A Real Brother Named John Brown

A sincere revolutionary leader who was willing to shed away white privilege and commit race and class suicide for the benefit of humanity…

Back in the 1800s, while so-called “white liberals” in the Americas and Europe were paying lip service to the cause of human brotherhood and universal freedom, with “la société des amis des Noirs” agitating for an extra day of rest for the millions of enslaved Africans, there stood in the United States of North-America, a beautiful human soul named John Brown who, contrarily to the self-styled “liberals”, had refused to advocate for “slavery light”. Rather, Brown took up arms, joined his African brothers and demanded that racial slavery – the absolute evil – be immediately and forever eradicated from the face of earth.

History records that, following Brown’s December 2, 1859 hanging, Haiti went to great lengths to express her gratitude to this sincere revolutionary leader who was willing to shed away white privilege and commit race and class suicide for the benefit of humanity.

During three days of national mourning for John Brown’s execution, flags in Port-au-Prince were flown at half mast. A solemn mass was held in the cathedral, with the active participation of President Fabre Nicholas Geffard. It is also then that the main boulevard of Port-au-Prince was named Avenue John Brown.

The Revue de Commerce, which declared “the death of John Brown to be a crime against humanity,” wrote “while waiting the happy day of the regeneration of our enslaved brethren, let us raise in our hearts our altar to John Brown, the immortal benefactor of our race, the holy victim of our cause, and let us adopt, as our sister and friend, his worthy and unfortunate widow.” Indeed, all over the island, collections were made and subscriptions started in behalf of the widow of John Brown.  They collected twenty thousand dollars for Brown’s family.

“Lè ou wè vye zo sou chimen, sonje yon jou li te pote chè sou li”

(When you see old bone by the road, be mindful that it had once carried flesh and muscles) – Haitian wisdom

Excerpt from: Haitians Say Ngiyabonga (Thank You) South-Africa! by Jean Saint-Vil and Darlène Lozis published in Global Research.ca, February 23, 2011

See also:  http://abolitionist-john-brown.blogspot.ca/2011/02/haitians-remembers-john-brown-center.html