France: a garden for a heroine of the slave resistance, while waiting for a statue
The mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo (center) inaugurates the Solitude garden this Saturday, September 26, 2020. BERTRAND GUAY / AFP
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"Solitude", heroine of the resistance of slaves in Guadeloupe in the nineteenth century has since Saturday a garden in her name in Paris, before soon becoming the first black woman to have her statue in the French capital.
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The mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo inaugurated this Saturday, September 26 a garden in the 17th arrondissement of the capital.
This public space now bears the name of “Jardin Solitude”, in homage to “Solitude”, a woman born from the rape of her black mother by a white sailor.
This mulatto, as the Métis were called at the time, fought against the reestablishment of slavery wanted by Napoleon Bonaparte.
It is therefore as a heroine of the resistance that this Guadeloupean was imprisoned while being pregnant.
The day after she gave birth, "Solitude" was performed at the age of 30.
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She paved the way
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Making known all the figures who have positively or negatively marked the history of France is the object of this symbolic act confides Jacques Martial, adviser to the mayor of Paris in charge of overseas.
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It is an important symbol in Paris, because there, all the heroes who symbolize resistance to oppression and injustice are honored through this person.
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It is "
an important moment, because it inscribes the name of a woman who, by her courage and her commitment to justice and dignity, paved the way with others towards a definitive abolition of slavery. in France,
”declared Anne Hidalgo at the inauguration of this garden.
The City of Paris plans to erect a statue of Guadeloupe Solitude in the garden which now bears her name.
Paris honors Solitude, a Guadeloupean figure in the resistance to slavery, by dedicating a garden to it in # Paris17.
Soon, a statue of this heroine, the very first representing a black woman in Paris, will be installed there.
A strong symbol to never forget your fight.
pic.twitter.com/Bm2gy1rsS1
Anne Hidalgo (@Anne_Hidalgo) September 26, 2020
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