The Ambassador of Haiti to UNESCO, Dominique Dupuy led, on February 6, 2024, a delegation of around twenty ambassadors accredited to UNESCO to attend the exhibition “Dare to Freedom” at the Pantheon, in Paris.
This exhibition, – designed by the Haitian geographer Jean-Marie Théodat and Florence Alexis, daughter of the Haitian novelist Jacques Stephen Alexis – offers a new perspective on the history of the struggles against slavery, for its abolition and the emancipation of black peoples. . Supported by the Center for National Monuments and the Foundation for the Memory of Slavery, it traces these struggles over four centuries and three continents, highlighting resistance and opposition to the colonial slave system, as well as the heroism of emblematic figures. of these fights.
The exhibition also highlights how, after the French Revolution, the quest for “General Liberty” reached its peak in the French colonies, notably with the abolition of slavery in Haiti in 1791. By featuring personalities honored in the Pantheon such as Abbé Grégoire, Toussaint Louverture, Victor Schœlcher, Aimé Césaire, it combines archives from several centuries including official documents on slavery, the history of Haiti and the slave trade, works of art, sound and visual devices to offer a story that can be considered complete and fair.
For ambassador Dominique Dupuy: “this exhibition reveals the universal quest for freedom across the ages and continents, celebrating the famous and little-known figures who fought for freedom. The exhibition shows how these discriminatory views persist and justify the horrors of today.”
By presenting this fight against this macabre page in the history of humanity, in the context of the evolution of French modernity, the exhibition highlights the exceptional courage of the women and men who dared to oppose slavery, whether in the colonies or in mainland France. Despite the controversy surrounding Napoleon Bonaparte’s decision to reinstate slavery in 1802, the exhibition demonstrates how the fight for its abolition ultimately triumphed in France and continues to inspire struggles for a society based on the values of freedom, equality and fraternity.
Regarding the Haitian revolution, the attempts to contain the slave uprising and even after independence in 1804, to make Haiti the example not to follow, Florence Alexis delivered a captivating and immersive narration of the slave war against Bonaparte’s expeditionary army. She also referred to current events, in particular the New York Times report which revealed the scheme put in place by France and its banking system to extract from the country the last pennies of an independence debt – 150 million francs – unfairly imposed 21 years after its proclamation and the amount of which could be estimated at tens of billions of dollars.
Florence Alexis, the curator of the “Dare to Freedom” exhibition, also offered an exceptional guided tour to accompany the Ambassadors to UNESCO in their discovery of the exhibition. This visit allowed an in-depth understanding of the choices of documents and objects on display, thus providing an enriching and informative experience for visitors.
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