1925-08-03: (The Funeral as National Unity — The Sylvain Sisters’ Loss Met by the Breeze That Whispered Through Heartbroken Mourners and Rustled Black Flags …

1925-08-03: (The Funeral as National Unity — The Sylvain Sisters’ Loss Met by the Breeze That Whispered Through Heartbroken Mourners and Rustled Black Flags Displayed on Rue des Fronts-Forts Rue Bonne Foi and Grand Rue, In Comparison to the Spectacular Death of Péralte or the Silenced Death of Estrea Jean Gilles Georges Sylvain’s Death Was Ordinary Yet the Outpouring Extraordinary, Shopkeepers Unanimously Closing Stores so They and Employees Could Participate, Condolences from Throughout the Caribbean and the Americas — “It Is Not the Mourning of a Few Thousand the Entire Nation Is Mourning” — From the Balconies of the Rich to the Courtyards of the Poorest of the Poor, Media and US Surveillance Reports Documenting the Funeral as One of the Greatest Public Displays of National Unity the Country Had Ever Seen): Moving through the center of occupied Port-au-Prince, the Sylvain sisters’ loss was met by the new day’s breeze that whispered through the crowd of heartbroken mourners and rustled the black flags displayed in front of almost all the houses on Rue des Fronts-Forts, Rue Bonne Foi, and Grand Rue. In comparison to the spectacular death of Charlemagne Péralte or the silenced dismemberment and death of Estrea Jean Gilles, Georges Sylvain’s death was ordinary. Yet the outpouring of mourning and reverence for his life was extraordinary. On the day of the leader’s burial, shopkeepers unanimously decided to close their stores so they and their employees could participate in the funeral services. Condolences were sent to the Sylvain family from throughout the Caribbean and the Americas. As one newspaper reported, it was not the mourning of a few thousand — the entire nation was mourning. From the balconies of the rich to the courtyards of the poorest of the poor, Sylvain’s death drew the youth, craftsmen, and the upper bourgeoisie, putting side by side the most dazzling luxury and the most sordid rags. In a temporary blurring of class-cultural difference, multiple Haitian media and US military surveillance reports documented that the funeral procession was one of the greatest public displays of national unity the country had ever seen. The four sisters who walked beside his casket — Jeanne, Yvonne, Madeleine, and Suzanne — would channel the grief of that procession into a political practice that lasted the rest of their lives.