This is a Handsel from SHE to YOU,

and

Happy New Year (January, 2021)!

On this day, January 1 in 1804, General Jean-Jacques Dessalines, a former slave, declared Haiti to be a FREE independent nation and he became the country’s first ruler.  With that declaration, Haiti (formerly Saint-Domingue) became the first sovereign Black nation in the Western Hemisphere.  The Haitians had thrown off the yoke of slavery and colonialism by defeating Napoleon’s mighty French military. The Haitian Revolution, which had begun in 1791, was now won.  Stunningly, it is said that Dessalines could not read or write, but like many Black people who emerged from slavery, he, too, was brilliant.

What do YOU need to declare your independence from in 2021?

(BECAUSE you have the power to do it.)

Haiti is important because the seemingly impossible feat they accomplished—running the French enslavers and colonizers out of their land—was an audacious and bold quest; but, it was a quest for that which every human being wants—freedom and the right to self-determination.  This tiny nation on the small island of Hispaniola defeated what was then considered the most extraordinary military in the world (supposedly, led by the sharpest military mind).  As usual, western powers had completely underestimated the strategic and perspicacious minds of Haiti’s warriors, which included the charismatic Toussaint Louverture, Dessalines, Henri Christophe, and Alexandre Pétion.

Haiti’s sustained struggle and victory would have tremendous ramifications for enslaved people in the United States.  It inspired and encouraged our ancestors to keep fighting for their freedom.  There had been many acts of resistance by Black people in this land, including the New York Slave Revolt of 1712 and the 1739 Stono Rebellion (Cato’s Conspiracy) in South Carolina.  But three of the most well-known insurrections took place during and after the Haitian Revolution.  They were led by Gabriel (Prosser) and his wife, Nanny (1800 in Virginia), Denmark Vesey (1822 in South Carolina), and Nat Turner (1831 in Virginia).  

Gabriel, Nanny, Vesey, and Turner were all erudite, strong, charismatic, and, now, honored leaders who simply wanted to liberate their people from the savagery of American slavery.  They wanted the same thing Europeans who came here wanted—freedom. (As one of the most celebrated White American colonists, Attorney Patrick Henry, said at the time of the American Revolution in 1775, “Give me liberty or give me death.”)

In many ways, the actions of Gabriel, Nanny, Vesey, and Turner were game-changers, as they helped make it more and more obvious to many White people that the institution of slavery was not going to be sustainable.  

     “If you’re not ready to die for it, put the word ‘freedom’ out of your vocabulary.”  Malcolm X

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**Can’t get to Haiti to explore the culture and sites and to learn more about the history of the country, then visit the Haitian American Museum of Chicago, under the capable leadership of Co-Founder and President, Elsie Hector Hernandez, at 4654 North Racine Avenue.  (www.hamoc.org)

My friend, Anthony (Tony) Browder, is a brilliant "Cultural Memory Specialist," Egyptologist, and overall scholar on the whole continent of Africa.  He has traveled to Egypt 45 times and his knowledge of metaphysics is spellbinding.  He has conducted study tours to Egypt, West Africa, South Africa, and Mexico.  He is so deep!  I have seen him lecture in different cities and he is just a marvel to behold.  His video, Egypt on the Potomac, illustrates how much of the architecture of Washington, DC, the nation's capitol, is modeled after the architectural wonders on Africa.  He also discusses the symbolism present.  (You can watch the video on youtube!)

This knowledge is necessary and life sustaining.  As people who have endured so much trauma, it is soothing to see how other people have copied the work of Black people who have been told that they never contributed anything to civilization, yet everything we "contribute" gets appropriated.  The fact is, we form the foundation upon which all human civilization sits.  What a brilliant people we are!