Titanic's only black passenger and a tragic twist of fate: Untold story reveals how engineer from Haiti and his pregnant wife swapped their tickets from another ship because the 'unsinkable' vessel was more child friendly Channel 4 documentary recounts Joseph's family's hopes of settling in Haiti READ MORE: Tragic faces of Titanic seen in colour for the first time - from a traumatised widow to the lookout who took his own life after being taunted for failing to spot the iceberg in time By Alice Wade Published: 07:45, 14 August 2024 | Updated: 07:46, 14 August 2024 e-mail View comments The little-known story of the only black man on board Titanic has been revealed in a new documentary, which uncovers the tragic twist of fate that led to a 25-year-old engineer from Haiti and his family sailing on the doomed voyage. Channel 4 's, Titanic in Colour, h as shed light on some of the lesser-known personal stories, including that of a mixed race family who were on their way to build a new life and escape racial prejudice - only to be cruelly torn apart by the tragedy. In the first episode, which features newly colourised photos of the ship and its passengers, historians detailed the heartbreaking fate of Joseph Philippe Lemercier Laroche, believed to have been the only black man on board the Titanic, alongside his white wife and their children.
He was on his way home to his native Haiti from France after swapping their tickets from another vessel, which had a policy of separating chil.