@jolivert 🇭🇹 Happy New Year AND Haitian Independence Day! “This past year has been a wake up call for so many in the US in regards to racial issues. This has also driven a noticeable amount of new followers on my page (thank you profoundly and also please remain focused on issues that my art itself will never cover entirely). In that light, I invite you to take a minute to learn/commemorate a history of victory that is too often silenced.” “Haiti led the first successful slave rebellion in the world against the French (Napoléon Bonaparte’s army!), making that nation question hard their motto of ‘Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité’.” “Haïti won and proclaimed independence on January 1st of 1804.” “[Side note of admiration: Can we please kneel down to the fact that, of all the names Africans on the island could have given to the country, they decided to pay hommage to the Tainos (who had been massacred by the Spanish) by changing “Saint-Domingue” back to the native “Haiti”?]” “Ever since its independence, Haiti has suffered from what in my opinion has been one of the most illustrative forms of prolonged/historical/global systemic racism.” “I was born and raised in Haiti and a lot of my art is inspired either by lived experiences there, historical/literary stories from Haiti and my navigating the US as a Haitian ‘immigrant’.” “I thought I would share this little bit of history with you through my own words and invite you to learn about what is becoming a more researched part of world history.” “Words to type into your search engine: The Haitian Revolution. Hope you enjoy and Happy New Year again! 🇭🇹” #SupportBlackArt #jolivert https://www.instagram.com/p/CJhD6uQBKdd/?igshid=1eeubyiztkkwa
