The Haitian revolution "was the only incidence in world history of an enslaved people breaking their chains and defeating a powerful colonial force using military might. ... In many ways, Black August (at least in the West) begins in Haiti. It is the blackest August possible - revolution, and resultant liberation from bondage." - Mumia Abu-Jamal, "Black August - 2004"
Recently, while speaking with a younger journalist, I made mention of several points of Haitian history, and the writer looked at me blankly. Although he was well-read and had even traveled to Haiti, he hadn't the faintest idea of many of the historical facts to which I made reference. He simply had never read nor heard of them.
As a student of history, I recommended he read the work on Haiti by the late radical scholar-activist C.L.R. James entitled "The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L'Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution," originally published in 1938. He knew of the book, but he'd never read it.
Continue Reading The power of history: Haiti by Mumia Abu-Jamal
