BY Led Black (@Led_Black)
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“It is a source of happiness to do whatever can be done for our country that suffers so many anguishes. It is sad to stay with one’s arms crossed.” Minerva Mirabal
Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina could not have known that he sealed his own fate when he ordered the brutal murder of las hermanas Mirabal. Trujillo had harassed, intimidated and even imprisoned members of the Mirabal family for years after Minerva Mirabal has rebuffed the dictator’s sexual advances at a party. On the night of November 25, 1960, Trujillo’s henchmen savagely beat 3 of the 4 sisters to death and then staged an accident to cover their tracks. Trujillo would be dead within 6 months.
The Mirabal Sisters could have easily put their safety over the fate of their countrymen. They chose the opposite. Even when their father prematurely died from the inherent stress of confronting a dictator they did not falter. When their husbands were imprisoned and tortured they did not give up their righteous struggle against a tyrant. It was the glorious example they set and their martyrdom that directly led to the downfall of one of the worst despots the world has ever seen. A darling of the United States, Trujillo led a barbarous authoritarian regime that ruled through sheer terror and systematically massacred thousands of innocent people. He ruled Quisqueya with an iron fist for over 3 decades but could not suppress the national revulsion engendered by the sadistic murder of las hermanas Mirabal.
The Mirabal Sisters have unequivocally proven that you can kill the resisters but you cannot kill the resistance. It is that valiant spirit that illuminates the path forward today. Tyrants are not to be tolerated and must be vanquished at all costs. Que Viva Las Hermanas Mirabal!
Pa’Lante Siempre Pa’Lante
Click here to read more on the street sign in the Heights that honors the struggle and legacy of las hermanas Mirabal courtesy of the Manhattan Times.
Related:
In Dominican Republic, a Museum of Horrors of Trujillo Era | NYTimes.com
Fifty years after his death, does Trujillo still matter? | The Manhattan Times
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Op-Led: Democracy Meets Dominicans
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