Black nationalist Marcus Garvey, founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), emphasized the relevance of Haiti's historical past because Haiti was the land where the Negroes repelled the Whites and established an independent republic. In the same vein, writers of the Harlem Renaissance embraced Haiti's history and culture. Claude McKay's work, for example, is replete with tales of Haiti's heroic past. [Langston Hughes], perhaps the most central figure of the Harlem Renaissance movement, having read of "Toussaint L'Ouverture, Dessalines, King Christophe, proud Black names," made a pilgrimage to Haiti.
While at its inception, the revolutionary ideals of the newly formed nation called Haiti held great promise, the reality as understood today detracts from this plesant image . Still , our rituals and their symbolic associations mirror these revolutionary ideals. For example, soup joummou, the New Year's and Independence Day celebratory pumpkin soup, signifies the communion of equals through the consumption of the once forbidden delicacy reserved for the colonial masters. Today, as family and friends gather around the dinner table, we are clearly proud of our freedom and accomplishments, yet know that there are countless Haitians who are hungry, sleeping under tents. Two hundred and eight years after independence, many Haitians live in abject poverty and have no rights as humans.
Bon Nouvel, Haiti's largest publication and oldest Creole magazine presented a historical overview of Haiti's flag in its May 2003 issue. To my surprise, there wasn't a so- called "creation" of the flag on May 18. There was rather a presentation that occurred during the month of May in a congress held in Arcahaie. Like Thomas Madiou, Haiti's renowned historian, Bon Nouvel did not write May 18 as the date of the presentation of the flag.
As I reflect on last year's political, social, and ecological events in Haiti and observing a future that looks dim for the younger generation, I want to take the same position that Dr. Rosalvo Bobo (1873-1929), a political leader, a physician, a researcher on herbal medicine, took at the eve of Haiti's centennial. I am not celebrating. Since January 1st is also a World Day of Peace, I would rather peacefully reflect on the following translation of Dr. Bobo's centennial speech addressed circa the end of 1903.
Pierre Toussaint, considered the first American Black saint, is also of Saint-Domingan origin. He was born in 1778 of Haitian slaves in Saint-Domingue, and was owned by a well-educated French family, the Bérards, who brought him to New York with them in 1797 when they fled the slave uprising. While living with the family as a domestic slave, Toussaint learned to read and write and also learned how to be a hairstylist. It is said that he developed a devoted clientele among the city's social elite and was allowed to keep his earnings. Mrs. Bérard freed Toussaint before she died in 1807. Upon Mrs. Bérard's death, Toussaint married a woman from Haiti and, since they had no children of their own, they took in orphans, refugees, and other unfortunate people. In fact, he co-founded with Elizabeth Seton one of the first orphanages in New York City, and helped with fundraising for the city's first cathedral.
