17243: Saint-Vil: Ottawans celebrate Haiti with Dr. Bellegarde-Smith (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Jean Saint-Vil <jafrikayiti@hotmail.com>


NOVEMBER 1803 - NOVEMBER 2003



Two hundred years ago, African men and women in Haiti defeated Napoleon
Bonaparte’s imperial army and overthrew a most barbaric system of racial
slavery, thus creating the first independent state of African people in the
Western Hemisphere !


                      ***

To commemorate the 200th Anniversary of the Haitian Revolution, Jaku Konbit
requests the honour of your company at a solemn ceremony and public lecture
entitled: “The Importance of the Haitian Revolution to the African World”
by Patrick Bellegarde-Smith, prominent Professor of Africology at the
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

“The victory of the African slaves in Haiti in 1804 is directly linked to
the victory of the African oppressed in South Africa in 1994, we should work
together to celebrate in an appropriate manner both anniversaries” said His
Excellency Thabo Mbeki, President of South Africa in a recent speech
delivered in Kingston, Jamaica.

Indeed, every person of African descent, everyone who enjoys living in a
world free from the ugly shackles of racial slavery, owes a tremendous debt
of gratitude to the people of Haiti. So, don’t miss this opportunity to
learn about and pay due respect to our beloved  freedom fighters by joining
millions of freedom lovers in this most historic global celebration.

Events in Ottawa will be held in the auditorium of St. Paul’s University,
223 Main Street. Admission is $5 per evening.

The english lecture starts at 7p.m on Friday November 28th.  The French and
Haitian Creole lecture starts at 5 p.m. on Saturday November 29th.

All events are produced by Jaku Konbit with the generous support of Comité
des Haitiens de l’Outaouais pour la reconstruction d’Haiti (CHORHA),
Ayiti-Racine and Black History Ottawa.


              ***

                                                            For more
information, please call (613) 364-7998.



              ***

The month of November is fact quite rich in celebration events in Ottawa,
Canada:

Saturday November 15th: Dr. Frantz Large, coming from Haiti and
Haiti-Progrès' very own Kim Ives will deliver a much anticipated talk at
St-Paul's University auditorium. Admission is $10. Doors open at 7 p.m.

Tuesday November 18th: as part of a special celebration titled "Vertières:
Kalfou Libète Tout Nèg Sou Latè" (Vertières, Haiti: Cornerstone of Black
Liberation), authors Jafrikayiti and Weber Tiecoura Jean-Baptiste will lead
an evening of meditation and discussion on the moral, political and
historical  importance of the  events of November 18, 1803.

_________________________________________________________________
Add photos to your e-mail with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*.
http://join.msn.com/?page=features/photos&pgmarket=en-ca&RU=http%3a%2f%2fjoin.msn.com%2f%3fpage%3dmisc%2fspecialoffers%26pgmarket%3den-ca