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The Black Republic: African Americans and the Fate of Haiti
In The Black Republic , Brandon R. Byrd explores the ambivalent attitudes that African American leaders in the post-Civil War era held toward Haiti, the first and only black republic in the Western Hemisphere. Following emancipation, African American leaders of all kinds—politicians, journalists, ministers, writers, educators, artists, and diplomats—identified new and urgent connections with Haiti, a nation long understood as an example of black self-determination. They celebrated not only its diplomatic recognition by the United States but also the renewed relevance of the Haitian Revolution.
While a number of African American leaders defended the sovereignty of a black republic whose fate they saw as intertwined with their own, others expressed concern over Haiti's fitness as a model black republic, scrutinizing whether the nation truly reflected the "civilized" progress of the black race. Influenced by the imperialist rhetoric of their day, many African Americans across the political spectrum espoused a politics of racial uplift, taking responsibility for the "improvement" of Haitian education, politics, culture, and society. They considered Haiti an uncertain experiment in black it might succeed and vindicate the capabilities of African Americans demanding their own right to self-determination or it might fail and condemn the black diasporic population to second-class status for the foreseeable future.
When the United States military occupied Haiti in 1915, it created a crisis for W. E. B. Du Bois and other black activists and intellectuals who had long grappled with the meaning of Haitian independence. The resulting demand for and idea of a liberated Haiti became a cornerstone of the anticapitalist, anticolonial, and antiracist radical black internationalism that flourished between World War I and World War II. Spanning the Reconstruction, post-Reconstruction, and Jim Crow eras, The Black Republic recovers a crucial and overlooked chapter of African American internationalism and political thought.
While a number of African American leaders defended the sovereignty of a black republic whose fate they saw as intertwined with their own, others expressed concern over Haiti's fitness as a model black republic, scrutinizing whether the nation truly reflected the "civilized" progress of the black race. Influenced by the imperialist rhetoric of their day, many African Americans across the political spectrum espoused a politics of racial uplift, taking responsibility for the "improvement" of Haitian education, politics, culture, and society. They considered Haiti an uncertain experiment in black it might succeed and vindicate the capabilities of African Americans demanding their own right to self-determination or it might fail and condemn the black diasporic population to second-class status for the foreseeable future.
When the United States military occupied Haiti in 1915, it created a crisis for W. E. B. Du Bois and other black activists and intellectuals who had long grappled with the meaning of Haitian independence. The resulting demand for and idea of a liberated Haiti became a cornerstone of the anticapitalist, anticolonial, and antiracist radical black internationalism that flourished between World War I and World War II. Spanning the Reconstruction, post-Reconstruction, and Jim Crow eras, The Black Republic recovers a crucial and overlooked chapter of African American internationalism and political thought.
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
312 pages, Paperback
Published February 22, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 19, 2021
Excellent book, excellent history, and excellent politics all wrapped up into one. Read this book and learn many things which I guarantee you do not know. Read about many historical figures in African-American and Haitian history,as well as many others of whom you’ve never heard. Read the shameful history of the United States in regards to Haiti which continues to this day. Read the long and heroic struggle in regards to Haiti of both African-Americans and Haitians. I highly recommend this book.
May 27, 2020
Boyd presents a very well-researched and presented intellectual history of the relationship between African Americans and Haitians from Emancipation to the dawn of Black internationalism. Not an introductory text -- be sure to know your Haitian and American history before beginning. Great book from an incredible scholar. The epilogue in particular was a beautiful piece of writing.
May 15, 2021
Phenomenal book. Literally never read something that so clearly reflects the kind of work that I want to do.
January 19, 2022
Charting the links between African Americans and Haiti in the period between the Haitian Revolution and the 1915 Occupation of Haiti. Good and well researched on an under focused on area.
August 9, 2024
Yeah, I feel worse for Haiti now but like that was half the book man. The other half was like a weird journalism expose... I dunno man.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews