From Chains to Chapters: Celebrating International Creole Month with Purpose

October has come again — and with it, the global chorus of voices declaring: Lang nou pa “kraze” — li bèl. International Creole Month is not just a festival of words and flags, but an invitation: to listen deeper, to lift what was once silenced, and to let Creole be more than culture — let it be a catalyst for justice, identity, and transformation.

I'd like to walk you through what International Creole Month is, why it matters, where Haitian Creole (Kreyòl Ayisyen) stands today, and how each of us can carry this celebration beyond October. Along the way, I’ll weave in twenty truth-telling quotes I put together to help shape your heart about language, legacy, and life.

1. Why October? Why Creole?

Creole languages were born in conditions of oppression — in forced proximity, enforced silence, and resistance. Kreyòl Ayisyen emerged from that crucible. It is a language forged from the tongues of enslaved Africans, colonial French, Taíno speech, and resilience.

October 28 is recognized as International Creole Day, a date UNESCO honors for spotlighting creole-speaking nations and communities. Many nations — Haiti included — observe this day with cultural festivals, language events, and public workshops. In places like Dominica and Saint Lucia, Jounen Kwéyòl is celebrated with music, cuisine, storytelling — creole life in full color. In Haiti’s own history, Kreyòl was not always embraced. Even after independence in 1804, French persisted in official life, education, and prestige. The language of the people was marginalized, stigmatized, even silenced. But in 1987, the Haitian constitution declared Creole an official language of Haiti alongside French — a significant act of reparative justice.

So October is not just about pageants or performances. It is about reclaiming dignity and restoring narrative.

2. Creole Today: Living, Evolving, Empowering

Far from static, Kreyòl Ayisyen is a living language — one that grows, evolves, and adapts (just like the people who speak it). Language Magazine points out that Creole is no “broken French,” but a distinct, functional, evolving tongue. Language Magazine New words — goudougoudou (for earthquake), rabòday (party), bòdègèt (vibe) — enter the lexicon quickly, responding to cultural events, social trends, and diaspora influences.

Today, Haitian Creole is spoken by over 13 million people worldwide, making it among the most spoken creole languages globally. In diasporic centers like New York and Florida, it is increasingly visible in public signage, translation services, and community media. But challenges remain: literacy rates in Kreyòl Ayisyen are inconsistent, and many public institutions still default to French or English. That means each act of speaking, writing, teaching, translating — is a step of affirmation and hope.

3. Twenty Quotes to Carry Beyond October

Here are twenty statements I created and believe in deeply — use them, share them, let them shape your posture toward language and identity:

1. “Kreyòl se rasin nou.” Creole is not broken French — it’s a full language of resistance, rhythm, and resilience.

2. October is International Creole Month. Haiti, the first free Black republic in the world voice its liberation to throughout the globe — and it spoke Kreyòl.

3. Fun fact: 95% of Haitians speak Kreyòl Ayisyen, but less than 10% speak fluent French. Which language do you think carries the real heartbeat of Haiti?

4. Kreyòl Ayisyen was born on plantations, whispered in secret, then shouted in revolution.

5. International Creole Month is a reminder: languages born in pain can still sing songs of joy.

6. 1804: Dessalines shouted “Libète!” in Kreyòl, not French. Revolution is written in our mother tongue.

7. Kreyòl Ayisyen is not just words, it’s memory. It carries drums, culture, history, heritage, and pride.

8. International Creole Month is beyond a celebration, it's a call for action.

9. Did you know? Haitian Creole became an official language in 1987 — over 180 years after independence. Why so long? Because the powers that be feared the power of the people’s tongue.

10. Learning Kreyòl Ayisyen is more than grammar. It’s learning to hear Haiti’s heartbeat. Start today ➡️ theberwickacademy.com/beginner

11. Haiti spoke Kreyòl Ayisyen when it defeated Napoleon. France had armies. Haiti had unity in one language. #PowerOfKreyòl

12. International Creole Month reminds us: to silence Kreyòl Ayisyen is to silence history. To learn it is to resurrect it.

13. Kreyòl Ayisyen is not “simple.” It’s layered with African, French, Spanish, and Taíno roots. It’s a living archive.

14. “Kreyòl se idantite nou.” Creole is our identity. To reject it is to reject ourselves.

15. This October, don’t just say you love Haiti. Speak Haiti. Learn Kreyòl Ayisyen. theberwickacademy.com/beginner

16. Word of the Day: “Espwa” = Hope. Haiti has lived on espwa when nothing else was left.

17. Kreyòl Ayisyen is proof that what was once forced (slavery) can birth what is free (liberation).

18. October is International Creole Month. Celebrate with more than events — celebrate with language.

19. Creole was banned in Haitian schools for decades. Why? Because when the people read and write their own tongue, they become unstoppable.

20. You don’t have to be Haitian to honor Haiti. Learn her language, and you honor her soul.

    
    

Let these be like seeds you carry in your pocket — drop them in conversations, let them root in your social media, let them become part of your legacy.

4. How to Make More Than Just Noise This October

Celebrating Creole is good. Transforming habits is better. Here are concrete ways you, your community, or your institution can give Creole more life than one month:

• Teach one phrase per day. Use your platform, social media, church, classroom to teach words like bonjou, mèsi, kijan ou ye?. Let people speak, not just watch.

• Read and share Creole works. Haitian poets, short stories, children’s books. Let Kreyòl Ayisyen literature flow into homes, schools, hearts. Click here to see my collection.

• Translate public materials. Church newsletters, community flyers, business marketing — let them exist in Kreyòl Ayisyen side by side with English or French.

• Hold Creole workshops or gatherings. Let community members teach songs, folk stories, proverbs — create space where the language is lived, not studied.

• Advocate for language access. Encourage schools, municipalities, service agencies to offer materials in Kreyòl Ayisyen. Push for policy that removes barriers to services for Kreyòl speakers.

• Record and amplify voices. Interview elders, storytellers, children in Kreyòl. Let their voices echo on podcasts, social media, radio.

• Use Creole at home. Make it part of your household identity — evening prayer, family jokes, mealtime conversations.

• Support Creole initiatives. Enroll in Creole courses (like theberwickacademy.com/beginner), fund translation or publishing projects, mentor younger Creole learners.

• Celebrate with authenticity. Host Kreyòl music nights, poetry slams, cook traditional food. But don’t just show — engage. Let people speak the language you celebrate.

  
  

5. A Call to Language Before Legacy

If I could wave a magic wand, I’d make Independent Haiti to know its voice again — not just in politics or art—but first in tongue. Language is threshold. It is the soil where identity grows. It is how we remember, resist, and restore. So as we mark International Creole Month, may every greeting in Bonjou, every prayer, every lesson learned become acts of reclamation.

Kreyòl Ayisyen is not an add-on — it is our heartbeat. Language rooted in freedom never dies — it evolves. When we speak Kreyòl Ayisyen with pride, we tell a world: we are here. We are listening. We are rising.

Lang nou se don Bondye ba nou. Let us live it loud, let us teach it deep, let us pass it on.

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 Berwick Augustin is the founder of Evoke180, a leading publishing company that also specializes in Haitian-Creole translations. He is an educational consultant and keynote speaker who embodies two decades of experience as a writer, teacher, and assistant principal. Berwick Augustin is the most innovative bilingual educational consultant capable of producing transformative results that effectively impact urban schools. His renowned book, The Education Formula: Maximizing the Village, offers a holistic, proven tool for schools and communities seeking to bridge the gap and build strong, thriving educational villages. Berwick is the creator of Self-Paced Haitian-Creole Courses online, author of Days, Months, and Seasons in Haitian-Creole, The Haitian-Creole Alphabet, and 1803 The Haitian Flag.