Nassau County Legislator Carrié Solages (D – Elmont) celebrated the 220th anniversary of Haitian independence on Monday, Jan. 1.
Haitian Independence Day commemorates Haiti’s Jan. 1, 1804 declaration of independence from French colonial authorities after the 13-year struggle amidst the Haitian Revolution, which was led by revolutionaries like Toussaint L’Ouverture, Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Henri Christophe. Victory on the battlefield was achieved on Nov. 18, 1803 at the Battle of Vertières, and Haiti thereafter became the world’s first independent Black-led republic.
Legislator Solages and Assemblywoman Solages are pictured holding bowls of soup joumou, which during slavery only French colonial masters and plantation owners were allowed to eat. After the revolution, free Haitians were finally able to eat the soup, and the dish became an integral part of this annual celebration of freedom, emancipation, and independence.