PA HR381

Recognizes January 1, 2026, as "Haitian Independence Day" in Pennsylvania to commemorate Haiti becoming a free republic on January 1, 1804

Honors the Haitian Revolution (1791-1804), which ended colonial rule and slavery in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, resulting in the world's first Black Republic

Acknowledges the revolution's cost of more than 345,000 lives between 1790 and 1804, primarily formerly enslaved individuals

Notes the historical connection to Pennsylvania, where Black Philadelphians used the Haitian Revolution as a model for local liberation efforts against slavery and racial injustice

Recognizes the more than 27,000 Haitians currently residing in Pennsylvania and their contributions to the Commonwealth's culture and society