This page was created by Andre John Adams.  The last update was by Anne Paxton.

Haiti to Harlem: Toussaint L'Ouverture & Jacob Lawrence Main Menu Jacob Lawrence: The Storyteller Paintings to Prints The Life of Toussaint L'Ouverture in Print Contextualizing The Prints Curating the Exhibition Imprints and Impact Highlights the impact of the Jacob Lawrence prints in relation to both Lawrence's life and the history of global POC liberation. About the Curators Meet the Fall 2024 Curatorial Class! Select Bibliography

The Birth of Toussaint L'Ouverture

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Left: The Birth of Toussaint L'Ouverture, May 20, 1743. Both of Toussaint's parents were slaves (1937) / Right: The Birth of Toussaint L'Ouverture (1986)

A mother lies in bed holding her newborn baby. The room is narrow and mostly empty except for a small table with only a gold cloth hanging on the edge. The sugar cane looms in the window behind the pair. As a slave, Toussaint’s mother can only hold her son with limited attention, considering the cruelty of the sugar cane plantation system that envelops them. As such, L'Ouverture did not come from a luxurious background nor one of privilege. As both of his parents were also slaves, L'Ouverture forged his own way out of slavery into military leadership. His mother looks down attentively, unaware of the liberation her son shall bring to their nation and people. The Birth of Toussaint L'Ouverture represents our entrance to Jacob Lawrence's story of the Haitian Revolution, one that features the individual character of L'Ouverture down to his humble beginnings.

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