Catherine Flon was a Haitian nurse and seamstress credited with designing the first Haitian flag on May 18, 1803. She was also the god-daughter of Jean-Jacques Dessalines, leader of the Haitian Revolution and the first ruler of the independent republic of Haiti
Sewing from a young age, as an adult Catherine opened a sewing workshop in her birthplace of Arcahaie, training girls as seamstresses to help them support themselves.
She was also trained as a nurse and Catherine employed these skills to treat wounded revolutionaries during the Haitian Revolution which began on 21 August 1791. While her family sought refuge during the war Catherine stayed behind, avoiding active combat and instead treating injured soldiers and providing them with additional support.
In 1803, as Jean-Jacques Dessalines led the Haitian army against France, England and Spain the need for a flag symbolizing Haiti’s new national identity became clear. Cutting apart the French tricolour, Dessalines removed the white centre symbolizing Haiti breaking away from France.
He gave the other pieces to Flon, who stitched them back together. In Haitian lore, the blue and red stripes represented a union between the black and mixed-raced citizens of Haiti. Today, May 18 is celebrated as a Flag Day, a national holiday in Haiti and Catherine is regarded as a symbol of the Haitian Revolution 🇭🇹
Through researching Catherine’s story the theme I connected with the most, is that there are many ways that you can effect change outside of being a leader of a movement. You can bring forth change in a variety of ways, whether it’s becoming more educated on a subject, getting someone to consider a different perspective or like Catherine using your creative skills to create unity & community.
Thinking about the current state of the world, it’s easy to be swallowed up and immobilized by anxiety but when you have those moments where you’re in a doom spiral and feeling out of control, breathe and ground yourself in the fact that their are sooo many ways you can contribute good to the world right now, like Catherine, think about how you can use your own talents or interests to shape the world into a better, more peaceful, stable, unified place. The future is only as hopeless as you allow yourself to feel.
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