About the Project: Life of Joseph
History remembers the Titanic. It has largely forgotten Joseph LaRoche.
A gifted Haitian engineer living in early 20th-century France, Joseph battled systemic racism at every turn — fighting to prove his worth in a society determined to deny it. Alongside his wife and two young daughters, he dared to imagine something better: a return to Haiti, a fresh start, a life on his own terms. To get there, he booked passage on the most famous ship ever to sail.
Life of Joseph is a short educational film and an act of cultural recovery. Centered on the only known Black passenger aboard the Titanic, it tells not the story of a disaster, but the story of a family navigating migration, hope, and the weight of a world that refused to see them as equals. It is intimate where the history books are silent, and urgent where they have been indifferent.
Where You'll See It
In time for the 30th Anniversary of the 1997 Titanic film, Life of Joseph – A Short Film is designed to spark conversation in classrooms and lecture halls at colleges and universities across the country and around the world. We are building toward both national and international college premieres, bringing Joseph's story to the next generation of historians, storytellers, and global citizens who deserve to see those who have been overlooked reflected on screen.
How You Can Help
Bringing Joseph's story to life with the care and accuracy it deserves requires deep, dedicated research — and that's where you come in. We are asking this community to help fund the historical groundwork that will make this film not just compelling, but true. Every contribution, at any level, moves us one step closer to ensuring that Joseph LaRoche is no longer a footnote — but a name the world finally knows.
Based on a true story. Help us tell it.