Unlocking the Past
When enslavers declared that “all men are created equal” as their raison d’être you know the national story that followed would be unintended satire, and it’s the story we call U.S. History. If you’re looking for a revolution that actually meant what it said, we recommend the Haitian Revolution, not that you’ll find it in most U.S. History books, since it got locked away by the writers of U.S. history who were never comfortable with too much equality. Not to despair, HAG has your skeleton key to unlock the stories that got locked away.
Our History
Another trip around the school year calendar, another teacher cycle complete. They say the students never get older, but neither do their teachers, they just get on an airplane to Anaheim and fly off into the eternal languor of another summer. And our fountain of youth? It’s the history that keeps us young. And the trick is to find yourself a skeleton key to unlock all the hidden stories that you never knew were there all along waiting for you to tell. Speaking of which, have we told you the one about the…
Click on the link to hear Episode 63 Skeleton Key
Sources Referenced and Items of Interest
C.L.R. James, The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L’Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution
James Alexander Dun, Dangerous Neighbors: Making the Haitian Revolution in the Early Republic (review article by Wendy Schirmer, H-Net)
“The God, who created the sun, which gives us light, who Rouses the waves and rules the storm, though hidden in the clouds, he watches us. He sees all that the white man does. The god of the white man inspires him with crime, but our God calls upon us to do good works. Our god who is good to us orders us to avenge our wrongs. He will direct your arms and aid us. Throw away the symbol of the god of the whites who has so often caused us to weep, and listen to the voice of liberty, which speaks in the hearts of us all.”
Boukman, August 22, 1791
History Against the Grain 