UFCM
NATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS ALERT
MESSAGE FROM
ARCHBISHOP
CARL BEAN, D.M.
HAITI: “WE”
When thinking of the devastation left in the aftermath of Haiti’s earthquake, WE
are called by our Creator to respond with the love of God, which calls
us to those places pain exists in the human family. We certainly
know from what happened in New Orleans, that for people of color, there
can sometimes be a lack of rapid response. That must not be so
in this case. In addition to our prayers, I encourage you to give
through reputable organizations like The American Red Cross and UNICEF.
Even if it is just $5.00, everyone can, and should help.
In addition to your prayers and giving, I encourage you to read up on the history
of Haiti and understand the importance of this first Black nation to
be liberated from captivity. Haiti is a nation that fought seemingly
insurmountable odds to win its social and political freedom from the
French. When you understand the stories of men like Toussaint
L’Ouverture and others, you can see the strength and power that this
nation stands upon.
The human experience is one that always longs for freedom. Whether it is a nation like
Haiti or a denomination, all of us have a right to be free. The
Unity Fellowship Church Movement is built upon that truth. As
a child of God, we all have a right to be free and must in turn work
hard to help ensure the freedom of and care for our sisters and brothers
in the human family.
Archbishop Carl Bean, D.M.
Archbishop Carl Bean, D.M.
Founder and Prelate of the
Unity Fellowship Church Movement
“WE”
_________________________________________
Contact:
Rev.
Elder Kevin E. Taylor (revkev@ufccnb.org)
UFCM
National Office of Communications,
732-214-0390
The
Slave Who Defeated Napoleon: Toussaint
L’Ouverture
Napoleon was one of the greatest generals who ever lived.
But at the end of the 18th century a self-educated slave with no
military training drove Napoleon out of Haiti and led his country
to independence.
The remarkable leader of this slave revolt
was Toussaint Breda (later called Toussaint L’Ouverture,
and sometimes the “black Napoleon”). Slave revolts from this time
normally ended in executions and failure – this story is the exception.
It began in 1791 in the French colony of
Saint Dominique (later Haiti). Though born a slave
in Saint Dominique, Toussaint learned of Africa from his father, who
had been born a free man there. He learned that he was more than a slave,
that he was a man with brains and dignity. He was fortunate in having
a liberal master who had him trained as a house servant and allowed
him to learn to read and write. Toussaint took full advantage of this,
reading every book he could get his hands on. He particularly admired
the writings of the French
Enlightenment philosophers, who
spoke of individual rights and equality.
In 1789 the French Revolution
rocked France. The sugar plantations of Saint Dominique, though far
away, would never be the same. Spurred on by such Enlightenment thinkers
as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the early moderate revolutionaries considered
seriously the question of slavery. Those moderate revolutionaries were
not willing to end slavery but they did apply the “Rights of Man”
to all Frenchmen, including free blacks and mulattoes (those of mixed
race). Plantation owners in the colonies were furious and fought the
measure. Finally the revolutionaries gave in and retracted the measure
in 1791.
The news of this betrayal triggered mass
slave revolts in Saint Dominique, and Toussaint became
the leader of the slave rebellion. He became known as Toussaint L’Ouverture
(the one who finds an opening) and brilliantly led his rag-tag slave
army. He successfully fought the French (who helped by succumbing to
yellow fever in large numbers) as well as invading Spanish and British.
By 1793, the revolution
in France was in the hands of the Jacobins, the most radical of the revolutionary groups.
This group, led by Maximilian Robespierre, was responsible for the Reign of Terror,
a campaign to rid France of “enemies of the revolution.” Though
the Jacobins brought indiscriminate death to France, they were also
idealists who wanted to take the revolution as far as it could go. So
they again considered the issue of “equality” and voted to end slavery
in the French colonies, including what was now known as Haiti.
There was jubilation
among the blacks in Haiti, and Toussaint agreed to help the French army
eject the British and Spanish. Toussaint proved to be a brilliant general,
winning 7 battles in 7 days. He became a defacto governor of the colony.
In France the Jacobins
lost power. People finally tired of blood flowing in the streets and
sent Maximilian Robespierre, the leader of the Jacobins, to the guillotine,
ending the Reign of Terror. A reaction set in. The French people wanted
to get back to business. More moderate leaders came and went, eventually
replaced by Napoleon, who ruled France with dictatorial powers. He responded
to the pleas of the plantation owners by reinstating slavery in the
French colonies, once again plunging Haiti into war.
By 1803 Napoleon was
ready to get Haiti off his back: he and Toussaint agreed to terms of
peace. Napoleon agreed to recognize Haitian independence and Toussaint
agreed to retire from public life. A few months later, the French invited
Toussaint to come to a negotiating meeting will full safe conduct. When
he arrived, the French (at Napoleon’s orders) betrayed the safe conduct
and arrested him, putting him on a ship headed for France. Napoleon
ordered that Toussaint be placed in a prison dungeon in the mountains,
and murdered by means of cold, starvation, and neglect. Toussaint died
in prison, but others carried on the fight for freedom.
Six months later, Napoleon
decided to give up his possessions in the New World. He was busy in
Europe and these far-away possessions were more trouble than they were
worth. He abandoned Haiti to independence and sold the French territory
in North America to the United States (the Louisiana purchase).
Years later, in exile
at St. Helena, when asked about his dishonorable treatment of Toussaint,
Napoleon merely remarked, “What could the death of one wretched
Negro mean to me?”
(Article copied from
Historywiz.com)
