Rev. George Miller
May 19, 2024
Acts 2:1-4
Today we have an exciting story-
Rush of wind, tongues of fire, foreign
languages, gathered crowds.
The birth of the Christian Church with Peter
ready to tell the tea.
At Bible Study, Diane had an a-ha insight-
what if the miracle of Pentecost is not what the people spoke, but that the
people heard?
Like really, really heard.
Perhaps the fact that a crowd of people
listened, and allowed themselves to hear, is the true miracle.
So today, we invite you to hear. To open our ears, and in the process, open
our heart and learn anew.
But first- an exercise.- We are going to say
the name of 16 areas-
if you are from or ever lived in any of them,
please raise your hand.
Arkansas.
Missouri. Iowa. Oklahoma.
Kansas. Nebraska. South Dakota.
Montana.
Eastern Wyoming. Eastern Colorado.
North Eastern New Mexico. Northern Texas.
Western North Dakota. Minnesota west of the Mississippi.
New Orleans and Louisiana.
If you raised your hand, then you have lived
in what was once part of the Louisiana Land Purchase, and your life and
identity was a direct result of the people of Haiti.
Now is the part in which we are invited to
listen. A story.
Once upon a time there was a beautiful island
in the sea, called the Pearl of the Antilles.
The French established a colony there. On that colony they grew sugar and coffee, so
much so that Haiti became the #1 supplier of coffee and sugar to the Parisian
kitchens and Hamburg cafes.
But these crops were grown under brutal
conditions.
Enslaved individuals ripped from Africa and
forced to endure the most hateful of behaviors from their abusers.
Until, one day those who filled the pockets
of the Parisians decided they could take no more, so they fought back.
They stood up for themselves. They united as one and fought.
This battle between the French and the
enslaved people of Haiti was so costly, so devastating, that on April 30, 1803,
Napoleon sold 828,000 miles of land to America for $15 million, or 4 cents an
acre.
And on May 18, 1803, a woman named Catherine Flon
pieced together a red and blue flag.
The people proudly marched with that red and blue flag, celebrating
justice and liberty, embracing “In Unity We Find Strength.”
Haiti became the first nation in the world in which enslaved women,
children, men, fought for and won their freedom.
“In Unity We Find Strength”. But…
and this is important to hear- the story of Haiti does not stop there.
First, Thomas Jefferson and the American leadership was so scared that
Haiti’s success would lead to a slave revolt here, that they refused to acknowledge
Haiti as a country.
Second, the French, feeling so humiliated, immediately sought
retribution.
They surrounded Haiti with war ships carrying 500 canons pointed their
way. Like the mafia, France demanded
that the citizens of Haiti pay them a tax to stay safe.
Called an “Independence Tax”, it amounted to $438 million in today’s
dollars.
And since Haiti did not have that money, they were forced to take out a
loan from the Parisian banks to pay off that tax.
This became known as the Double Tax.
This money Haiti was forced to pay for being free went to the descendants
of the former slave owners; to the Emperor of Brazil, the son of a Russian
ruler, a German imperial.
The indemnity tax and loans that Haiti had to pay under threat of annihilation
made the French banks rich and funded the building of the Eifel Tower.
Though technically free, the people of Haiti endured a whole other kind
of enslavement in which they could not fund schools or infrastructure.
It is estimated that if that double tax had not been imposed upon Haiti, it
would have amassed $21 billion dollars that could’ve been used to fund
coffee farmers, Masons
Shops, Laundresses
Education, Medical bills
Bridges, Sewers, Water pipes.
That is why today, there is no real public school system in place.
That is why today 60% of the population lives in hunger.
That is why the north part of Haiti has no running water, septic tanks,
or electricity,
and to simply have a cup of morning coffee requires gathering enough
coals to cook it.
No wonder corruption crept into this island paradise.
No wonder there have been assassinations, gangs running rampant, and so
much crime.
Because the people of Haiti are living in a history in which when they
fought for freedom,
they were ignored by the Americans; they were threatened and double taxed
by the French.
And today, those who seek asylum are sent back so they can face rape,
murder, and being burned alive.
The story of Haitian Flag Day is one that starts in sadness, moves into
triumph, and veers into a “what if?”
What if America had recognized and supported the nation in 1803?
What if France did not point 500 cannons at them?
What if the people of Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Oklahoma said “Because of
you, we are. Come here, and we
will give you rest.”
What if…what if today, we hear?
What if we take all that we just listened to, and like Mother Mary, we
hold them dear to our heart?
There is not much that we as a church can do to undo all the things that
happened over 500 years.
But perhaps what we can offer Haiti, and offer our Haitian sisters and brothers,
is that today we hear.
We hear the history. We hear the
story.
And perhaps we listen…. we listen for what God may be saying.
We listen for what Jesus could be telling us.
We listen for where
the Holy Spirit, rush of wind, foreign words tell us.
Perhaps the best we can do, today, is to
continue to tell the story so that others can hear, and they may know.
For the Pearl of the Antilles is more than
what it has endured, and more than what is happening now.
Haiti is a land of strong coffee and sweet
sugar and people who simply want to live their best life.
It is with great hopes that one day Haiti
gets to experience their own Resurrection,
so they continue to fly their red and blue
flag, and sing out to the Lord-
In
Unity We Find Strength.
And perhaps, we can stand beside them,
because we have listened, and we have heard.
For that, let us say “Amen.”
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