Celebrating Haitian Flag Day
On May 18th, 1803, during the Congress of Arcahaie, Jean-Jacques Dessalines removed the white band from the French flag and created the first Haitian flag. Dessalines ordered that the phrase "Liberté ou la Mort" be inscribed on the flag.
Madsen Mompremier's painting called "Dessalines Ripping the White from the Flag" from the Fowler Museum at UCLA, was used as the cover of Laurent Dubois's book Avengers of the New World, The Story of the Haitian Revolution [Belknap, Harvard University - 2004]. Mompremier's painting is included in our slideshow of paintings celebrating Haitian Flag Day. Paintings by Serge Moleon Blaise, Michaelle Obin, Louis Rigaud, Hector Hyppolite and Casimir Joseph are also included in the slideshow. The motto on the current Haitian flag reads *L'Union fait la Force* or Unity Makes Strength.
Click on the badge for the slideshow:
Haitian Flag Day Slideshow
