The Haitian Revolution is one of the most important revolutions in the history of the world, if not, the most significant revolution in the Western hemisphere. However, since this was a revolution lead by enslaved Africans, it is explicitly ignored and stricken from the historical record. The success of this revolution dispelled the myth of African inferiority and threatened the entire construction of the Americas which was founded on enslaving Africans and genocide of the Indigenous people. Being in the vanguard of the worldwide African revolution, Haitian people have been punished and made to pay (literally and figuratively) for their successful resistance against colonialism and imperialism. With Carruthers’s book, we see that the phrase “No Justice, No Peace” is not an empty slogan. Carruthers makes the point that the brutality and subjugation Black people face are currently viewed as “sins” against humanity, but must be elevated to crimes, whereby justice is served and perpetrators are held accountable. A must read!
