Memorializing Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim May 18, 2026, as Haitian Flag Day in the State of New York

Assembly Resolution No. 1375

BY: M. of A. Rules (Solages)

        MEMORIALIZING  Governor  Kathy  Hochul to proclaim
        May 18, 2026, as Haitian Flag Day in  the  State  of
        New York

  WHEREAS,  It  is  the  custom  and  long-standing  tradition of this
Legislative Body to recognize official days, set aside to celebrate  the
spirit and culture of New York; and

  WHEREAS,  Haitian  Flag  Day  is an annual celebration commemorating
when the newly independent country's flag was raised for the first  time
on May 18, 1803, in conjunction with Haiti's national holiday; and

  WHEREAS,  Jean-Jacques  Dessalines,  removed the white band from the
French flag during the Arcahaie Congress on May 18, 1803,  creating  the
very first Haitian Flag; and

  WHEREAS, The flag has seen several iterations over the course of the
country's  history,  but  the traditional blue and red band flag remains
the symbol of the country; and

  WHEREAS, At the center of the flag rests the country's coat of  arms
adorned  with  the Phrygian hat or liberty cap, placed on a white square
background; and

  WHEREAS,  The  flag's  inscription,  "L'union  fait  la  force"   or
"Strength  in  unity,"  very  clearly  represents  Haiti's  struggle for
liberation and the means by which it gained independence; and

  WHEREAS, Haiti is the first country to  ever  liberate  itself  from
slavery through a successful uprising of enslaved Black people under the
military  leadership  of  Francois  Toussaint  L'Ouverture, and alliance
between  Jean-Jacques  Dessalines,  chief  of  the  Black  rebels,   and
Alexandre PÚtion, leader of the mulattos; and

  WHEREAS,  The  Haitian  revolution  was a major turning point in the
history of  the  world  with  repercussions  extending  far  beyond  the
Caribbean nation; and

  WHEREAS,  Haiti,  located less than 700 miles from the United States
of America, is the second nation in the Western  Hemisphere,  after  the
United States, to earn its independence, and has, since 1803, stood as a
beacon of freedom as the first Black-governed republic in the world; and

  WHEREAS, New York State has received thousands of Haitian immigrants
for  centuries  and  currently  has  one  of  the largest populations of
Haitian people in the country; now, therefore, be it

  RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its  deliberations  to
memorialize Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim May 18, 2026, in the State
of New York; and be it further

  RESOLVED,  That  a  copy  of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to The Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor of the State of  New
York.