The Women of the Haitian Revolution
The Haitian Revolution has been described as the largest and most successful slave rebellion in modern history. Led by Toussaint l’Overture (and after his death, Jean-Jacques Dessalines), the people who were enslaved initiated the revolt in 1791 and by 1803 they had brought not only an end to slavery but to French control over the colony of Saint Domingue (now Haiti) as a whole.
Haiti became the first black republic in the world, and the second nation in the western hemisphere (the other being the United States) to defeat a European power for its independence.
But have you heard of the women of the Haitian Revolution?
This is #HerStory.
Cécile Fatiman
Sold by her white father to a plantation in Saint Domingue, Cécile was a Vodou high priestess who maintained the rituals and relationships between spirits and the community. At night, she traveled to plantation after plantation, convincing both the people who were enslaved and the maroons to attend a Bois Caïman in the forest. This ceremony acted as both a religious ritual and a meeting to plan the uprising that became the Haitian Revolution. Not only was Cécile indispensable in the creation of Haiti, she went on to become First Lady after marrying President Louis Michel Pierrot, a former soldier of the Haitian Revolution. She lived to be 112 years old. (Source)
Adbaraya Toya (Victoria Montou)
Originally from the Kingdom of Dahomey (currently Benin), Adbaraya Toya was one of the warriors of the “Dahomey Amazons,” a healer, a midwife and one of the women who sat on Dahomey’s council. She was abducted and enslaved in Saint Domingue, then renamed Victoria Montou. There, she taught Jean-Jacques Dessalines and many others how to fight in hand-to-hand combat and how to wield a knife. In the war itself, she commanded her own brigade. To honor her contributions, Toya was given a state funeral ceremony in 1805. (Source)
Sanité Belair
Suzanne Sanité Belair was a young free Black woman from L’Artibonite, Haiti. In 1796, she married Toussaint l’Ouverture’s nephew, Charles Belair. Sanité and her husband fought together in the Haitian army to help others gain their freedom from the French. She eventually earned the title of lieutenant. When Sanité was captured by the French in 1802, she didn’t kneel or ask to have her eyes covered at the time of her execution. Instead, she stood up tall, looked in the eyes of the executioner and proclaimed to the people, “Liberty, no to slavery!” In 2004, she was featured on the ten-gourd banknote for the "Bicentennial of Haiti" commemorative series. (Source)
Catherine Flon
The goddaughter of Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Flon served as a nurse during the Haitian revolution. In May 1803, Dessalines tore the tricolor French flag – removing the white stripe – and had Flon stitch the remaining pieces back together horizontally to create the first version of the red and blue Haitian flag. These colors symbolize the Vodun god of war, Ogou. (Source)
Discover more about the Haitian Revolution via the Library of Congress.
Join the historical 2nd annual Defend Black women march this july in washington dc
The Defend Black Women March will be held between Friday, July 29-Sunday, July 31, 2022 in Washington, D.C., at the Eaton Hotel
Sign up here ⬅️
About The March 🪧
For the second annual Defend Black Women March, our goal is to disrupt this siloing by celebrating, centering, and interrogating the life, leadership, and legacy of Afro-Brazilian bisexual feminist, politician, activist, and human rights defender, Marielle Franco and the power of Black feminisms in Latin America and in the Caribbean. Annually, July 25th is the International Afro-Latin American and Afro-Caribbean Women’s Day. It is a day to celebrate the resistance of Black women in Latin America and the Caribbean. This march is dedicated to historical and ancestral Black feminists in Latin America and in the Caribbean such as Franco, Cécile Fatiman, Maria de los Reyes Castillo Bueno, Argelia Laya, Emilsen Manyoma, Magalie Marcelin, Beatriz Nascimento, Nanny of the Maroons, Carlota Lukumi, Gumercinda Páez and the countless Black feminist leaders who have and continue to do the critical work of expanding the frame of reference of Black feminisms globally.
We know that now more than ever, our solidarity must be intentional and is deeply connected to our freedom and liberation. The way the empire here in the USA polices black bodies here is the same in the Caribbean and the global south. Defend Black Women is a global call to action to protect Black women, girls, femmes & gender-expansive people across borders, because when we are free, it will be possible for everyone to be free.
