Catherine Flon

Who is Catherine Flon?

Catherine Flon is traditionally recorded as having been born on 2 December 1772 in Arcahaie, Saint-Domingue, into a family that traded in textiles, and as the goddaughter of Jean-Jacques Dessalines. She ran her own sewing workshop with several apprentices and, during the Haitian Revolution, is remembered as an enthusiastic supporter of the independence cause who served in a non-combatant, nursing capacity. She is most celebrated for sewing the first flag of independent Haiti at the Congress of Arcahaie on 18 May 1803, after Dessalines is said to have symbolically torn the white band from the French tricolor and had Flon stitch the remaining blue and red bands together to represent the union of Haiti's Black and mixed-race citizens. Haiti commemorates this moment every year on 18 May, celebrated nationally as Flag Day, and Flon is honored alongside Cécile Fatiman and Dédée Bazile as one of the most symbolic heroines of Haitian independence. Because archival documentation of her life is thin, some historians, including Philippe Girard, have questioned how much of her traditional story can be independently verified, though she remains a widely celebrated national symbol.

Sources: Wikipedia: Catherine Flon · Foreign Policy Association: "Haiti: Catherine Flon's Needle, Flag And Undeniable Legacy" · Enslaved.org: Catherine Flon biographical record