I never learned it in school either. But now that I’m a World History teacher, my 15 year old students know ALL about the Haitian Revolution and French reparations. Their end-of-unit essay is about why the Haitian Revolution was left out of their textbook
Real question - Why do you think it was left out? I’d imagine a lot of history doesn’t get taught - sometimes because of time constraints (it’s a big world) but other times because of racism.
Lots of reasons I think, most of them related to racism. I don't think we can only blame time constraints here. The French Revolution gets over 50 pages in the textbook and the Haitian Revolution gets a paragraph. Surely learning about the first slave revolt in modern history should be as important as learning about the French Revolution?
When the Haitian Revolution occurred and Haiti became independent, slavery was still legal in the US (this was 1801), so the US refused to acknowledge the new nation and the stories of the revolution were suppressed. That suppression continued and then led to a general forgetting/lack of knowledge.
The US has also had some shady dealings in Haiti for the past 100+ years that it's probably not super excited to have students learn about.
The New York Times article (The Ransom: The Root of Haiti's Misery) that Kahlil noted in his references is excellent and sheds some light on the question.
Shamefully, I remember during my youth how often we would tease others by claiming they were Haitian or African. This represents one of the subtle ways white supremacy works to suppress our sense of pride. When kids are taught the complete history of Haiti, the ridicule becomes a prideful representation of black achievement and a reminder of colonial destruction.
I knew about this history! France, the U.S. and any entity or Countries that has anything to do with Haiti’s oppression. Reparations are owed I don’t believe Haiti will receive them just Europe and multiple countries owe African Americans and our Global Majority.
Kahlil, I never knew any of this history of Haiti. Quite fascinating. And ongoing. Great work putting it all together.
I never learned it in school either. But now that I’m a World History teacher, my 15 year old students know ALL about the Haitian Revolution and French reparations. Their end-of-unit essay is about why the Haitian Revolution was left out of their textbook
Real question - Why do you think it was left out? I’d imagine a lot of history doesn’t get taught - sometimes because of time constraints (it’s a big world) but other times because of racism.
Lots of reasons I think, most of them related to racism. I don't think we can only blame time constraints here. The French Revolution gets over 50 pages in the textbook and the Haitian Revolution gets a paragraph. Surely learning about the first slave revolt in modern history should be as important as learning about the French Revolution?
When the Haitian Revolution occurred and Haiti became independent, slavery was still legal in the US (this was 1801), so the US refused to acknowledge the new nation and the stories of the revolution were suppressed. That suppression continued and then led to a general forgetting/lack of knowledge.
The US has also had some shady dealings in Haiti for the past 100+ years that it's probably not super excited to have students learn about.
The New York Times article (The Ransom: The Root of Haiti's Misery) that Kahlil noted in his references is excellent and sheds some light on the question.
Shamefully, I remember during my youth how often we would tease others by claiming they were Haitian or African. This represents one of the subtle ways white supremacy works to suppress our sense of pride. When kids are taught the complete history of Haiti, the ridicule becomes a prideful representation of black achievement and a reminder of colonial destruction.
Good on Naomi!
I knew about this history! France, the U.S. and any entity or Countries that has anything to do with Haiti’s oppression. Reparations are owed I don’t believe Haiti will receive them just Europe and multiple countries owe African Americans and our Global Majority.