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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

Hayti or Saint Domingo map

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Haiti From 1915-1934, shortly before Jacob Lawrence began his painting series, the US military invaded and occupied Haiti under the guise of protecting foreign interests as well as humanitarian and paternalistic justifications. Nearly a century later, US involvement in Haiti remains deeply rooted with an ongoing occupation that continues to exploit the country’s wealth for the benefit of transnational corporations and foreign states. Jacob Lawrence’s print series presents a different perspective on Black power in Haiti – one grounded in the dream of a sovereign nation rather than racialized fear. Most significantly, The Life of Toussaint L’Ouverture stresses the complexities and vibrancies of the Haitian people in their enduring struggle against widespread exploitation. The people of Haiti, in unity with their land, continue to actively resist imposed visual and cartographic representations. Colonial and post-independence maps and prints reflect European perceptions of Saint Domingue, now Haiti. Clearly defined borders for plantation agriculture reveal a colonial mindset for maximizing exploitation, setting the stage for the Western world’s response to the Haitian Revolution. Meanwhile, the training of European bloodhounds highlights the brutal treatment of the enslaved, underscoring the historical reality of European occupation.