On this day of commemoration of the abolition of slavery, a new two-meter statue was inaugurated, installed behind the La Rochelle casino, facing the entrance to the port, where the slave ships paraded. It represents a black woman, poorly dressed, who breastfeeds a little chubby white boy. At his side, his own son, much less healthy. This woman’s name was Clarisse. Who is she ?
Olivier Caudron, historian specializing in the slavery past of La Rochelle, has worked on its history. He first discovered his name a decade ago in the city’s archives. “The general council of La Rochelle summoned it in 1793 to tell her that she was freethat she enjoyed the same rights as all other women in the Republic”, he explains. It was purchased in Santo Domingo, what is now Haiti, by a surgeon from La Rochelle named Granville. “There is no evidence that she was a nanny in this family, but it is likely that she was, explains Olivier Caudron. That’s why she was chosen so as not to forget all black women who lived this story.”
The symbol of black nurturing women
It was a Haitian artist, Filippo, who was chosen to create this monumental statue: “The goal is not to have Clarisse recognized, it is to talk about the history of black nannies who raised little whites”, he explains to France Bleu La Rochelle. “It is also a call in the fight for equality which is not over”, he added this Friday morning.
The mayor of La Rochelle, Jean-François Fountain, explains his choice: “La Rochelle’s relationship with slavery was largely through what we called St-Domingue at the time. So it seemed natural to me that this statue was made by a Haitian artist. And when you finance a work of this nature, I prefer that the money goes to a Haitian family.”
