19th Annual Unity Day in Englewood celebrates Haiti's independence and marks 15 years since the deadly earthquake that struck Haiti

CHICAGO (WLS) — Sunday marks 15 years since the catastrophic earthquake that struck Haiti, killing hundreds of thousands of people and causing billions of dollars in damage.

On Saturday night, Haitian-Americans in the Chicago area came out to commemorate the lives lost while also celebrating the independence of their native country.

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The 19th Annual Unity Day event was held in Inglewood, where the island nation's influence on the birth of Chicago was explained.

January 1, 1804 was the day Haiti's first president, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, helped liberate the country. The event on the South Side celebrated that liberation, but also marked the day 15 years ago when the country experienced one of the worst natural disasters in the Western Hemisphere.

It is a culture that goes back centuries.

“We are the first free black republic in all the world,” said first-generation Haitian American Sidney François Freis. We have sparked revolutionary independence throughout South America, across Central America. So, Haiti liberated itself, and then came Mexico, Ecuador, Peru.”

Pride in their country is something they hope will continue for generations.

“You can't forget where you come from,” said Patrick Brutus, co-chair and organizer of Unity Day.

The effort to learn history in the Chicago area, where about 40,000 Haitian-Americans live, was highlighted at Kennedy-King College in Englewood.

“We are celebrating the 221st anniversary of Haiti’s independence,” said Cindy Montes Newman, founder and executive director of Daughters of Haiti. “This is the 19th annual Unity Day. The community has an opportunity to come together to celebrate this independence, eat our freedom soup or gomu soup together as a community, and fellowship.”

The liberation of the island nation in 1804 led to the birth of another city in 1837.

“Jean-Baptiste Pointe du Sable of Haiti, Saint Mark, founded Chicago, [and] “I discovered this Midwest,” Brutus said.

The event also marks 15 years since the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti. The bell was rung each of those years, honoring the hundreds of thousands of lives lost.

“The resilience of our people is truly strong,” Brutus said. “That's what we conclude tonight; we're still here.”

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