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as a Haitian, I can tell you that every single Caribbean country has smoke for Haiti, & it's always about (internalized) antiblackness. they believe that we're dirty, poor, uneducated, & uncivilized. but white countries projected that image onto us because we liberated ourselves. https://twitter.com/commedesjaccon/status/1209351255270842369
France and the US set out to tarnish Haiti's reputation and alienate us to neighboring countries. France demanded millions in retribution for the revolution, and the US toppled good administrations (including socialist ones) and backed harmful regimes. that's why Haiti's poor.
but in reality, Haitians have made incredible contributions to science, the arts, and politics. take Jean-Michel Basquiat, for example. or W.E.B. DuBois. even Eric Andre. we outchea. and Haitian culture is alive and well.
honestly, Haiti should be an inspiration to all diasporic black people. we are truly an example of making beauty rise out of ashes. I am so, so proud to be Haitian, and I hope that no other child is made to feel shame over their origins. there's nothing shameful about us at all.
and even if we didn't make a name for ourselves both in Haiti and abroad, we're still people, and we deserve to be treated with kindness and respect regardless of our accomplishments or circumstances.
It is impossible to overstate Haiti's role in the liberation of not just the Caribbean, but also the rest of Latin America. We are also the catalyst for the existence of Venezuela, Ecuador, and Columbia, so much so that the red, blue, and gold on their flags are taken from ours.
Simón Bolívar fought against the Spanish using guns, powder, and soldiers from Haiti. He had so much respect for Alexander Petion (Haiti's president) that he once said "Let future generations know that Petion is the true liberator of my country."
and without Haiti in 1804, there would be no Chile, Colombia, or Mexico in 1810; no Venezuela or Paraguay in 1811; no Argentina in 1816; no El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, or Peru in 1821; no Brazil in 1822; no Bolivia or Uruguay in 1825.
the Haitian Revolution was THE domino effect in the liberation of ALL Latin American and Caribbean nations. We also inspired the Pan-African movement. there is no other nation with a legacy like that.
