August 14, 2025

Press Contact: media@haitianbridge.org, info@haitianbridge.org

SAN DIEGO, CA — Today, we honor the 233rd anniversary of the Bwa Kayiman ceremony of August 14, 1791—the historic gathering that ignited the Haitian Revolution. It was here that enslaved Africans, led by Dutty Boukman and Cécile Fatiman, pledged unity and resistance against the brutal system of French colonial slavery. This act of defiance launched a revolution that, by January 1, 1804, birthed Haiti as the first free Black republic in the world and the only nation in history founded by a successful slave revolt. Yet in the centuries that followed, Haiti has faced relentless punishment for daring to be free—from the crippling 150 million gold franc “independence debt ” extorted by France in 1825, to U.S. military occupation from 1915 to 1934 , to ongoing foreign interventions and neoliberal policies that have deepened inequality and dismantled local governance.

“Bwa Kayiman was our ancestors’ declaration that we would not live or die on our knees. But two centuries later, Haiti remains trapped in the vise of imperialism—its land plundered, its democracy undermined, and its people displaced. Every coup, every occupation, every IMF austerity measure is part of the same project to break Haiti’s spirit and control its destiny. We reject the lie that Haiti is ‘broken.’ What is broken is the global system that demands our subjugation while profiting from our suffering,” said Guerline Jozef, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Haitian Bridge Alliance.

On this anniversary, Haitian Bridge Alliance reiterate its recommits to defending Haiti’s sovereignty, strengthening U.S.-Haiti bilateral/trade relations, and demanding reparations from France for historical and ongoing exploitation, and honoring the revolutionary vision of Bwa Kayiman—a vision of liberation that extends beyond Haiti’s shores to all oppressed peoples fighting for dignity and self-determination.

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ABOUT HAITIAN BRIDGE ALLIANCE

Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA), also known as “The Bridge”, is a grassroots community organization that advocates for fair and humane immigration policies, foreign policy, and provides migrants and immigrants with humanitarian, legal, and social services, with a particular focus on Black migrants, the Haitian community, women and girls, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and survivors of torture and other human rights abuses. HBA also seeks to elevate the issues unique to Black migrants and build solidarity and a collective movement toward policy change. Anpil men chay pa lou (“Many hands make the load light”).
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