a French steamer, but changed their tickets to second class on the Titanic in order to get to Haiti earlier. As the Titanic began to sink, La Roche put his wife and daughter into a lifeboat, but they did not. He died at the age of 25, along with thousands of people who drowned or froze to death in the Atlantic Ocean, and his body was never found.
His wife and two daughters, Simone and Louise, returned to France and had a son, whom they named Joseph Jr.