NEW YORK CITY, February 17—Retired workers celebrated Black History Month by studying the Haitian Revolution and its influence of slave revolts in the U.S.
The group of multiracial retirees are part of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 371. Twenty-five retirees braved the inclement weather to listen to a former hospital worker about working-class heroism to not only overthrow slavery but also to fight for the complete liberation from the yoke of colonialism and imperialism. A lively question-and-answer period followed the presentation.
Masses Make History, Not One Leader
While many of us can name leaders, we don’t know the many of as many 400,000 slaves in Haiti who fought and died for freedom. We were all aware of Toussaint Louverture, who led an army of masses of slaves in a successful revolt against French slavemasters from 1791-1794. But, it was the masses who made history, not the few leaders whose names have come down to us.
In 1794, because of the fight launched in Haiti, slavery had been abolished in all of the French colonies. When Napoleon’s army invaded Haiti in 1802, it re-established slavery in all its colonies. Slavery was abolished in Haiti in 1804. But in the other French islands, slavery didn’t end until 1848. The French bosses forced Haiti to pay crippling reparations for the loss of property—people and plantations—in return for recognition, 20 years after liberation.  And the Haitian bourgeoisie forced the peasants, through taxation, to bear the cost of paying those $40 million, in today’s U.S. currency. It was a warning for those who dared to fight back. The U.S. didn’t recognize Haitian independence until 1861 in the midst of the Civil War and didn’t abolish slavery in within its own borders until 1865.
Haitian Revolution Prompts U.S. Slave Revolt
We discussed the influence the Haiti Revolution and fight against colonialism had throughout the slaveholding world. It is important to understand how events that occur far away impact events locally. The slaveowners certainly understood that and trembled at the thought of slave uprisings.
In the U.S., one of the most famous was in Charleston, South Carolina in 1822, led by Denmark Vesey. News of the successful slave revolt in Haiti was widespread in the area after French planters fled Haiti with their slaves to the U.S. South. In fact, the plan of Vesey’s rebels was to sail to Haiti after freeing themselves.
John Brown, the well-known abolitionist, was also influenced by the Haitian Revolution. The group Brown assembled chose to attack the federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, West Viriginia in part because it was located in a valley. They knew that Haitian rebels went into the mountains to regroup after their attacks on slave plantations. Brown consoled himself when he was arrested by reading the biography of Toussaint Louverture.
History Informs Today’s Politics
Some of the comments made by the audience were interesting as well. One retiree noted that to fight against slavery was a human trait, and that slaves even rebelled against the “good slavemasters.” Someone else explained that there is no such thing as a “good” slaveowner.
One retiree stated that union members should support the Democratic Party to fight the good fight.
However, the speaker clearly noted that the only way to end any and all of the misery that capitalism creates is to unite and fight back in the heroic manner of the revolutionaries in Haiti. We must go all the way and get rid of this system once and for all. No capitalist party can eradicate racism; only an internaitonal communist party like Progressive Labor Party can—with the leadership of millions.
While Black History Month is a token time for the bosses to recognize Black workers’ contribution to capitalism, the working-class should celebrate and study antiracist working-class history and the role of Black workers all year long. Let’s take inspiration from the history of class struggle and resolve to fight against racism all year long!