The concept I brought to life with this mural project weaves together the collective fight for Black freedom, the revolutionary history of Haiti and their historical contribution to Black freedom in the modern world, while celebrating the ancestral roots and tools of the motherland. As the world is recovering from the spectrum of natural paradigm shifts caused by COVID-19, Black Freedom is what I believe we should be shedding light on, considering the dark history behind the global slave trade, the Jim Crow Era, the War on Drugs, the rise of black incarceration, and now the Black Lives Matter Movement. It’s time we acknowledge the ongoing fight Black people have been putting up with for centuries for their sense of integrity, space, cultural traditions, and connection to the land.

Juneteenth celebrates the official end of racial chattal slavery in the US, however, Juneteenth is primarily tied to the falsely enslaved Black people of Galveston, Texas, who were the last group of slaves to find out they were free. There is a huge symbolism in this bit of history linked to black freedom, what it means to Black people alike, and the US’s relationship with the idea of black freedom since the beginning of US history. It is important to realize that Juneteenth is not the first commemorative event of Black Freedom, but a now contemporary acknowledgement of past suffering and the official end of slavery for black bodies in the United States. The Juneteenth holiday is a critique on whiteness as the only form of American citizenship & national identity. It is a celebration that continues to illuminate the underlying fact that Black Freedom continues to be incomplete in the US.

Juneteenth is a chilling reminder of the US’s slave history and retells the story of Black people’s ongoing struggle for space, equality & equity in a country that is so invested in forgetting its history.

The US is a melting pot for identities from all over the world. I am a first-generation Haitian-American from Bridgeport, Connecticut. My parents are Haitian immigrants who carried with them stories from Haiti. It has been an inspiration to me as an American to look at Haiti as the first country to launch a successful slave rebellion in the Americas over 200 years ago and to subsequently become the first Black Republic to break the shackles of slavery. Haiti's Revolution plays a huge role and influence on the Black African Diaspora all over the world today, bringing hope and a new wave of faith for black bodies as we continue to work towards a new level of common unity and strength. I used this mural piece, my cultural knowledge of Haiti, and my experience growing up in America to explore the Haitian influence on Black Liberation and how its impact revitalizes the message Juneteenth stands for Black people in the Americas and in the world. This mural weaves in the affirming message of Black Freedom and what it could look like in the new era of holistic wellness + living and returning to our roots.

Haiti fought and won its independence from France on January 1st, 1804. The revolution started with enslaved Haitians performing a Vodou ceremony in a forest called Bois Caïman on August 14, 1791. They summoned several Loas, or known as spiritual archetypes, for guidance and strength. During the Bois Caïman Ceremony, an African leader, a high priestess, and the enslaved Haitians called upon the national Loa named Ezulie Dantor, who mysteriously appeared and shared a systematic plan for a successful slave revolt. She gave them reassurance, radical faith and hope. Vodou brought together desparate forces in the colony through its inclusive teachings. In Vodou tradition, deities mirror the complete picture of human nature, encompassing both good and bad. They serve more as supportive teachers than vengeful or judgmental authority figures. Loas like Ezulie Dantor gave Haitians the spiritual leverage they needed to succeed in their uprising.

Vodou helped Haitian slaves break away psychologically from the violent chains of slavery & white imperialism and see themselves as complete, independent beings. Vodou gave them human dignity and gave them a will to continue striving for freedom.

Among the 401 Loas admired by the Haitian Vodou Community, Ezulie Dantor is the most revered. She is characterized in paintings as a Black Madonna holding a child and is a symbol of maternal love, interconnectedness, and transformation. Her image is central to my mural. The image of Ezulie Dantor represents the totality of my identity, as I feel at once like a child seeking the warmth of a parent and a mother offering love to a child. The bonds between the young and the old, physical and metaphysical, scientific and spiritual are what tie humanity together and offer an optimistic view of what our future could look like in the collective human experience.