Saturday, march 03, 2007
Ladies and gentlemen
Brothers and sisters
Good evening
Jean-Baptiste Pointe Du Sable is finally getting some recognition here in Chicago.
As Haitians, we appreciate that fact because every school kid in this city should
know who Du Sable was, where he came from and what he did.
Jean-Baptiste Pointe Du Sable was born in the 1730s in Saint-Domingue, the French colony that became Haiti on the first day of January 1804. He died in Saint-Charles, Missouri on August 28, 1818. Du Sable’s father was a French pirate and his mother a slave. Tough very little is known about Du Sable’s mother, it is safe to say that there are many of Du Sable’s relatives living in Haiti right now. We are directly connected to the man who is responsible for the first Trading Post in Chicago, the man who was the first non native person to settle in Chicago. He lived peacefully among the natives who called him « Black Chief » and learned to speak their language. Through hard work and discipline, this son of a slave who came to these shores without fanfare laid the foundation for what is today one of the world’s largest cities. Jean Baptiste Pointe Du Sable did not come on behalf of a colonial power. He did not trick or enslave anyone. That is one more reason for us, Haitians, to be proud of him. However, that must be one of the main reasons why he is hardly mentioned in the history books.
Haitians everywhere must uphold his legacy and be proud of what he achieved
with the modest means he had at his disposal. He was an explorer like all the
others, but he was a peaceful one, a friendly one, a civilized one. We must
claim him relentlessly as if he were related to each and everyone of us because
he is a beautiful piece of our heritage that every Haitian child should study.
If generations of Italian children have learned to be proud of the guy who stumbled on the Americas, we all must let our children know that the great city of Chicago was founded by a son of our native land.
Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you for your attention. And thanks for coming.
Lesly Condé
Consul General