Is Brooklyn street co-named after Haitian hero — or mass murderer?
Jean-Jacques Dessalines Leaves a Mixed Legacy
The New York City Council voted on Wednesday to approve a controversial proposal to co-name a Brooklyn street after a man who led Haiti’s historic slave rebellion — but who also brutally massacred thousands of innocents.
Jean-Jacques Dessalines became emperor of Haiti after the successful fight for independence against the French Army in 1804.
After the victory, however, Dessalines ordered his soldiers to slaughter nearly every remaining French man, woman and child on the island.