Title: Jean-Jacques Dessalines Day

Summary: Designates October 17, 2021, as "Jean-Jacques Dessalines Day" in Florida.

Full Text:
WHEREAS, Dessalines served under the command of acclaimed military leader Toussaint L'Ouverture during the Haitian Revolution to fight for freedom from France, and WHEREAS, when Toussaint L'Ouverture was deported to France in 1802 by Napoleon's forces, Dessalines continued the fight for freedom during the Haitian Revolution, and WHEREAS, Dessalines served as Governor-General of Saint Domingue, what is now Haiti, and went on to serve as the first ruler of an independent Haiti under the 1805 constitution, and WHEREAS, after freeing the colony from French rule, General Dessalines proclaimed Haiti as an independent country on January 1, 1804, and WHEREAS, Dessalines declared himself as the first Emperor of Haiti in 1804, and WHEREAS, under Dessalines, Haiti became the first country in the Americas to permanently abolish slavery, and WHEREAS, Dessalines created the first iteration of the Haitian flag by taking a French flag and tearing out the white stripe of material, and then having Haitian seamstress, WHEREAS, Dessalines served as Emperor of Haiti until his assassination on October 17, 1806, the anniversary of which is celebrate dannually on October 17, as Dessalines Day by the state's Haitian community, and WHEREAS, there is a strong connection between Haiti and Florida, with hundreds of thousands of Haitian-Americans residing in South Florida, NOW, THEREFORE, Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of Florida: That October 17, 2021, is designated as "Jean-Jacques Dessalines Day" in Florida.