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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

Legacies of Liberation

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If these people, who were so much worse off than the people today, could conquer their slavery, we certainly can do the same thing.
Jacob Lawrence

High horizons, cramped gray skies, violence approaching, and chaos ensuing – Flotilla captures the moment when France advanced to crush the revolts by any means necessary. On the other hand, The Burning illustrates the extreme measures Haitian rebels took to prevent the reinstatement of the French plantation system, including burning their own homes to protect their town and preserve the roots of their revolution. Together, these two scenes reflect the oppressive atmosphere revolutionaries had to endure in their fight for freedom.

On the road to freedom, the French retaliated against the rebels and sent various troops to shut down their revolts. France exerted its control over Haiti through violence, aiming to maintain the oppression of the enslaved to protect its economic and political interests. Yet the Haitian people never wavered in their fight for freedom even at the cost of their homes. The Haitian Revolution was one with many victories and losses on both sides. Lawrence emphasizes that the fight for freedom is always worth the struggle – a powerful story of how sacrifices and victory are intertwined.

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The Life of Toussaint L'Ouverture in Print Sibel Zandi-Sayek
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Harlem Driven by the Great Migration (1916–1970), the Black American diaspora united brilliant minds, transforming Harlem into a hub of creativity and solidarity amid systemic discrimination. This period fueled a powerful Black art movement focused on resistance, community, and hope, known as the “Harlem Renaissance.” Established in 1925, the Schomburg Collection at the 135th Street Branch Library became a cornerstone in educating Harlemites on Black history from around the world. Artists like Langston Hughes and Augusta Savage drew inspiration from this collection, weaving global Black narratives into their work. As the first Black republic born from a successful slave revolution, Haiti resonated deeply with Harlem artists as a model of resilience and pride. Jacob Lawrence’s series on the Haitian Revolution reflects this connection, engaging Black American experiences in a broader global dialogue on anti-colonialism and racial justice.

If these people, who were so much worse off than the people today, could conquer their slavery, we certainly can do the same thing.

Jacob Lawrence

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