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People’s pride / Fierté du peuple / Fyète pèp

(Glise desann pi ba pou vè vèsyon kreyòl ayisyen an / Scroll down for Haitian Creole version)

Toussaint Louverture and his ties to the New England Abolitionist movement celebrated in Boston

Special Arts Exhibition at the Mattapan Public Library, Rare Books on the Haitian Revolution at the Boston Public Library’s Main Branch

De goch a dwat: Jean-Dany Joachim, Tontongi, Patrick Sylvain, Charlot Lucien, City Councilor Charles Yancey, Fritz Ducheine, nan aktivite 27 me 2014 a nan Bibliyotèk Piblik nan Branch Mattapan / Foto Nixon Léger.

Doumafis Lafontant, Charlot Lucien, Fritz Ducheine, Patrick Sylvain, Nixon Léger, Tontongi, Oreste Joseph (front right), and Suzie Magloire (center) at the May 27, 2014, event in BPL Mattapan Branch.

BU doctoral student Rachel Tolano at the May 27, 2014, event in BPL Mattapan Branch —photo Nixon Léger.

Retired US army member Henri Milorin at the May 27, 2014, event in BPL Mattapan Branch —photo Nixon Léger.

Boston City Councilor Charles Yancey at the May 27, 2014, event in BPL Mattapan Branch —photo Nixon Léger.

Poet Tontongi at the May 27, 2014, event in BPL Mattapan Branch —photo Nixon Léger.

The Boston Public Library recently hosted two exhibitions and cultural programs documenting the rise and fall of Toussaint Louverture, one of the great figures in the Haitian Revolution, and his connection to the 19th century abolitionist movement in New England. These programs, held on May 27 and June 17, 2014, were produced in collaboration with Haitian-Americans United Inc., Haitian Artists Assembly of Massachusetts, Mus!kavanhu Arts Gallery, and publishing house Trilingual Press.

This event series was organized in the context of the 210th anniversary of Haiti’s independence. The painting exhibit, one of the high points of the series, opened on May 20th, birthday of Toussaint Louverture, at the Mattapan branch of BPL with artworks including portraits of Toussaint by many well-known Haitian artists of New England and Haiti, featuring Fritz Ducheine, Valentin Iviquel, Charlot Lucien, Nixon Léger from Rhodes Island, Jean Claude Sainté and young artist Pascal Michel who traveled especially from Haiti for the occasion.

At the inaugural reception on May 27, a distinguished array of speakers including Boston City Councilor Charles Yancey, retired US army member Henri Milorin, BU doctoral student Rachel Tolano, and HAAM founder Charlot Lucien presented testimonials and comments about Toussaint Louverture’s contributions to freedom movements in the US, accentuating the universal value of these contributions in world history. Poets Patrick Sylvain, Jean-Dany Joachim and Tontongi read poems regarding Toussaint Louverture and the Haitian Revolution.

At Boston’s Central Library in Copley Square, the exhibition The Soul of a Man: Toussaint Louverture & the Haitian Slave Revolt opened on May 17, in the Rare Books Lobby, featuring special comments by BPL Curator and Keeper of Special Collections Susan Glover and Massachusetts State Representative, Boston Public Library Trustee, and long-term friend of Haiti, Byron Rushing. “The …exhibition tells the compelling story of Toussaint Louverture, a leader of the armed resistance against colonization and slavery and his significant role in the future of a free Haiti,” said the library in its public announcement.

The press release describes the content of the collections: “The Central Library exhibition draws on Boston Public Library’s vast collection of Haitian and West Indies materials which includes 10,000+ books, manuscripts, and letters dating from 1714–1916 and features a copy of the Code Henry, which was issued in 1812 and codifies the civil and criminal laws of Haiti. The collection documents the colonial rule of Saint-Domingue, the slave insurrection, the beginning of Haitian self-rule, and the development of Haiti, the first black republic in the world.”

Susan Glover, Keeper of Special Collections at BPL, emphasized that “Boston Public Library welcomes researchers, visitors, and academics to view the materials that played a critical role in the freedom and development of Haiti.” The exhibit runs through September 30, 2014.

Panelists at the June 17th event included Boston Public Library Trustee and State Representative Byron Rushing; Professor Patricia Hills of Boston University; Charlot Lucien, founder of HAAM and coordinator of HAAM and HAU. Moderators were Marie St. Fleur and Dr. Nesly Metayer. Representatives from the Boston City Council Charles Yancey, the President of the Boston branch of the NAACP Michael Curry, and State Senator Linda Dorcena Forry, the first Haitian State senator in the US.

In her opening remarks, Senator Dorcena Forry emphasized the need for US-Americans, especially younger generations, to know and understand how the histories of Haiti and the United States are intertwined, while City Councilor Yancey emphasized the need to memorialize Toussaint Louverture with a landmark in Boston. NAACP’s Michael Curry discussed the Haitian roots of Harvard University scholar and founder of the NAACP W.E.B. Dubois. During the discussion, panelists offered important insights on the connections between the U.S. and Haiti, touching on New England abolitionists such as Frederick Douglas, Charles Summer and John Brown, and the Louisiana Purchase and its impact on both the US and Haiti, further validating the historical bonds between the Haitian Revolution and abolitionist movements in the US.

According to the organizers, one of the objectives of this series of events, in addition to its obvious educational value, is to garner support for achieving a meaningful memorialization of Toussaint Louverture in New England by naming a “Toussaint Louverture Avenue” in the Mattapan section of Boston, as well as a lecture room at the main branch of the Boston Public Library.

As one of the presenters at the Mattapan inaugural event said, the Haitian Revolution enlarged the notion of freedom and human rights well beyond either the US Revolution or the French Revolution was willing to go. It is a wonderful testament that the Haitian Revolution is today celebrated in one of the intellectual bastions of the United States.

The people’s memory is important to self-representation and identity. The history of Toussaint Louverture is exceptional in that it both transcends and testifies to the experience of injustice, making human resistance to injustice and discrimination an exemplary, universal, human achievement.

—the editors of Tanbou with reporting contribution from Charlot Lucien

To learn more, visit the BPL’s site: www.bpl.org/exhibitions.

Vèsyon kreyòl ayisyen

People’s pride / Fierté du peuple / Fyète pèp

Tousen Louvèti e lyen li avèk Nouvèl Angletè e ak mouvman Abolisyonis la selebre nan Boston

Espesyal Ekzibisyon Atistik nan Bibliyotèk Piblik nan Mattapan, Prezantasyon Liv Ra sou Revolisyon Ayisyen an nan Branch Prensipal Bibliyotèk Piblik Vil Boston

Bibliyotèk Piblik Vil Boston òganize resamman de ekzibisyon ak pwogram kiltirèl ki dokimante elevasyon ak fayit Tousen Louvèti, youn nan pi gran ewo Revolisyon Ayisyen an, e lyen li genyen avèk mouvman abolisyonis la nan disnevyèm syèk nan Nouvèl Angletè. Aktivite sa yo te rive sware 27 me ak 17 jen, 2014, e yo te òganize an kolaborasyon avèk Haitian-Americans United Inc., Asanble Atis Ayisyen Nan Masachisèt, Mus!kavanhu Arts Gallery, ak Près Trileng.

Seri aktivite sa yo te òganize nan kontèks 210èm anivèsè endepandans Ayiti. Ekzibisyon tablo yo se michan jarèt aktivite yo, li ouvri nan branch Mattapan Bibliyotèk Vil Boston an nan sware 20 me, ki se anivèsè nesans Tousen Louvèti. Yo te ekspoze tablo penti ak pòtre èvda sou Tousen konpoze pa anpil atis ayisyen renome nan Nouvèl Angletè ak Ayiti kouwè Fritz Ducheine, Valentin Iviquiel, Charlot Lucien, Nixon Léger ki sot nan Eta Rod-Alenn, Jean Claude Sainté, ak yon tijèn atis, Pascal Michel, ki vwayaje de Ayiti espesyalman pou okazyon an.

Nan resepsyon ki inogire aktivite yo ki te fèt nan sware 27 me a, te gen yon liye oratè distenge ki te pale, pami yo Konseye Minisipal Vil Boston Charles Yancey, ofisyè retrete lame ameriken Henri Milorin, etidyan doktora Inivèsite Boston Rachel Tolano, fondatè AAAM Charlot Lucien, ki te bay temwayaj ak kòmantè ki souliye kontribisyon Tousen Louvèti nan mouvman pou libète Ozetazini, yo mete aksan sou valè kontribisyon sa yo nan listwa mond lan. Powèt Patrick Sylvain, Jean-Dany Joachim ak Tontongi te li powèm sou oubyen osijè Tousen ak Revolisyon Ayisyen an.

Nan Branch Santral Bibliyotèk la nan Copley Square, ekzibisyon The Soul of a Man: Toussaint Louverture & the Haitian Slave Revolt / Nanm yon gason : Tousen Louvèti & Revòt esklav ayisyen yo, te louvri jounen 17 jen nan salon pou Liv Ra yo, avèk kòmantè espesyal pa Susan Glover, gadyèn Koleksyon Espesyal bibliyotèk la, ansam ak Palmantè Eta Masachisèt Byron Rushing, yon bon zanmi lontan Ayiti. Men sa bibliyotèk la di nan yon anons piblik : “Ekzibisyon nan Branch Santral Bibliyotèk la pale de istwa ekstrawòdinè Tousen Louvèti, yon lidè rezistans ame kont kolonizasyon ak lesklavaj ansanm ak wòl siyifikatif li jwe nan avni yon Ayiti libere.”

Nòt pou laprès la dekri mataryèl ki gen nan koleksyon yo: “Ekzibisyon nan Branch Santral Bibliyotèk la pwije nan michan koleksyon Bibliyotèk Piblik Vil Boston an ki gen plis ke 10.000 liv, maniskri ak lèt ki date de 1714 a 1916, pami yo gen yon kopi Kod Henry, ki te pibliye an 1812 e ki kodifye lwa sivil e lwa kriminèl ann Ayiti. Koleksyon an dokimante gouvènman kolonyal nan Sen Domeng, enzireksyon esklav yo, kòmansman Ayisyen k’ap gouvène tèt yo, ansanm ak devlopman Ayiti, premye repiblik nwa nan lemond.” Gadyèn Koleksyon Espesyal la, Susan Glover, di: “Bibliyotèk Piblik Vil Boston bay labyenveni ak tou chèchè, vizitè ak inivèsitè pou yo vin gade materyèl ki jwe yon wòl kritik nan liberasyon ak devlopman Ayiti.” Ekzibisyon an ap ret louvri jiska 30 septanm 2014.

Pami manm panèl prezantatè aktivite 17 jen an genyen Administratè Bibliyotèk Piblik Vil Boston an, Palmantè Eta Masachisèt Byron Rushing, Pwofesè Patricia Hills de Inivèsite Boston, fondatè e kowòdinatè AAAM ak HAU Charlot Lucien. Moderatè yo te Marie St-Fleur ak Doktè Nesly Metayer. Te gen tou reprezantan Konsèy Minisipal Vil Boston Charles Yancey, prezidan branch Boston NAACP Michael Curry, ak Palmantè Eta Masachisèt Linda Dorcena Forry, premye fanm ayisyèn senatè Eta nan Etazini.

Nan remak pou l louvri aktivite a, Senatè Dorcena Forry mete aksan sou bezwen pou Etazinyen yo, espesyalman nouvèl generasyon yo, vin konnen e konprann kòman istwa Ayiti ak Etazini makonnen ansanm, tandiske Konseye Minisipal Yancey limenm mete aksan sou nesesite pou yo memoryalize non Tousen Louvèti avèk yon senbòl memorab nan Boston. Prezidan branch lokal NAACP Michael Curry pale sou rasin ayisyèn Harvard entelektyèl e fondatè NAACP W.E.B. Dubois. Pandan diskisyon yo prezantatè panèl yo bay yon ti lougal sou koneksyon ki genyen ant Etazini ak Ayiti, pi espesyalman avèk abolisyonis Nouvèl Angletè yo kouwè Frederick Douglas, Charles Summer e John Brown, san bliye Lavant Lalwizyàn e enpak li genyen sou alafwa Etazini ak Ayiti, yon bagay ki valide lyen istorik ki genyen ant Revolisyon Ayisyen an ak mouvman abolisyonis la Ozetazini.

Daprè òganizatè yo, youn nan objektif seri aktivite sa yo, anpliske valè edikatif evidan yo genyen, se jwenn sipò pou yo ka vin tabli yon memoryalizasyon enpòtan sou Tousen Louvèti nan Nouvèl Angletè pa nonmen yon “Avni Tousen Louvèti” nan zòn Mattapan nan Boston, plis yon sal lekti nan branch prensipal Bibliyotèk Piblik Vil Boston an.

Kouwè youn nan prezantatè nan aktivite inogiral nan Mattapan lan di, Revolisyon Ayisyen an agrandi lide sa moun panse de libète ak dwa moun, li ale pi lwen kote kit Revolisyon Etazinyen an, kit Revolisyon Fransèz la pat vle ale. Se yon bèl bagay Revolisyon Ayisyen an selebre jodia nan youn nan pi gran barak entelektyèl nan Etazini.

Memwa pèp yo enpòtan pou reprezantasyon pwòp tèt yo ak idantite yo. Istwa Tousen Louvèti gen yon karaktè eksepsyonèl nan lefètke li alafwa transande e pote temwayaj kont eksperyans enjistis, e fè rezistans èt imen kont malfezans yon reyisit imen ekzanplè e inivèsèl.

—editè revi Tanbou yo avèk kontribisyon repòtaj pa Charlot Lucien

Pou n aprann plis, vizite sit bibliyotèk la sou www.bpl.org/exhibitions.

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