Assembly Resolution No. 1375

BY: M. of A. Rules (Solages)

MEMORIALIZING Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim
May 18, 2026, as Haitian Flag Day in the State of
New York

WHEREAS, It is the custom and long-standing tradition of this
Legislative Body to recognize official days, set aside to celebrate the
spirit and culture of New York; and

WHEREAS, Haitian Flag Day is an annual celebration commemorating
when the newly independent country's flag was raised for the first time
on May 18, 1803, in conjunction with Haiti's national holiday; and

WHEREAS, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, removed the white band from the
French flag during the Arcahaie Congress on May 18, 1803, creating the
very first Haitian Flag; and

WHEREAS, The flag has seen several iterations over the course of the
country's history, but the traditional blue and red band flag remains
the symbol of the country; and

WHEREAS, At the center of the flag rests the country's coat of arms
adorned with the Phrygian hat or liberty cap, placed on a white square
background; and

WHEREAS, The flag's inscription, "L'union fait la force" or
"Strength in unity," very clearly represents Haiti's struggle for
liberation and the means by which it gained independence; and

WHEREAS, Haiti is the first country to ever liberate itself from
slavery through a successful uprising of enslaved Black people under the
military leadership of Francois Toussaint L'Ouverture, and alliance
between Jean-Jacques Dessalines, chief of the Black rebels, and
Alexandre PÚtion, leader of the mulattos; and

WHEREAS, The Haitian revolution was a major turning point in the
history of the world with repercussions extending far beyond the
Caribbean nation; and

WHEREAS, Haiti, located less than 700 miles from the United States
of America, is the second nation in the Western Hemisphere, after the
United States, to earn its independence, and has, since 1803, stood as a
beacon of freedom as the first Black-governed republic in the world; and

WHEREAS, New York State has received thousands of Haitian immigrants
for centuries and currently has one of the largest populations of
Haitian people in the country; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
memorialize Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim May 18, 2026, in the State
of New York; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to The Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor of the State of New
York.