Haitian Flag Day

The 18th century was a time when powerful French families had enslaved millions of Africans and brought them to St. Domingue to work on their sugar fields. St. Domingue, at that time, was controlled by these families and the field workers were mistreated in a number of ways by them. The revolution against organized slavery in France in 1789 paved the way for unrest in all French colonies. The free black and other mixed races in St. Domingue and other colonies accepted the ideology of the French revolutionaries and started their struggle for freedom with the same ideas.[1][3]

One of the most famous uprising during that time was that led by Creole slave Toussaint Louverture in August 1791. Louverture trained an army of slaves to fight against British, French and Spanish soldiers. The revolution saw the death of an estimate 350,000 people during this Haitian Revolution before they got independence in 1804. Louverture was captured by the French army in 1802 and was sent to prison in France where he died a year later.[1][2][4]

Motown Maurice and USF's Total Praise Haitian Dances at the Tampa Haitian Flag Day Festival 2006

Louverture had support from many Haitian revolutionaries. One of them was Jean Jacques Dessalines. His most notable contribution was the march he led on Port-au-Prince in 1803. As Dessalines and his supporters prepared for the march they realized the need for a flag to symbolize the struggle. It was on 18 May, 1803 when they agreed on a design for the flag. Hence, Haitians around the world celebrate the date as the Haitian Flag Day.[1]

The flag's design started with adjustment to the design of the French flag - made up of blue, white, and red bands. The revolutionaries removed the white to indicate that the colony was not controlled by the French while vertical blue bands of blue and red were retained; blue was a representation of the blacks and mixed-race people while the red color symbolized their blood. The new flag was then sewed together by Catherine Flon. While the Haitian flag has evolved over the years, the celebration day has not changed as it was the first time the nation's flag was sewn together.[1][5][6]

The day is observed and celebrated by Haitians living in and outside of Haiti. The grounds of the national palace in Haiti are the center of celebrations in the country. Whereas, Haitian residing in other countries honor the flag and the struggle that it symbolizes. About 70% of Haiti's skilled workers live in diaspora and the US houses the highest number of Haitian immigrants followed by Dominican Republic, Canada, Cuba, the Bahamas, and France.[7][8] America's public and private schools celebrate the Haitian Flag Day in full spirit by celebrating its culture through events and structuring lectures to emphasize on Haitian history. Every year, on the last Sunday of May, a Haitian Day Parade is organized that goes down the Toussaint Louverture Boulevard (also known as Nostrand Avenue) in New York City. The parade was started by the Haitian-American Carnival Association in 2002 and is followed by a festival celebrating the Haitian culture, including its music and food.[1][4]

Other cities that observe the celebrations include Boston that commemorates the struggles during the Haitian Heritage Month in May each year. Floridian cities such as Miami, Tampa, Delray Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and Fort Myers also have events that promote the Haitian culture. Miami's MOCA Plaza celebrations are famous for featuring prominent Haitian-American celebrities, artists, musicians, entertainers, and political personalities. Some names who have featured over the past years include artist André Eugène, entertainers Plus Daddy and Success St Fleur Jr., music bands Kreyòl La and T-Vice among others.[1][9][10]

The celebrations for the Haitian Flag Day in 2020 were cancelled in all parts of the world where it is celebrated due to the lockdown imposed in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] A limited amount of celebrations were done in different cities, such as Norwich, Connecticut opting for just a flag raising instead of its annual festival.[11][12]